The 28 Best Podcasts For Sleep (2026)

Drew Ackerman, who goes by "Scooter," has been putting people to sleep since 2013, and he means that as a compliment. Each episode of Sleep With Me runs about an hour and follows the same basic formula: a deliberately meandering, tangent-filled bedtime story told in a gentle, droning voice that gets progressively more boring as it goes on. The genius is in the structure. The stories are interesting enough to grab your attention away from anxious racing thoughts, but dull enough that your brain eventually gives up trying to follow along and drifts off. Topics range from recaps of Star Trek and Doctor Who episodes to completely original stories about sea noodles or jungle rivers. With over 700 episodes and a 4.5-star rating from nearly 16,000 reviews, this is the most popular insomnia-specific podcast in the world for a reason. Ackerman has talked openly about his own struggles with sleep and anxiety, which gives the show an authentic warmth. New episodes drop weekly, and there's a premium tier called Sleep With Me Plus for $4.99 a month that removes ads and adds bonus content. The advertising in the free version is handled carefully, without jarring volume changes that would wake you up. If you've never tried a sleep podcast before, this is the obvious starting point.

Get Sleepy combines two things that work well for insomnia into a single package: a short guided meditation followed by a slowly narrated bedtime story with soft background music. Host Tom Jones kicks off each episode with a few minutes of body relaxation and breathing, then hands off to one of several narrators who read an original story at a pace that's deliberately unhurried. The stories themselves cover everything from a lazy afternoon in the French countryside to a midnight visit to a magic library, and they're written to be absorbing without being stimulating. With over 1,100 episodes and a 4.6-star rating from more than 8,700 reviews, it's one of the biggest sleep podcasts out there. The rotating cast of narrators, including Vanessa Labrie, Arif Hodzic, and Jessika Downes-Gossl, means you can find a voice that specifically works for you rather than being stuck with one host. Produced by Slumber Studios, the production quality is consistently high, with ambient sounds that complement rather than distract. New episodes land weekly, and a premium membership at $7.99 a month gets you ad-free episodes plus access to the full back catalog. The meditation intro is short enough that it doesn't feel like homework, but long enough to actually slow your breathing down before the story starts.

Here is a premise that will keep you up at night, literally. Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) plays a night watchman who finishes his shift only to discover that everyone who fell asleep the previous night is dead. Not some people. Everyone. The survivors are all insomniacs, night shift workers, and anyone else who happened to stay awake. Now they have to figure out what happened before exhaustion forces them to close their eyes.

Created by Jake Emanuel and Willie Block, the show burns through its 9-episode first season at a relentless pace. Markiplier brings his massive YouTube following to the project, but his performance genuinely works here -- there is a raw panic in his voice acting that feels authentic rather than performative. The horror elements are unsettling without being gratuitous, and the mystery of what is causing the deaths keeps you guessing.

The show earned an impressive 4.9-star rating from nearly 16,000 reviews, making it one of the highest-rated fiction podcasts on Apple Podcasts. It also got adapted into a TV series, which speaks to how compelling the concept is. Fair warning: season one ends on a significant cliffhanger that has left listeners waiting for resolution.

Tracks To Relax has racked up over 100 million listens, and the formula is straightforward: guided sleep meditations with soothing narration and gentle background music, delivered weekly. Each episode typically runs 20 to 40 minutes and follows a theme, like a seaside serenade, a butterfly meadow visualization, or a lantern meditation about letting go. The pacing is slow and the narrator's voice is warm and steady, guiding you through progressive relaxation, body scans, and visualization exercises designed to ease you from wakefulness into sleep. With 119 free episodes and a 4.5-star rating from over 4,200 reviews, the show has proven itself over many years. There's also a Patreon tier that unlocks hundreds of additional meditations without ads. The free episodes do include ads, and some listeners note that the volume difference between the meditation and the commercials can be jarring, so the premium option is worth considering if you're a regular user. The show also occasionally offers "get back to sleep" episodes specifically designed for middle-of-the-night wakings, which is a thoughtful touch that most sleep meditations overlook. If your insomnia responds well to guided visualization and you want a deep library of options, this is a reliable pick.

