Sleep story · rain, green
A garden in the rain (a sleep story), if you are tired of apps — for a racing mind
Steady rain on leaves, and a chair under an awning that stays dry.
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
Somewhere in the hedge, a bird is sitting it out. The earth smells the way it does after a long dry spell. The leaves in the border are dark and glossy and moving slightly.
There is a wooden bench that nobody has sat on for an hour. The watering can by the tap is full and nobody needs it. A snail is making its way along the bottom of the wall, going nowhere in particular.
Feel your heels sink a little into the mattress. Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it.
Let your lower back sink down into the mattress. Your ankles can go loose now.
Under the awning it is dry, and the sound is a steady, unhurried patter. There is nothing to do about any of it, which is the good part.
Let your thighs be as heavy as they want to be. Notice how much of you has already stopped moving.
If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment. Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop. Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be.
Let your breathing do the rest. Softer.
Stay. You do not have to count them. Leave it there.
No account, no streak, no notification asking how you feel.
There is nothing more to follow. Let the rest happen on its own.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for rain, green.
If this story does not settle you, try Sleep story: a boat at anchor, when you are not in the mood — for a racing mind, A caravan by the sea — a slow story for the end of the day, when you are somewhere noisy — for a restless night or A garden in the rain (a sleep story), if you are doing this instead of scrolling — for a night when you do not want to think.