In the past, falling asleep with the television on often meant nodding off to late-night talk shows or catching another episode of “Seinfeld.” If you wanted to doze off to a movie, it required the cumbersome process of removing a DVD from its case, placing it in a player, and then returning to bed. It was quite the ordeal for a simple bedtime routine.

Today, the landscape has drastically changed. Streaming services now make it easy to access a wide variety of films with just a few clicks, all from the comfort of your cozy bed. As a result, millions of people now regularly fall asleep while watching movies. But what kinds of films are ideal for lulling you to sleep? If your goal is to relax your mind, Netflix offers a plethora of stress-relief movies and shows. However, if you’re truly aiming for a restful night’s sleep, we’ve curated some suggestions that will gently guide you to dreamland.

Take, for instance, the timeless Disney classic “Mary Poppins.” While Julie Andrews experienced a moment of panic during filming—specifically the scenes where she appears to float over London with her magical umbrella—the movie remains a comforting journey. The storyline follows the enchanting nanny, played by Andrews, as she brings joy and order to the Banks family, especially to the children, Jane and Michael.

While there was a “Mary Poppins” filming moment that made Julie Andrews panic — the scenes where she is supposed to look as though she’s floating over London via magical umbrella — the Disney classic is a generally comforting affair. This is especially true considering that the plot sees the titular nanny (Andrews) tasked with bringing order and joy to the lives of the Banks family, particularly its two children, Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber). 

So as Poppins is singing songs and teaching them how to be the best versions of themselves, it’s easy to be similarly soothed by her antics. It helps that many of us have rewatched “Mary Poppins” to the point of near memorization, which are always the best movies to have on as we drift off to sleep.

• Cast: Julie Andrews, Dick van Dyke, David Tomlinson 

• Director: Robert Stevenson 

Does “Amélie” have a plot? Technically, it does — the title girl (Audrey Tautou) develops an extremely active imagination due to her sheltered upbringing, and carries that imagination into adulthood while bringing whimsy and wonder to those around her. But the plot to “Amélie” is almost beside the point, and is essentially a framing device for a series of set pieces full of sweet interactions and stunning cinematography of Paris. 

Film critic Roger Ebert said it best when he wrote, “‘Amélie’ is a delicious pastry of a movie.” It’s the kind of dessert you enjoy with your eyes while lying in bed, and you don’t even have to get up and brush your teeth afterward. Tautou’s frequent breaking of the fourth wall and addressing of the audience makes it feel like her character is talking you to sleep and narrating your dreams. 

• Cast: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus

• Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

For long stretches of “Lost in Translation,” its two leads — jaded aging movie star Bob (Bill Murray) and young newlywed Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) — are just wandering the streets of Tokyo as chill synth music plays. In other words, the exact kind of movie to vibe out to after a long day. 

For Bob, it’s an extension of the same listless ennui of his life back in Hollywood. For Charlotte, what begins as wonderment of Japanese culture soon turns to loneliness as the only person she knows grows too busy to spend time with her. For audiences, it’s a relaxing, contemplative viewing experience despite the underlying sadness at the movie’s core. It’s incredibly easy to let those stretches of “Lost in Translation” rock you to sleep.   

• Cast: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi

When ranking Studio Ghibli’s best movies, 1988’s “My Neighbor Totoro” is definitely in the upper half. That’s interesting as of all Ghibli movies, it’s the one with the least sadness, the fewest scares, and the lowest stakes. And it’s those qualities that make it the best Ghibli joint to put on when you want to go to sleep, particularly if you’re looking for a satisfying Sunday afternoon nap.

Upon moving to a new home, two sisters (voiced in the English dub by Dakota and Elle Fanning) are left to have their own adventures in the woods as their father works and cares for their ailing mother. In the process, they stumble upon magical creatures called Totoro that are essentially cat plushies come to life. And the girls spend their days playing with and napping on their cuddly new friends in this beautiful love letter to long, listless childhood summers.

