A caravan by the sea (a sleep story), if you are new to this — for an overtired night

A clock on the wall ticks with a slight rattle on every second. The window over the sink has a small crack in the corner that has been there for years. The curtains are thin, and the moon makes a pale rectangle on the floor.

The wind pushes against the side of the caravan in long, slow gusts. The sea is about fifty metres away, over a bank of shingle. Everything you need is within two metres of where you are lying.

Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it. Feel your belly rise and fall without any help from you.

Let your lower back sink down into the mattress. Your elbows can stop being hinges for now.

There is a gas ring, a kettle, and two cups, one of which is a different pattern. There is a torch by the door in case you need to walk to the toilets in the night.

Let the mattress take all of it. Notice how much of you has already stopped moving.

Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again. Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.

Your eyelids can be too heavy to open, and that is fine. Let your hands be completely still.

Nothing here needs following closely. Let the dark be ordinary.

Just the breath. Follow the breath out, and let the next one arrive by itself. Sleep.

Nothing here assumes you have done this before.

Let everything get quiet, including this.