Home > Resources > Meditations > A Body Scan for the End of the Working Day
A body scan means moving your attention slowly through each part of your body in turn, noticing tension, temperature, and sensation without trying to change any of it. Used at the end of a working day, it draws a clearer line between work and the rest of your evening than simply closing a laptop does.
A 2019 study published in the journal Mindfulness had participants complete an eight-week body scan programme and measured stress hormones in hair samples, a marker that reflects stress over weeks rather than a single moment. The body scan group showed a meaningful decline in this longer-term stress marker, while a control group listening to an audiobook for the same amount of time did not.
Ten to fifteen minutes lying down or seated somewhere quiet is usually enough. It will not undo a genuinely difficult day, but it can stop the tension from that day carrying fully into the evening. If you drive home, the grounding practice for the drive home covers the same transition from behind the wheel.
Ten to fifteen minutes is usually enough. It works best lying down somewhere you won’t be interrupted, but sitting upright is fine if that’s not available.
Written by Storme Brand, HPCSA Registered Counsellor, Reg. PRC0023531, practising from Jeffreys Bay since 2012. Last reviewed 11 July 2026. This handout is general information and not a substitute for counselling.
If you regularly reach the end of the day feeling more drained than the work itself explains, that is worth exploring properly. You can read more about anxiety counselling, or get in touch, there’s no obligation to book.
No. A full pass takes ten to fifteen minutes, but a shorter version covering just a few areas, shoulders, jaw, stomach, still helps. Do what fits the time you actually have.
That’s fine, and it happens sometimes, especially if you’re genuinely tired. The exercise still did its job of easing you out of work mode. If you specifically want to stay awake and alert afterward, try sitting upright rather than lying down.
Yes, sitting upright works well if lying down isn’t an option, in a parked car or at your desk after everyone’s left, for example. It’s slightly easier to notice sensation lying down, but sitting still works.
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References
Schultchen, D., Messner, M., Karabatsiakis, A., Schillings, C., & Pollatos, O. (2019). Effects of an 8-week body scan intervention on individually perceived psychological stress and related steroid hormones in hair. Mindfulness, 10(12), 2532–2543. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01222-7
