The clock reads 3:47 AM, and you’re wide awake again, watching the hours crawl by while your mind races with worries, to-do lists, or simply refuses to quiet down. You’ve tried everything: counting sheep, meditation apps, warm milk, prescription sleep aids, but peaceful sleep remains frustratingly elusive. Sleep disorders like insomnia, sleep apnea, or restless leg syndrome don’t just steal your nights; they rob your days of energy, focus, and emotional stability.
Maybe anxiety keeps you tossing and turning, replaying conversations or catastrophizing about tomorrow’s challenges. Perhaps physical pain disrupts your rest, or hormonal changes have hijacked your natural sleep rhythms. The exhaustion becomes a vicious cycle where being overtired makes sleep even harder to achieve, leaving you feeling trapped in a fog of fatigue that affects every area of your life.
Scripture acknowledges that sleepless nights are part of the human experience, even for people of faith. From David’s midnight psalms to Jesus’ sleepless prayer vigils, the Bible offers comfort for those whose bodies and minds struggle to find rest. These verses provide both practical wisdom and spiritual peace for the long hours when sleep won’t come.
Bible Verses About Sleep Disorders and Insomnia
1. Psalm 4:8 – In Peace I Will Lie Down and Sleep
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
New International Version (NIV)
2. Psalm 127:2 – He Grants Sleep to Those He Loves
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Proverbs 3:24 – When You Lie Down, You Will Not Be Afraid
When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. Matthew 11:28 – Come to Me, All You Who Are Weary
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. Psalm 3:5 – I Lie Down and Sleep
I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Isaiah 26:3 – You Will Keep in Perfect Peace
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Psalm 63:6 – On My Bed I Remember You
When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
King James Version (KJV)
8. Job 11:18-19 – You Will Be Secure, Because There Is Hope
And you will have confidence, because there is hope; you will be protected and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, and no one will make you afraid; many will entreat your favor.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Psalm 121:3-4 – He Will Not Let Your Foot Slip
He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep. Not on your life! Israel’s Guardian will never doze or sleep.
The Message (MSG)
10. Philippians 4:6-7 – Do Not Be Anxious About Anything
Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Psalm 116:7 – Return to Your Rest, My Soul
Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
New English Translation (NET)
12. Leviticus 26:6 – I Will Grant Peace in the Land
I will give peace in the land, and you will lie down with nothing to make you afraid. I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Psalm 56:3 – When I Am Afraid, I Put My Trust in You
But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Jeremiah 31:26 – I Awoke and Looked Around
Then I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet.
Good News Translation (GNT)
15. 1 Peter 5:7 – Cast All Your Anxiety on Him
Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you.
New Century Version (NCV)
16. Psalm 139:18 – When I Awake, I Am Still with You
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.
International Standard Version (ISV)
17. Isaiah 57:2 – Those Who Walk Uprightly Enter into Peace
Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
18. Psalm 77:2 – When I Was in Distress, I Sought the Lord
In the day of my distress I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted.
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
19. Job 7:13-14 – When I Think My Bed Will Comfort Me
When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me. My couch will ease my complaint;’ then you scare me with dreams, and terrify me through visions.
World English Bible (WEB)
20. Psalm 42:8 – By Day the Lord Directs His Love
By day Jehovah will command his lovingkindness, And in the night his song shall be with me, Even a prayer unto the God of my life.
American Standard Version (ASV)
21. Genesis 28:16 – When Jacob Awoke from His Sleep
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it.”
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
22. Ecclesiastes 5:12 – The Sleep of a Laborer Is Sweet
Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
New American Bible (NAB)
23. Psalm 17:15 – I Will Be Satisfied with Seeing Your Likeness
As for me, I wyll beholde thy presence in righteousnesse: and when I awake vp after thy lykenesse, I shalbe satisfied with it.
Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)
24. Daniel 6:18 – Then the King Returned to His Palace
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.
English Revised Version (ERV)
25. Psalm 6:6 – I Am Worn Out from My Groaning
I have been weary with my sighing, All the night I make my bed to swim, With my tear my couch I waste away.
