Meditation timer
Set a timed meditation session with gentle bells at the start, intervals, and end. Choose session duration and add interval bells for structured practice.
What is the Meditation Timer?
A minimal timer designed for meditation practice. A gentle bell marks the start of your session, optional interval bells help you refocus your attention, and three soft bells signal the end. The bell is generated using the Web Audio API — a clean sine wave with a slow, natural decay, designed to be calming rather than jarring. The progress ring fills gradually so you can glance at your remaining time without breaking concentration. Session stats track your daily practice: how many sessions you've completed and your total meditation time for the day. For guided breathing before or after meditation, try the breathing exercise.
"In our study, meditation appeared to provide as much relief from some anxiety and depression symptoms as what other studies have found from antidepressants."
"Meditation may be associated with structural changes in areas of the brain that are important for sensory, cognitive and emotional processing."
Common Uses
- Daily morning practice: Set a 10–20 minute timer for a structured morning meditation session before checking email or social media.
- Guided body scan: Use the timer's gentle bell to mark transitions between body regions during a progressive body scan meditation.
- Focused work preparation: A 5-minute pre-work meditation session primes attention and reduces mind-wandering during the subsequent focus block.
- Stress relief at work: A short midday session in a quiet room resets the nervous system, reducing afternoon fatigue and irritability.
- Yoga and savasana timing: Set an end-of-practice timer so yoga instructors and practitioners don't need to check a clock during savasana.
- Children's mindfulness: Short 3–5 minute timed sessions help children learn breath awareness without requiring them to sustain attention indefinitely.
- Sleep preparation: A 15-minute guided timer session before bed engages the parasympathetic nervous system to shorten sleep onset time.
FAQ
What are interval bells for?
They gently remind you to refocus during longer sessions. If your mind wanders, the bell brings your attention back without disrupting the meditation. Common intervals are every 5 or 10 minutes.
Can I meditate without a set time?
Yes, select any duration as a rough guide. The timer is a support tool, not a constraint. You can end early or continue sitting after the bells.
Does the timer work in background tabs?
Yes. The end bells will play even if you switch tabs. Browser notifications also alert you when the session completes.
Does the meditation timer store any data?
No. Session settings exist only in the browser tab's memory. Nothing is saved to a server or your device's storage.
What do the interval bells do?
Interval bells chime at regular intervals during your meditation — for example, every 5 minutes. They serve as gentle reminders to refocus your attention without fully breaking your concentration.
By the Numbers
- A 2014 meta-analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine found mindfulness meditation reduces anxiety, depression, and pain with effect sizes comparable to antidepressants
- 14% of U.S. adults (approximately 36 million people) reported meditating in the past year (Pew Research, 2022)
- An 8-week MBSR program produces measurable changes in brain structure, including increased hippocampal gray matter density (Harvard Medical School, 2011)
- Regular meditators show cortisol levels 15–25% lower than non-meditators during acute stressors (NIH studies)