Sleep story · rain, green
A garden in the rain (a sleep story), if you are tired of apps — for an overtired night
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
The leaves in the border are dark and glossy and moving slightly. The rain has settled into the kind that will last all afternoon without getting heavier. There is nothing to do about any of it, which is the good part.
The path has gone darker where it is wet, and there are two small puddles near the step. The earth smells the way it does after a long dry spell. A snail is making its way along the bottom of the wall, going nowhere in particular.
Notice your hips, wide and settled. Let the space between your eyebrows smooth out.
Your eyelids can be too heavy to open, and that is fine. Let your hands be completely still.
The watering can by the tap is full and nobody needs it. Water runs off the gutter in a thin, continuous line.
Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away. Let the pillow take the whole weight of your head.
Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes. If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
Feel the weight of your head on the pillow. Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be.
Let the quiet be boring. Nothing here needs following closely.
Let each breath be a little smaller than the last. Just the weight. Almost nothing to do now.
No account, no streak, no notification asking how you feel.
Let this be the last thing you listen to.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for rain, green.
If this story does not settle you, try A garden in the rain — a slow story for the end of the day, if you are new to this — for a night when you do not want to think, A hotel room somewhere, when you are too tired to try hard — for winding down or A bus at night, when you want something simple — for an overtired night.