Sleep story · warm, home
A kitchen late at night — a slow story for the end of the day, when you are doing this for the first time — for an overtired night
One small light on, a cooling cup of tea, and the rest of the house dark.
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 fridge motor stops, and the room gets even quieter. There is no reason to be awake, and no reason to move either. Your chair is pulled out slightly, the way you left it.
There is a bowl of fruit nobody has touched since Tuesday. There is a cup of tea beside you that has gone past drinking temperature. The tea towel is folded over the rail, still slightly damp.
Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be. Let your ribs stop working so hard.
Feel the weight of your head on the pillow. Let your thumbs rest where they landed.
Someone upstairs turns over, and the ceiling creaks once. The tiles under your feet are cold in one corner and warm in another.
Let your forehead go cool and smooth. Let your palms open if they were closed.
Let your hands be completely still. Notice how much of you has already stopped moving.
The kitchen is warm, and the small light over the hob is the only one on. Through the window you can see the back garden, which is doing nothing at all.
If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back. If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
Your elbows can stop being hinges for now. Let your tongue sit heavy in your mouth.
Let the room get slightly further away. Stay with the weight of your body.
Leave it there. Let the thoughts come and go without you getting up to answer. Let your attention settle somewhere low, like your feet.
If this is your first go, stay with the plainest version of the instructions.
The room is dark, the day is finished, and nothing is required of you.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for warm, home.
If this story does not settle you, try A fire dying down — a slow story for the end of the day, when you feel fine and want to stay that way — for waking too early, A hotel room somewhere (a sleep story), when you cannot concentrate on anything else — for jet lag or A boat at anchor (a sleep story), when you want something simple — for a racing mind.