6 podcasts to ease your mind

Building on the popularity of their app, the Radio Headspace podcast credits itself as a daily reflection that examines the shared experiences that bring us together. There’s also Sunday Scaries hosted by Dora Kamau – a podcast dedicated to tackling common anxieties and apprehensions when it comes to starting a new work week. Radio Headspace has also partnered with their friends down on Sesame Street with Goodnight, World! – a podcast that encourages the use of imagination to calm the mind and bring on a peaceful sleep, great for parents and kids alike.

There’s a reason the Freakanomics podcast episode Why is my life so hard? released in 2018 still finds itself included on mindful must-listen lists time and time again. Don’t let the title put you off – this episode isn’t about people talking about how tough their lives are. Instead, it chooses to focus on how when life is tough, we build resentments and how these resentments can have a costly impact on our health and wellbeing. It’s an engaging listen, ideal for people wrestling with negative thoughts and looking for a way to work through them.

This podcast proves that you can be entertained and look after your mental well-being simultaneously. A BBC 4 production, Soul Music is a weekly podcast that explores the emotional impact of music that has shaped our world, one song at a time. From Talking Heads' hit ‘Once in a Lifetime’ to Gloria Gaynor's ‘I Will Survive’, discover the profound impact one song can have on those it touches.  

Hosted by Patricia Karpas and Ariel Garten, Untangle aims to focus the mind by interviewing guests from the fields of mindfulness, psychology, neuroscience, storytellers, sleep experts – and even religious leaders. By sharing their experiences, both personal and professional, listeners can expect to be inspired to untangle and unpack their own lives by listening to some truly inspiring thought-leaders. 

Doing exactly what is says on the label – this podcast is a collection of episodes all about taking mini-moments to meditate. Topic specific and 5-12 minutes long, these mini-meditations cover everything from overcoming anxiety and letting go of fear to easy-to-follow breathwork meditations. 

Billed as ''the podcast that puts you to sleep'', Sleep With Me is designed with adults in mind who struggle to fall asleep. Host, Drew Ackerman's trick? Telling impossibly boring bedtime stories that somehow clear the mind and bring on slumber, whether you like it or not. With roughly 1.3 million downloads a month, it's got insomniacs around the globe snoring its praises.