Sleep story · warm, home
A kitchen late at night, when you are not sure this will work — for a restless 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
There is no reason to be awake, and no reason to move either. 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.
The kitchen is warm, and the small light over the hob is the only one on. Your chair is pulled out slightly, the way you left it. There is a bowl of fruit nobody has touched since Tuesday.
Notice your hips, wide and settled. Notice how much of you has already stopped moving.
Feel the back of your knees soften into the bed. Let your ribs stop working so hard.
The clock on the oven shows a time that feels later than it is. The fridge motor stops, and the room gets even quieter.
Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away. Let your toes stop holding on to anything.
Your fingers can stop doing anything at all. Let everything you were holding today stay on the floor beside the bed.
Through the window you can see the back garden, which is doing nothing at all. The tiles under your feet are cold in one corner and warm in another.
If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there. If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
Let your forehead go cool and smooth. Notice the places where your body touches the bed, and let them be heavy.
Let each breath be a little smaller than the last. Leave it there.
You can stop listening properly. Softer. They will find their own way out.
Not being sure it will work is a perfectly good reason to try it once.
I will stop here. The quiet will carry on without the words.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for warm, home.
If this story does not settle you, try A field under snow (a sleep story), when you feel restless rather than tired — for jet lag, A lighthouse at the end of a long day, after a difficult conversation — for winding down or A caravan by the sea (a sleep story), when you feel fine and want to stay that way — for winding down.