Sleep story · sea, simple
A caravan by the sea, if you are fitting this around other people — for winding down
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
There is a gas ring, a kettle, and two cups, one of which is a different pattern. You can hear the shingle moving as the waves pull back. The sea is about fifty metres away, over a bank of shingle.
The whole caravan smells of salt, gas and clean bedding. A clock on the wall ticks with a slight rattle on every second. The caravan rocks very slightly in the wind, which is more comforting than it sounds.
Feel your heels sink a little into the mattress. Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be.
Feel the back of your knees soften into the bed. Feel the top of your head relax into the pillow.
The window over the sink has a small crack in the corner that has been there for years. There is a torch by the door in case you need to walk to the toilets in the night.
Let your tongue sit heavy in your mouth. Let the back of your neck lengthen out.
Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind? Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
Let your thighs be as heavy as they want to be. Let your thumbs rest where they landed.
Nothing here needs following closely. Let the quiet be boring.
Let each breath be a little smaller than the last. Slower now. You can stop listening properly.
It is designed to fit around other people’s schedules.
There is nothing more to follow. Let the rest happen on its own.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for sea, simple.
If this story does not settle you, try A field under snow (a sleep story), if you are fitting this around other people — for a restless night, A lake before dawn (a sleep story), when you want something simple — for a night when you do not want to think or The house after everyone is asleep (a sleep story), when you have been putting it off — for a racing mind.