The goal of art journaling activities before bed is to help you down-regulate your nervous system.
When we can’t sleep, it’s often because our minds are either stuck in the past (replaying the day) or anxious about the future (worrying about tomorrow). Art journaling anchors us in the present moment.
Here you’ll find low-pressure art activities designed to bridge the gap between wakefulness and sleep.
Before you begin
Keep the lights low and use materials that are easy to clean up, such as colored pencils, pastels, or pens, rather than messy paints, before bedtime.
Art Journal Prompts to do Before Bed
Releasing the Day
These prompts are for when your mind is racing, and you need to get thoughts out of your head and onto the paper.
The Worry Container
Draw a jar, a box, or a safe. Write or draw your worries inside it. Then, draw a lid on it or tape a piece of paper over it to “seal” it for the night.
The Scribble Release
Take a black crayon or pen. Close your eyes. Scribble hard and fast for 10 seconds to release physical tension. Open your eyes and slowly color in the shapes created by the intersecting lines using soft, pastel colors.
Writing Underneath
Write out everything stressing you out in messy handwriting. Then take a thick marker to draw and color over it until the words are invisible. They are there, but they no longer demand your attention.
The Daily Sigh
In the middle of the paper, draw a stick figure that represents you. Draw lines (wavy, jagged, dotted…) coming out of the mouth representing a psychological sigh. With every line you draw, imagine exhaling a specific stressor from the day.
Rhythmic Regulation
Repetitive motion soothes the amygdala, the brain’s fear center. These are for when you feel physically restless.
The Unbroken Line
Put your pen on the paper and try to fill the whole page with drawings without lifting the pen. Don’t plan the drawing. Just let the line wander, drawing something realistic or abstract, whatever feels right at the moment.
Circles within Circles
Draw a small circle. Draw a slightly larger one around it. Keep drawing circles until you fill the page. It creates a tunnel or ripple effect that is visually hypnotic.
Tapping
Take a marker and make dots on the paper. Focus entirely on the sound of the pen tapping on the paper. Tap, tap, tap. Create a simple shape or a gradient of density.
Weaving Lines
Draw vertical lines. Then draw horizontal lines weaving behind and in front of them (like a basket weave). The focus required to weave the lines correctly prevents mind-wandering.
Tracing Your Hand
Place your hand on the page. Trace it slowly. Then, fill the inside of the hand outline with patterns, words of comfort, or favorite colors. Grounding yourself in your body.
Sensory Soothing & Softness
These prompts focus on tactile sensations and calming imagery to induce sleepiness.
The Gradient
Take pencils or pens in several shades of the same color. Starting from the top of the page, use darker shades to draw lines, waves, or an assortment of doodles. As you move down the page, change to lighter shades.
Drawing Silence
What does “quiet” look like to you? Is it a vast snowfield? An empty room? A dark ocean? Draw the abstract concept of silence.
Soft Shapes Only
Choose a calming color (light blue or lavender) and fill a page with drawing only rounded, soft shapes. No sharp corners, no jagged edges. Think clouds, pillows, hills, and bubbles.
The Comfort Object
Draw your favorite blanket, pajama, or pillow. Focus on trying to depict its essence—make it look as soothing and cosy as possible.
The Night
Take a dark piece of paper, and glue it on the page in your journal. Use a white or metallic pen to draw simple stars, planets, or moons. Focus on the contrast of light within the dark.
The Safe Place Visualization
These activities help shift your brain from alert mode to dream mode.
The Sleep Potion
Draw a magical bottle. Label it “Sleep Potion.” List the ingredients visually or with words (e.g., “3 drops of rain sound,” “1 cup of lavender,” “warm socks”).
Designing a Cloud
Draw a cloud that looks comfortable enough to sit on. What is on the cloud? Books? Tea? A cat? Draw everything in a “cloudy” shape.
The Landscape of Sleep
Draw a simple horizon line. On the line, draw three things that make you feel safe (a moon, a tree, a cozy couch).
Floating
Draw feathers, leaves, or balloons floating in the air. Imagine you are one of those objects, weightless and drifting.
Body Scans & Somatic Art
Connecting with the physical body to release held tension.
The Body Map
Draw a simple outline of a body. Color in the areas where you feel tension (shoulders, jaw) with red or orange. Then, use a “cooling” color like blue or green to color around those areas, visualizing the tension cooling down.
Breath Waves
Draw a continuous wave line that matches your breathing. Up as you inhale, down as you exhale. Slow your hand down, and let your breath slow down to match your hand.
The Senses Check
Draw 1 thing you hear (fan humming), 1 thing you feel (soft sheets), 1 thing you see (shadows), 1 thing you smell (candle burning), and 1 thing you taste (warm tea).
Gratitude & Gentle Closures
Ending the day on a note of safety and abundance rather than fear and scarcity.
Three Good Things
Draw three good things that happened today (e.g., a good cup of coffee, a nice text message, seeing a bird).
The Gratitude Spiral
Start in the center and spiral out, drawing doodles of tiny things you are grateful for.
The Protective Bubble
Draw yourself in the center of the page. Draw a circle around you. Fill the space inside the circle with drawings of things that make you feel safe.
Tomorrow’s Hope
Draw one very small, simple thing you are looking forward to tomorrow (morning coffee).
If you try one of these and feel frustrated that it doesn’t look right, gently put the pen down. Take a breath. Remind yourself: “I am not making art for a gallery; I am creating for rest.” The value of art journaling is in the movement of your hand and being present while creating, not the final image.
