Sleep story · sea, simple
A caravan by the sea (a sleep story), when you have just finished work — for the hours after a late shift
Thin walls, wind outside, and the sound of shingle about fifty metres away.
Lights off. Press begin and let the story read itself to you, at the pace of sleep.
Screen on or off — we suggest dimming it, or simply closing your eyes after the first paragraph.
The story, in full
The whole caravan smells of salt, gas and clean bedding. There is a gas ring, a kettle, and two cups, one of which is a different pattern. A clock on the wall ticks with a slight rattle on every second.
The bed folds out of the seating area and takes up most of the floor. There is a torch by the door in case you need to walk to the toilets in the night. The caravan rocks very slightly in the wind, which is more comforting than it sounds.
Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away. Let the mattress take all of it.
Let your toes stop holding on to anything. Feel your belly rise and fall without any help from you.
Everything you need is within two metres of where you are lying. You can hear the shingle moving as the waves pull back.
Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be. Let your forehead go cool and smooth.
Notice your hips, wide and settled. Let everything you were holding today stay on the floor beside the bed.
The sea is about fifty metres away, over a bank of shingle. The wind pushes against the side of the caravan in long, slow gusts.
Notice any part of you that wants this to be over. If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
Feel one shoulder go heavy, then the other. Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop.
Let each breath be a little smaller than the last. Just the weight.
Let your attention settle somewhere low, like your feet. Let the next part go past without you. Just the dark.
The gap right after work is the easiest one to use.
Let everything get quiet, including this.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for sea, simple.
If this story does not settle you, try A fire dying down, when your attention is scattered — for the hours after a late shift, A fire dying down, before you go back to something hard — for a night when you do not want to think or A bus at night, if you are sceptical about all of this — for waking too early.