Sleepless Nights Are Increasing

When did it start?
The nights when I just couldn’t fall asleep.
In my younger days, I’d drift off into dreams within minutes of getting into bed. But lately, my mind stays oddly alert, and no matter how hard I try, I just can’t sleep.
When I close my eyes, memories of the day, unfinished tasks, and even old regrets start swirling around in my head. The more I try to stop the thoughts, the more they expand like a growing vortex.
“I have to sleep.” “If I don’t fall asleep soon, tomorrow will be tough.”
The more I panic, the more awake I become—and sleep slips further away.
I’ve had many nights like that recently.

Maybe Sleep Takes Practice Too

Sleeping should be one of the most natural things we do, right?
But for many of us today, it’s surprisingly difficult.
On days when I spend too much time on my phone, when work keeps my brain running at full speed until the last minute, or when the day is just too stimulating overall—
Without realizing it, we’ve lost our moments of “nothingness.”
Those idle times when we just stare into space, when we let our minds go blank, when our hearts quietly switch off. Without those moments, the “off” switch won’t flip at night.
Maybe we’re now living in an era where we need to prepare to sleep.
That thought crossed my mind when I happened to come across a content app called “GASSHO – Meditation App.”

A Slightly Unusual Choice: “Sutras × Meditation”

GASSHO is a platform where you can enjoy audio content themed around Buddhism and meditation. Among its offerings, there was a video titled “Solemn Sutras.”
Sutras? To be honest, I was a little surprised at first.
But when I gave it a try, the quiet waves of chanting voices felt unexpectedly soothing. Even without understanding the meaning of the words, the rhythm and inflection of the sounds brought a sense of reassurance, like a deep stillness—as if I were sinking to the bottom of the sea.
This might actually be good before bed.
With that thought, I decided to try it out. I committed to a small habit: listening to GASSHO’s “Solemn Sutras” and doing a short meditation before bed for seven days.

When You Surrender to the Sound, Your Thoughts Quiet Down

The process is very simple.
Before bed, I turn off notifications on my phone and place my earphones beside the bed. I dim the lights and play the sutra video for just 5 to 10 minutes. I close my eyes, take a few deep breaths, and focus solely on “listening to the sound.”
Honestly, the first two or three days, I felt a bit restless.
Part of me kept wondering, “Can I really fall asleep like this?” Since I wasn’t used to meditating, my thoughts would quickly wander off in all directions.
But by around the fourth day, something began to shift.
As I listened to the chanting, my distracting thoughts gradually faded, and I felt as if I were riding gentle waves of sound. It was a strange sensation, like the mental “noise” inside my head was fading out.
Instead of focusing on the words, I started to attune my ears to the “resonance of the sound,” and that helped switch off my thinking.

Not Perfect, But I Learned to Prepare for Sleep

What I realized after the seven days wasn’t that I had achieved “perfect sleep,” but rather that I had learned how to mentally prepare myself for it.
Before I started using the sutras and meditation, my mind was noisy the moment I got into bed, and I would spend a long time blaming myself for not being able to sleep.
But now, just by playing a GASSHO video, it feels like a switch flips—telling both my mind and body, “It’s time to rest.”
Of course, not every night goes ideally.
Even so, the feelings of anxiety and urgency I used to have have significantly lessened. More importantly, I’ve come to think, “It’s okay if I can’t sleep. For now, I’ll just surrender myself to the sound.” That shift in mindset might be the biggest change of all.

The Next Step: Morning Silence—Bringing Mindfulness Into the Day

Through this experience of using meditation and sound at night, I came to truly feel that “quiet time” is nourishment for the heart.
In today’s world, we’re constantly bombarded with information and stimulation, not only at night but throughout the day. That’s why it might be more important than ever to intentionally carve out even just a few minutes for “letting go of thought.”
So next, I’d like to try “morning mindfulness.”
Before I even touch my phone after waking up, I’ll spend five quiet minutes focusing on my breath.
I have a feeling that even such a small act could shift the tone of the entire day.
I’ll share that experience in another article soon.

For Busy People Like Us, We Need Space—for Sound and Meditation

Finally, I want to say this:
On sleepless nights, it’s natural to feel anxious. But maybe what we need in those moments isn’t to do something—but to let something go.
GASSHO’s “Solemn Sutras” was a tool that helped me do just that.
By focusing on the sound and gently calming my thoughts, I found a bit of “space” within myself.
And I believe it’s that very space that softly invites sleep back into our lives.
If you’re struggling to sleep, I hope you’ll give it a try.
It might just become your new “gateway to rest.”