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
26. 1 Kings 3:15 – Then Solomon Awoke
And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
Darby Translation (DARBY)
27. Mark 4:38 – Jesus Was in the Stern, Sleeping
But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, is it nothing to You that we are perishing?”
Weymouth New Testament (WNT)
28. Psalm 132:4 – I Will Allow No Sleep to My Eyes
Y schal not yyue sleep to myn iyen; and napyng to myn iye liddis.
Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
29. Proverbs 6:9-11 – How Long Will You Lie There, You Sluggard?
How long wilt thou sleepe, O sluggarde? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleepe? Yet a litle sleepe, a litle slumber, a litle folding of the hands to sleepe. So thy pouertie commeth as one that trauaileth by the way, and thy necessitie like an armed man.
Geneva Bible (GNV)
30. Song of Solomon 5:2 – I Slept but My Heart Was Awake
I slepe, but my heart waketh: it is the voyce of my beloued that knocketh, saying: Open to me, my sister, my loue, my doue, my vndefiled: for my head is full of dewe, and my lockes with the droppes of the night.
Bishop’s Bible
31. Acts 12:6 – Peter Was Sleeping Between Two Soldiers
And when Herode wolde have brought him out vnto the people the same nyght Peter slepte bitwene two soudiers bounde with two chaynes and the kepers before the dore kepte the preson.
Tyndale Bible
32. Psalm 91:1 – Whoever Dwells in the Shelter of the Most High
We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by the God who is above all gods.
The Living Bible (TLB)
33. Isaiah 32:18 – My People Will Live in Peaceful Dwelling Places
Yes, my people will live in comfort and in peaceful homes filled with rest and security.
The Passion Translation (TPT)
34. Psalm 16:7 – I Will Praise the Lord, Who Counsels Me
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me—even at night my heart instructs me.
The Voice Bible (VOICE)
35. Revelation 14:13 – Blessed Are the Dead Who Die in the Lord
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: From now on, those who die as believers in the Lord are blessed.” “Yes,” says the Spirit. “They will rest from their hard work. The things they have done will follow them.”
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
Our Thoughts on What the Bible Says About Sleep Disorders and Insomnia
Scripture presents a nuanced view of sleeplessness that acknowledges both the distress of insomnia and the potential spiritual significance of wakeful nights. The Bible shows us biblical heroes who experienced sleepless nights for various reasons: Daniel’s king couldn’t sleep before throwing him to the lions, David wrote many psalms during midnight hours, and Jesus himself spent entire nights in prayer. This suggests that sleeplessness isn’t always a spiritual or physical failure.
What strikes me most about the Bible’s approach to sleep struggles is how it validates the experience while offering practical comfort. The Psalms especially give voice to the anxiety and exhaustion that come with chronic insomnia, while also providing meditative thoughts that can redirect racing minds toward peace. Scripture suggests that our wakeful hours can become opportunities for communion with God rather than just sources of frustration.
The Bible also emphasizes that true rest comes from trusting God’s sovereignty over our circumstances. While we should certainly seek medical help for sleep disorders, Scripture reminds us that our security doesn’t ultimately depend on getting eight perfect hours of sleep, but on resting in God’s constant watchfulness over our lives.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, my body and mind feel trapped in cycles of sleeplessness that leave me exhausted and overwhelmed. When I lie down at night, instead of peaceful rest, I’m met with racing thoughts, physical discomfort, or anxiety about tomorrow’s responsibilities. I need Your help to find the rest that my body and soul desperately need.
Quiet my anxious thoughts and help me to cast my worries on You, knowing that You care for me. When sleep won’t come, help me to use those wakeful hours for prayer and meditation rather than frustration and fear. Remind me that You never sleep and are always watching over me, even when my own rest is elusive.
Give me wisdom about practical steps I can take to improve my sleep hygiene and medical treatment when needed. Help me to find balance between being a good steward of my health and trusting You with outcomes beyond my control.
When exhaustion makes daily tasks feel impossible, be my strength. Help me to find rest for my soul even when physical rest is interrupted, and grant me the peace that comes from knowing You hold my life securely in Your hands.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.