What happens when the rest of the world is asleep - but your mind is still racing?
In this episode of Healthier Than Ever, Dr. Toni Balfour sits down with writer, meditation teacher, former insomniac, and longtime friend Meline Nadeau for an honest conversation about insomnia, anxiety, meditation, and the strange vulnerability of being awake in the middle of the night.
Meline began struggling with sleep when she was only 11 or 12 years old. For years, insomnia was treated as something she simply had to endure. It wasn’t until her young daughter began experiencing similar nighttime anxiety during the pandemic that Meline started looking more deeply for another way.
That search led her to meditation training and eventually inspired her to create Goodnight Toes, a gentle body-scan sleep meditation for children.
Toni and Meline talk about what to do when you wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. with your mind spinning, why familiar voices and stories can help the nervous system settle, and how writing down a fear or unfinished task can make it easier to set it aside until morning.
They also explore the shame that can surround sleep: shame about insomnia, shame about needing help, and even the strange pride our culture sometimes attaches to functioning on very little rest.
The conversation moves beyond sleep tips into something deeper: learning not to fight every uncomfortable thought, feeling, or sensation. Meline explains why meditation is not about achieving a perfectly empty mind, but about noticing where the mind goes and gently returning to the present.
They also discuss nightmares, sleeping beside a dog, bedtime routines, night owls versus early birds, and how people facing illness or overwhelming fear can find brief moments of steadiness without needing to solve everything at once.
Because at 4 a.m., everything can feel catastrophic. Sometimes the most important thing to remember is that you do not have to figure out your entire life before the sun comes up.
In This Episode
- Meline’s experience with insomnia beginning in childhood
- Why her daughter’s sleep struggles changed the way she viewed her own
- How Goodnight Toes grew from a bedtime body scan
- What to do when you wake up anxious in the middle of the night
- Why writing things down can help quiet the mind
- The comfort of familiar meditations, audiobooks, and calming voices
- How pets may provide a sense of safety and companionship at night
- Nightmares, vivid dreams, and emotional processing
- The complicated relationship between sleep and shame
- Why “burning the candle at both ends” is not a superpower
- Creating a realistic bedtime wind-down routine
- Meditation during illness, fear, and uncertainty
- Why accepting discomfort can sometimes reduce its power
- Whether night owls truly need to become morning people
- Developing a kinder, less adversarial relationship with sleep
Resources from Toni
These are a few of the resources I mention throughout the podcast and frequently recommend in my clinical practice. Members of the Healthier Than Ever community receive 20% off anything they choose to order through these links. You don’t need everything - start small with what feels right for you, and always check with your medical team before beginning any new supplement or therapy.
- Restorative Sleep Plan A collection of sleep-supportive supplements and products, including magnesium, calming nutrients, and gentle sleep support. Use this link for 20% off - - htever.com/sleep
- Calm & Clarity Plan A collection of supplements and products I often recommend for nervous-system support, mental overwhelm, and a greater sense of steadiness, including magnesium, L-theanine, and gentle adaptogens. Use this link for 20% off - - htever.com/calm
Connect with Meline Nadeau
Sleep, meditation, and mindfulness resources from Meline Nadeau. Visit https://cantsleepatnite.com
Meline’s gentle body-scan sleep meditation for children.
Find Goodnight Toes on Amazon