Kathryn Nicolai is a yoga and meditation teacher who writes original short stories specifically designed to put you to sleep, and over 180 million streams suggest she's figured out how to do it. Each episode starts with a brief guided breathing exercise, then Nicolai reads a short story about quiet, pleasant scenes: walking through a farmers market, watching snow fall from a cabin window, tending a garden. Nothing dramatic happens. That's the entire point. She reads each story twice in the same episode, the second time at a slower pace, so if you're still awake after the first pass, the repeat catches you on the way down. The writing is precise and sensory, full of specific textures and temperatures and small details that give your imagination something gentle to hold onto. With 533 episodes and a 4.7-star rating from nearly 10,000 reviews, this show has built a devoted following. Nicolai also published a bestselling book based on the podcast, now translated into over 20 languages. Episodes come out twice a week. A premium subscription at $4.99 a month removes ads and unlocks exclusive stories. The show works particularly well for people whose insomnia comes from an overactive mind rather than physical discomfort, because the stories give your brain a soft place to land instead of your to-do list.

Stories told at a deliberately slow pace designed to bore your brain into surrendering to sleep. The narratives intentionally meander, giving your racing thoughts nowhere interesting to go. The pace is the engineering - slow enough that your mind downshifts, plotless enough that anticipation never kicks in. Not content you'd listen to while awake. Content specifically designed to be the last thing you hear before unconsciousness. The intentionality behind the apparent randomness is actually quite clever. Works better than it has any right to.

Guided meditation sessions engineered for one purpose - shutting your brain down when it refuses to cooperate at bedtime. Calm voice, deliberately slow pacing, progressive relaxation techniques that work better than you'd expect. Nothing fancy, nothing revolutionary. Just a reliable tool for the nights when your mind decides 2 AM is the perfect time to replay every embarrassing thing you've ever done. The consistency is the value - every episode delivers roughly the same experience, which means your brain can learn to associate it with sleep. Simple and effective.

Jim Butler composes and performs ambient electronic music specifically for sleep, meditation, and relaxation, and he's been doing it almost daily since 2012. That output level has produced nearly 1,000 episodes of slow, drifting soundscapes with names like "A Delicate Drone," "Serenity of a Sunset," and "Gradients." Each episode runs about 28 to 29 minutes and features no narration, no guided instructions, and no sudden changes in volume or tempo. It's pure ambient music, created entirely by Butler without any AI assistance. Episodes are often released in three-part series, so if a particular sound works for you, there are usually two more installments of it. The 4.1-star rating from nearly 700 reviews is slightly lower than other shows on this list, largely because some listeners are frustrated by ad placement in a relaxation context. The music itself consistently gets high praise. For insomnia sufferers who find voices distracting rather than soothing, or who need something to play on a timer that won't jolt them awake with a narrator's inflection change, this is an ideal choice. Butler also offers ad-free versions on Bandcamp. The sheer volume of the back catalog means you'll never hear the same track twice if you don't want to, which matters when you're listening every single night.

Soothing readings of classic literature designed to carry you gently into sleep. The narrator's calm, measured voice is the main feature - the specific content matters less than the delivery. Classic books become vehicles for relaxation rather than intellectual engagement, which is exactly the point at bedtime. The voice quality is genuinely pleasant and the pacing is deliberately unhurried. Not about finishing stories. About letting go of the day through the gentle rhythm of someone reading aloud. Simple and effective.

ASMR triggers curated specifically for sleep and relaxation. Whispering, tapping, scratching, ambient sounds - the full catalog of things that make certain brains tingle and relax. If ASMR works for you, this delivers a consistent supply of quality triggers. If ASMR doesn't work for you, this will sound like someone eating microphone at weird angles. The divide is biological and non-negotiable. For the ASMR-responsive population, having a reliable source of well-produced triggers for bedtime is genuinely valuable. You already know which camp you're in.

Lora and Kiwi create guided sleep meditations that address the specific stress patterns and mental load many women carry to bed. The insight here is that women's insomnia often has different roots than men's - caregiving worries, mental load from managing everyone's schedule, body image stress, hormonal fluctuations. The meditations acknowledge these patterns rather than offering generic relaxation. A thoughtful approach to sleep content that actually understands its audience. If you're a woman whose brain won't stop running at bedtime, someone designed this specifically for you.