• Voice cast (English dub): Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daly

• Director: Hayao Miyazaki 

In the opening moments of “The Big Lebowski,” a narrator (Sam Elliot) introduces us to our protagonist, Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski (Jeff Bridges). He describes The Dude as “quite possibly the laziest [man] in Los Angeles County — which would place him highest in the running for laziest worldwide.” That establishes the vibe for the movie, almost inviting you to drift in and out of sleep as you watch it.  

“The Big Lebowski” is another movie where the plot is incidental to what the film is actually about, even intentionally leaving several big questions unanswered. It’s essentially a series of set pieces only loosely tied together by The Dude being mistaken for another Jeff Lebowski (David Huddleston), which inadvertently gets the former Lebowski wrapped up in finding the kidnapped wife of the latter Lebowski. Like The Dude himself, we drift along like a tumbling tumbleweed from one scene to the next, only ever half aware of what is going on at any given time. 

• Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore

• Director: Joel and Ethan Coen

Holiday movies and rom coms are perfect for drinking hot cocoa by the fireplace before turning in for the night. And while “The Holiday” hits just about everything on the checklist of things you see in every holiday romantic comedy, it’s that safeness and familiarity that makes it a perfect addition to this discussion.

When two women — American Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and Brit Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) — swap homes to escape their respective lives for the holidays, they each meet a man who wouldn’t normally be their type. But of course, Amanda falls for Graham (Jude Law) while Iris grows close to Miles (Jack Black). It’s incredibly charming, which is all that anyone really going to bed could want out of a sweet holiday rom com.

• Cast: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law

Yes, “Juno” is a movie about teen pregnancy. Not the lightest of topics, to be sure. But between the ridiculously charming performances and that incredible 2000s indie acoustic soundtrack, “Juno” is far sweeter and more comforting than its premise suggests. Juno (Elliot Page) is handling the news of her unexpected pregnancy with a surprising level of self-deprecating maturity. Meanwhile, Michael Cera is at his most Michael Cera as the father, Paulie, who is mired in confusion over whether he should be a friend, a boyfriend, or a little of both.

While initially loved, “Juno” faced backlash for how it tried a little too hard to be twee and hipster. But such backlash ran its course, and “Juno” is now rightly considered a coming of age rom-com classic. And all of those cute vibes and relaxingly catchy music also makes it a great movie to fall asleep to. 

• Cast: Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner

Like most works from Richard Linklater, “Waking Life” isn’t so much a movie as it is a series of random conversations between a revolving door of characters, with some vague thread running through the whole thing. In this case, that thread is that the unnamed protagonist (Wiley Wiggins) is finding it increasingly difficult to differentiate between being awake and asleep. Along the way, he discusses his dilemma with different people — maybe in his waking hours, maybe in his dreams, he’s not entirely sure.

But he isn’t part of all of the conversations. Sometimes the movie cuts to separate chats among groups of varying sizes, as well as a few solo monologues, without the protagonist’s participation — most of which deal with existentialism in some form or another. The movie uses live action actors and applies rotoscoping animation on top, making for one of the most visually striking movies of the last 20 years. That being said, you can just as easily enjoy “Waking Life” in bed with your eyes closed. 

• Cast: Wiley Wiggins, Eamonn Healy, Timothy Levitch

• Director: Richard Linklater

While the death of legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner in December 2025 will forever cast a tragic shadow over it, a rewatch of his “The Princess Bride” is a great way to honor his legacy. It tells the story of a woman named Buttercup (Robin Wright), who finds herself the reluctant bride-to-be to a cruel prince (Chris Sarandon) after her true love Westley (Cary Elwes) dies. At least, she thinks he’s dead, until he shows up to rescue her.

The main conceit of the movie is that a kid (Fred Savage) who is home sick from school is being read a story called “The Princess Bride” by his grandpa (Peter Falk). Despite being initially skeptical for worries that it will contain too much kissing, he quickly becomes engrossed in the tale. A movie built around a kid being read a bedtime story is obviously a great falling asleep movie, as we can pretend we are being read to as well.

• Cast: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon

“The Big Chill” is another cozy movie built on a non-cozy premise — a group of friends reunite to attend the funeral of one of their own who took his life. While in town for the services, they all stay together, catching up, reminiscing, and listening to incredible ’60s music. And that’s the part where you can kick back, relax, and pretend you’re among them as they laugh, cry, and reconnect, often under blankets and in their pajamas.

