It’s been a long day, work’s been a bit hard,  and now, all you want is to relax. 

So, how do you go about it?

Calming music? Meditation? Let’s try something. But here’s a problem – the moment your mind quiets down, random (intrusive) thoughts start attacking you:

Did you answer that last email you got? Have you locked the door on the way out of the office? Would The Office have been better if Michael had stayed for seasons 8 and 9, and why is the answer yes? Do unicorns really fart rainbows? 

All the important questions, just like these ones, you’re all but relaxed.

This scene would have ended a whole lot better if you had someone to guide you through it. A gentle voice that told you when to inhale and exhale would help you slow down your thoughts way before you got to gassy unicorns. 

There’s a reason why guided voices feel different, and in this article, we’ll dive directly into that!

Guided Voices Help Calm the Mind – Why? How?

Today, everyone is taking advantage of technology, including wellness creators. 

They use software that mirrors the calming effects of guided voices because they know how well voices work. 

The reason for opting for guided voices to achieve calmness and tranquility is that both your brain and body are wired to respond to sound. 

Visual cues aren’t as quick to travel to the emotional centers of the brain as auditory signals are, which means that sounds have an impact before you’ve had time to think about what you heard. A gentle rhythm or a soft tone can activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the part that slows your heartbeat and reduces stress hormones) really fast and make your body calmer. 

Guided voices make relaxing easier because there’s no mental effort. You don’t have to read instructions and process the steps; you listen. 

This way, your energy goes towards unwinding.

But how do you create a good-quality guided voice that works for you? Because while some might find one particular voice very soothing and relaxing, it may annoy the heck out of you. So that wouldn’t be any good.

What you can do is use something like a GPT 3 video generator tool to create a full-blown narrated session in minutes (even seconds) and create a couple until you get that perfect voice that calms you at a molecular level – you’ll know it the moment you hear the voice. Some relaxing music (perhaps some of those binaural beats or various frequencies might do the trick) will also add to the tranquil atmosphere that you’re trying to achieve.

So, yeah. Do a couple of them, and once you have the perfect guided voice for you, go and meditate for a bit. Even some slow, deep breathing will be great for your mind.

Types of Guided Voices Experiences Excellent for Relaxing

Are you looking to stay focused, do a hard reset, or are you simply trying to fall asleep?

Let’s go through some of the most effective guided voice experiences based on what you want/need:

Meditation

When you hear the term ‘guided voice’, meditation is probably the first thing that comes to mind. And it only makes sense, because a calm voice provides you with structure, plus it reminds you what to pay attention to when your mind starts to wander into ‘unicorn territory’. 

The pacing and repetition of phrases are intentional because this helps you breathe in a slower rhythm, and that gradually syncs your body and mind. 

Breathing

If you’re trying to focus on your breathing or scan through parts of your body, dead silence can be too much. But guided instructions can cut through all that noise in your head with nothing more than ‘inhale’ and ‘exhale’ cues. This gives you something clear to follow. 

Verbal prompts make it harder to overanalyze and, instead, create this effortless flow between mind and body. 

If you have a voice to guide you, then breathing and body scans go from remembering the steps to simply being calm. 

Sleep Narrators

Yes, bedtime stories. You read correctly. 

It might seem ridiculous, but a lot of adults have a hard time quieting their minds at night, and that can lead to insomnia. So why not take advantage of stories if they can calm you down?

These aren’t your regular stories full of plot twists because excitement is not the point. They’re about soothing details told in a voice that encourages drowsiness. A gentle narration helps your brain go from alert to slow, which makes it easier to calm down and fall asleep. 

Fitness & Yoga

Yoga and stretching usually have guided voices that follow so that you can stay engaged. 

A calm narration helps you flow from one pose to the other while reminding you to breathe and relax your muscles at the same time. The voice will prevent you from getting distracted and frustrated, so whatever you’re doing feels restorative instead of stressful. 

Basically, the voice is what keeps you in the moment when you’d normally wander off into thinking about how the character of Andy Bernard was pretty much totally rewritten when they made him branch manager. 

Conclusion

If you try to force yourself to be calm, you’ll most likely do the exact opposite of what you’re trying to achieve. And the harder you try, the more stressed you’ll get, which can end up with further frustration.

Unless you give your mind the signals, your body will follow. 

Guided voices are a very effective way of receiving all the right signals, and finally have your body get to a safe zone so that it knows it can calm down.