Sleep story · rain, green
A garden in the rain — a slow story for the end of the day, when you feel restless rather than tired — for a restless 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. Somewhere in the hedge, a bird is sitting it out. A snail is making its way along the bottom of the wall, going nowhere in particular.
The rain has settled into the kind that will last all afternoon without getting heavier. The rain on the roof of the awning is a lower sound than the rain on the leaves. There is nothing to do about any of it, which is the good part.
Feel the weight of your head on the pillow. Your eyelids can be too heavy to open, and that is fine.
Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs. Your jaw can drop slightly. Let your teeth part.
The earth smells the way it does after a long dry spell. The path has gone darker where it is wet, and there are two small puddles near the step.
Your ankles can go loose now. Notice your hips, wide and settled.
Let your forearms get heavy and warm. Let your upper arms fall wherever gravity puts them.
The watering can by the tap is full and nobody needs it. There is a wooden bench that nobody has sat on for an hour.
If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice. Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
Let the pillow take the whole weight of your head. Feel the back of your knees soften into the bed.
Follow the breath out, and let the next one arrive by itself. Let them.
Let the sound of this go soft at the edges. Nothing here needs following closely. Almost nothing to do now.
Restless is different from tired, and it needs a different approach.
That is the end of the story. Sleep is the next part, and it does not need instructions.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for rain, green.
If this story does not settle you, try A bus at night, if you are sceptical about all of this — for jet lag, Sleep story: a boat at anchor, after a difficult conversation — for a restless night or Sleep story: a kitchen late at night, if you have five quiet minutes — for the hours after a late shift.