Pure nature soundscapes for sleeping. Rain on a tin roof. Ocean waves. Forest ambience. Thunderstorms rolling through. No narration, no music, no interruptions. Just the sounds that human brains have been falling asleep to for literally thousands of years. The recordings are high quality and the episodes are long enough that you won't wake up to silence. Sometimes the most effective sleep solution is the most ancient one. No science needed, no technique required. Just the planet's own soundtrack, delivered to your pillow.

Drew Ackerman tells rambling, bizarre stories that go nowhere on purpose. The nonsensical plots are engineered so your brain can't latch onto anything logical or anticipate what comes next, and eventually gives up trying and lets you sleep. Weirdly brilliant sleep engineering disguised as terrible storytelling. The apparent randomness is actually quite deliberate. If your mind needs to be occupied in order to quiet down but can't be engaged in order to sleep, Drew threads that impossible needle. Works better than it should.

Sheryl and Clark MacLeod deliver bedtime stories that actually accomplish the mission - getting kids to close their eyes and drift off. Original tales and classic retellings, all told with parental warmth and that specific pacing that works on children's brains at bedtime. The fact that kids request specific episodes tells you everything about the quality. For parents who've read Goodnight Moon four hundred times and need reinforcement, this is the cavalry. Consistent, gentle, and effective at the one job that matters at 8 PM.

Guided sleep meditations built around Bible passages. The voice is calm and steady and genuinely soothing - not in a performative way, just naturally peaceful. Not preachy at all, which is worth noting. It does the job whether you're devout or you just need something gentle to quiet your brain at night. The Scripture adds a contemplative layer that some meditation apps lack. Simple concept, well executed. If you struggle to fall asleep and don't mind a spiritual dimension to your wind-down routine, give this a shot.

Video game discussions from hosts who've been gaming long enough to have real perspective on where the medium has been and where it's going. New releases get thoughtful analysis rather than hot takes. Industry trends get discussed with actual understanding of development realities. Honest opinions delivered without chasing controversy for engagement. If the gaming podcast landscape feels like either breathless hype or cynical negativity, Rebel FM occupies the mature middle ground. Experienced voices discussing their lifelong hobby with the nuance it deserves.

Harris whispers. That's the core of this show, and for the subset of insomnia sufferers who respond to ASMR-style audio, it's extremely effective. Each 30 to 37 minute episode features gently whispered content that rotates between bedtime stories, trivia rounds, guided meditations, poems, and "Whisperpedia" segments where Harris reads curious Wikipedia articles in a hushed voice. The trivia episodes are a clever touch because they give your brain just enough to chew on without revving it up. The show has been running since 2016 with over 430 total episodes, though only 71 are available for free. The full catalog of 600-plus episodes across the ASMR & Insomnia Network is available through a Silk+ subscription at $9.99 a month. The 4.3-star rating from over 1,100 reviews reflects a genuine split: people who respond to whispered audio tend to love it, while those who find whispering irritating or creepy obviously don't. There's no middle ground, really. If ASMR works for you, this is one of the longest-running and most polished whisper-based sleep podcasts available. Harris is also behind several other shows on the network, including Calm History, which uses the same gentle approach with historical content.

An anonymous narrator reads things in the most deliberately boring monotone possible, and the content genuinely doesn't matter because you're asleep before it becomes relevant. Tax law, equipment manuals, whatever. The delivery is what does the work - flat, steady, hypnotically dull. Simple concept executed with commitment to the bit. If your brain needs something to listen to in order to quiet down but that something can't be interesting enough to keep you awake, this solves the paradox. Effective weaponized boredom.

Lauren Ostrowski Fenton is a mother of four, life coach, and meditation teacher whose guided sleep meditations have become a nightly ritual for listeners around the world. Her approach blends deep breathing exercises, progressive body relaxation, and vivid visualization sequences that guide you through serene settings like beach sunsets, starlit skies, and gentle ocean waves. A typical episode begins with setting an intention for comfort, then moves through tension-release techniques before transitioning into imagery designed to quiet the mind. Lauren encourages listeners to visualize writing down their worries, folding the paper, and placing it in a basket — a simple but surprisingly effective cognitive technique for letting go of the day's stress. The meditations include positive suggestions woven throughout, reinforcing healthy sleep patterns through repetition. Lauren's voice is soft and unhurried, with an Australian warmth that listeners consistently describe as maternal and reassuring. The content is broad enough to serve adults, parents, students, and even families listening together. Episodes vary in length, with some running 20 minutes and others stretching past an hour, so you can pick what fits your schedule and how restless you're feeling. The podcast has been running for years with a substantial archive, and Lauren frames it as a practice rather than a quick fix — the idea being that regular listening trains your brain to associate the meditations with sleep onset, making each session more effective over time.

