Are you battling insomnia? Struggling with too many sleepless nights?
Tossing and turning all night is no fun at all. If you’ve ever watched the clock tick away, knowing morning is just around the corner while your mind refuses to settle, you know how discouraging it can feel. And when lack of sleep becomes a pattern, it doesn’t just affect your nights—it starts to spill into your days. Your energy drops, your mood shifts, and even simple tasks can feel harder than they should.
But what if there was a simple way you could calm both your mind and body without even getting out of bed? The good news is, there is, and it’s completely free. That tool is EFT tapping.
In this post, we’ll cover what EFT tapping is, how to use it as a tapping sequence for sleep, and how it can help ease sleep-related issues so you can finally experience more restful nights and better quality sleep.
What is EFT Tapping?
Emotional Freedom Techniques—often called EFT or simply “tapping” is a practical, easy-to-learn stress relief practice. It’s been used by thousands of people worldwide to ease emotional distress, calm anxious thoughts, and improve sleep.
EFT is based on the same principles as acupuncture in Chinese medicine, which uses needles to stimulate specific meridian points in the body. With tapping, you don’t need needles. You simply use your fingertips to apply light pressure by tapping on specific acupressure points while focusing on the problem you’d like to address.
By stimulating these points, tapping can help release stress, shift unresolved emotions, and restore balance to your nervous system. This allows your body to move out of “fight-or-flight” mode and into “rest-and-digest,” which is exactly what you need when you’re trying to fall asleep.
Even though this post focuses on insomnia, tapping can be used in a number of different ways throughout the day. Many people use it for emotional distress, cravings, or even to ease strong emotions before a big event. One of the natural “side effects” of tapping is its calming effect, which makes it an effective tool for preparing your body for restful sleep.
Effectiveness of EFT for Sleep
Sleep problems are a common issue, and they’re often linked to stress. If you’re dealing with sleep disorders, nighttime anxiety, or simply the habit of lying awake with racing thoughts, tapping can help break the cycle.
Studies suggest that tapping affects the amygdala (the brain’s stress center) and hippocampus (the memory center), both of which influence how we process stress and emotional experiences. Tapping has also been shown to lower cortisol levels, which means it directly reduces the stress hormone that keeps so many of us wired at night.
If you’ve ever had the experience of lying in bed in the middle of the night replaying conversations, worrying about tomorrow, or feeling restless for no obvious reason, then you’ve experienced how unresolved emotions and heightened brain activity can interfere with sleep. Tapping provides your body with a way to release pent-up tension, reset your nervous system, and invite in a more restful slumber.
And while the technique may feel unusual at first, many people notice significant improvements in their sleep quality after just a few sessions.
What are the Tapping Points?
There are ten primary tapping points you’ll use in a typical tapping session. These are specific acupressure points connected to energy pathways in the body:
- Side of the hand or karate chop point
- Top of the head
- Beginning of the eyebrow
- Side of the eye
- Under the eye
- Under the nose
- Under the bottom lip
- Collar bone
- Under the arm, about 4 inches below the armpit
- Top of the hand or gamut point, the soft spot where the pinky and ring finger would meet on the top of the hand
You can use one hand or both—it doesn’t matter which side of the body you tap on. Choose whatever feels most natural and comfortable to you.
How to Tap for Insomnia: A Step-by-Step Guide
If you’d like to use tapping to ease sleep-related issues and prepare for bed, here’s a simple six-step process:
- Identify the problem. For example: “I can’t fall asleep.”
- Rate the intensity. On a scale of 0–10, with 0 being the least intense and 10 being the most intense.
- Create a setup statement. For example: “Even though I’m struggling to fall asleep, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
- Tap on the side of your hand. Repeat your setup statement three times.
- Move through the tapping points. As you do, repeat a shorter reminder phrase like: “I can’t sleep.”
- Pause, breathe, and check in. Take a deep breath, tune inward, and rate your intensity again from 0-10. Continue repeating this protocol until you feel your intensity is at a 0-2 and you are ready for restful sleep.
If you’re already in bed and don’t want to move much, you can also do “visual tapping.” Instead of physically tapping, imagine yourself gently tapping each point while repeating your phrase. This allows you to stay comfortable while still calming your mind and body.
To begin doing visual tapping, just imagine your fingers tapping on the designated spot, starting with the top of your head while repeating your chosen sleep phrase, such as “I can’t sleep,” or I need sleep.” You may also find it helpful to add in the emotion you are feeling, such as “I can’t sleep frustration” or “I can’t sleep fear.”
Throughout each round of tapping, I like to take a good, deep inhale and exhale. This seems to help my body sync into the relaxation of the tapping more and prepare to drift off. Continue following all the tapping points while repeating the chosen eft statement such as “I can’t sleep” taking a deep inhale and exhaling between each point until you drift off to sleep or complete a round of tapping. Tapping on each point should be at a relaxed pace, and you may need to do more than one round of tapping before you drift off.
Client Example
One evening, I worked with a client whose main phrase was, “I need sleep.” We tapped together through three rounds. The very next day she told me, “That was amazingly helpful! I had a better night than I’ve had in weeks, and I actually feel energetic today.”
This is a common response. Once the nervous system experiences a reset, the shift can be surprisingly quick.
Beyond Insomnia: Other Benefits of EFT
While tapping is a great tool for sleep, it’s not limited to bedtime. In fact, it’s best used throughout the day to keep stress from building up. Otherwise, that stress tends to catch up with you right when you’re trying to sleep.
When practiced regularly, EFT can:
- Reduce daily stress and emotional distress
- Support weight loss by curbing cravings
- Ease physical pain and tension
- Help process grief or traumatic experiences
- Improve overall quality of life and mental health
When used with a certified EFT practitioner, tapping can also help address deeper unresolved issues that may be contributing to chronic sleep issues, anxiety, or other long-term patterns.
Sleep Hygiene Tips: Support a Good Night’s Rest
To give yourself the best chance at quality sleep, combine tapping with supportive bedtime habits. A few of my favorites include:
- Stick to a bedtime routine. Consistency teaches your body when it’s time to rest.
- Be mindful of food and drink. Limit sugar, caffeine, and alcohol in the afternoon and evening.
- Create a tech-free bedroom. Keep your phone out of reach to avoid blue-light exposure and constant notifications.
- Try blue light-blocking glasses. They help your body produce melatonin naturally.
- Get physical activity. Movement during the day helps release stress and supports deeper rest at night.
- Limit naps. Keep them short and early in the day.
- Support your mental health. Practices like mindfulness meditation or tapping during the day help quiet the mind at night.
Final Thoughts
Insomnia is a common issue, but you don’t have to live with it. EFT tapping is a gentle, effective tool that can help calm your nervous system, ease emotional distress, and prepare your body for restful sleep.
The beauty of tapping is its flexibility. Whether you’re sitting up before bed, lying down in the middle of the night, or simply pausing during the day to release stress, tapping can meet you right where you are.
With practice, it becomes more than just a way to fall asleep—it becomes a comprehensive approach to supporting your overall health, emotional well-being, and the quality of your life.
Sweet dreams.
Karla is a certified somatic practitioner who helps women heal their nervous system and transform their relationship with money and wealth.