It seems like every boomer filmmaker is required to make a movie about their generation entering middle age and looking back on their youth. But “The Big Chill” doesn’t only work for nostalgic boomers. It’s a wonderful snapshot of both the ’60s and the ’80s, the kind that works for both those that remember these eras and those that wish they had been alive to experience it.

• Cast: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum

• Director: Lawrence Kasdan

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All that Winnie the Pooh wants to do is lounge around, eat honey, and never put on pants. It’s a pretty ideal life, to be honest. To that end, just about any Winnie the Pooh movie is a great companion piece to a lazy afternoon nap. But while most Pooh adventures are pretty good, none top 1977’s “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.”

Technically a collection of three short films released between 1966 and 1974 packaged as a single feature length movie and tied together by new animation, “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” doesn’t bring anything new to the denizens of the Hundred Acre Wood. It’s just classic adventures of Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Owl, Eeyore, and friends facing struggles of the most minor of stakes and inevitably figuring it all out in the end. 

• Voice cast: Sterling Holloway, John Fielder, Junius Matthews

• Directors: Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again, holiday classics are a great fit to fall asleep to, but Christmas isn’t the only one. “Groundhog Day” takes the lighthearted annual tradition of using a groundhog to predict the weather, and turns it into a high concept comedy about a weather reporter named Phil Connors (Bill Murray) who finds himself repeating the titular day over and over again.

Phil doesn’t know why he’s stuck in a loop, and part of the movie’s charm is that we never do either. There’s no grand explanation as to why it’s happening, but we go with it. Phil tries all manner of things to break the cycle, not realizing that the answer was literally in front of him the whole time. The combination of most people’s familiarity with this comedy masterpiece, and it being about someone repeatedly sleeping and waking up again, makes it great to put on at bedtime.

• Cast: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott

Wes Anderson films have that kind of calm, relaxing, chill vibe that make for perfect lazy afternoon or late night viewing. Unfortunately, a lot of his movies also deal with heady themes that aren’t the most ideal to absorb while trying to sleep. Enter “Moonrise Kingdom,” the closest that Anderson has ever come to making a kid’s movie.

When a boy scout (Jared Gilman) runs away from Khaki Scout camp, the scoutmasters and the other campers set off to look for him. What they find is a boy simply trying to find his pen pal girlfriend (Kara Hayward) for completely innocent misadventures. It’s a charming little movie that shows Anderson’s adeptness at telling stories about young outcasts as well as adult ones, and it’s his coziest and most low-stakes movie to date. 

• Cast: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray

“My Dinner with Andre” is about two people having a conversation. That’s it. After its opening moments showing actor Wallace Shawn — playing a fictionalized version of himself — traveling to the titular meal, the remainder of the film is that meal. For nearly two hours, Shawn and theater actor/director/playwright André Gregory — also as himself — sit in a restaurant and talk.

They discuss acting and art, with Gregory doing the lion’s share of the talking. Yet somehow, this seemingly monotonous premise is absolutely riveting from beginning to end. Little is lost from “My Dinner with Andre” as an entirely auditory experience, so lying and listening to it without watching works almost just as well. Which, of course, makes it very easy to fall asleep to and “watch” over several nights. 

• Cast: André Gregory, Wallace Shawn

In Disney’s early days of animated feature length films, the company experimented with different uses for the medium outside of using animation to tell a traditional narrative. And one of those concepts became the 1940 masterpiece “Fantasia,” wherein classical music compositions scored animated vignettes of varying degrees of abstraction. In some ways, it was the progenitor to the music video. Without any sort of overarching narrative, the rich music and the visuals wash over and relax you to the point of drifting into a contended slumber.

Should you not fall asleep during one of the vignettes, the parts in between where a live-action master of ceremonies Deems Taylor stands there and explains the next song might do the trick. While this list isn’t about movies that put you to sleep because they are boring, those breif portions of “Fantasia” certainly are, and it would be disingenuous not to say so.

• Directors: Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, et al.