Guided sleep meditations with narration that gradually slows in pace until you're unconscious. The pacing engineering is the secret weapon - starting at conversational speed and decelerating across the episode so your brain matches the rhythm without noticing. The voices are genuinely calming rather than artificially so. In a very crowded sleep podcast market, Sleep Wave stands out because the methodology feels more intentional than most. Not just talking slowly. Actually understanding how pacing affects consciousness. One of the more effective options available.

Molly McAleer dissects Lifetime movies with the perfect balance of genuine affection and sharp humor. She takes these films seriously enough to actually analyze their themes, tropes, and bizarre plot choices, but not so seriously that she can't laugh at a woman falling in love with her kidnapper over a long weekend. It's a love letter to trash TV written by someone who understands exactly why people watch it. If Lifetime movies are your guilty pleasure, someone finally made a podcast that treats that love with respect and comedy.

Bedtime stories and guided meditations specifically designed to help kids wind down and actually fall asleep. The narration is gentle, the imagery is calming, and the relaxation techniques are age-appropriate. Parents consistently report that it works, which honestly is the only review that matters. The episodes are long enough to do their job but designed so kids drift off before the end. If bedtime is a battle in your house, adding this to the routine might be the ceasefire you need. Not a miracle cure. But a genuinely useful tool.

Seymour Jacklin tells gentle stories in a voice that could genuinely tranquilize a horse. Adult bedtime stories that occupy the perfect space between interesting enough to listen to and calm enough to sleep to - a balance that's much harder to strike than it sounds. The stories are pleasant without being exciting, detailed without being demanding. If you need someone to talk you down from the day's stress and into unconsciousness, Seymour's voice and pacing are specifically calibrated for that exact transition.

Nature sounds and gentle stories designed to usher you into sleep like a warm blanket made of audio. Ocean waves, forest rain, streams over rocks, wind through trees - paired with occasional narration about imaginary peaceful places. The production is polished enough to sound beautiful without being so produced that it wakes you up. Does exactly what sleep podcasts should do and nothing more. No ambition beyond helping you drift off, which is the correct amount of ambition for this particular genre. Pleasant, soothing, effective.

Someone had the genius idea to read the world's most boring books out loud as a sleep aid. Tax codes. Equipment manuals. Agricultural reports from the 1800s. The deliberate tedium is the whole point and honestly? Kind of brilliant. Your brain can't spiral about tomorrow's meeting when someone's reading you the specifications of Victorian farming equipment. The voice is pleasant enough to not be annoying but boring enough to do its job. If you need something to override an overactive brain at bedtime, weaponized boredom might be your answer.

Alexis Dubief focuses on the thing sleep-deprived parents of infants and toddlers are most desperate for help with - getting their children to actually sleep. Her advice is evidence-based, her delivery is reassuring rather than judgmental, and exhausted parents consistently report that her methods work. Which, when you haven't slept properly in months, feels like a miracle. Not general parenting content. Very specific sleep expertise for the specific age when sleep is the battlefield. If you have a baby and you're losing your mind from exhaustion, Alexis understands.

David Cummings narrates horror fiction with full voice acting and sound design, creating something closer to old-time radio drama than typical podcasting. Some stories are genuinely terrifying. Others are creepy in ways that linger. The production quality elevates even weaker scripts because the atmosphere is always impeccable. The name is accurate - listening before bed is a terrible idea that you'll do anyway. Horror fiction performed with commitment and craft. If you like being scared and appreciate the art of audio storytelling, NoSleep has been delivering for years.

Teddy reads deliberately boring stories in the most soothing monotone imaginable, and the whole point is to make you fall asleep before the episode ends. Brilliantly simple concept. No plot twists. No compelling characters. Just aggressively mundane content delivered at the perfect pace to shut your brain down. Sounds like it shouldn't work. It works terrifyingly well. If you've tried meditation apps and sleep music and white noise and nothing sticks, try being bored into unconsciousness. It might be the most effective sleep podcast out there precisely because it's trying to be nothing.