Sleep story · warm, home
A kitchen late at night, when you are not sure this will work — for waking too early
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 tiles under your feet are cold in one corner and warm in another. The tea towel is folded over the rail, still slightly damp. There is a cup of tea beside you that has gone past drinking temperature.
A plate dries on the rack with a slow drip every so often. Through the window you can see the back garden, which is doing nothing at all. Someone upstairs turns over, and the ceiling creaks once.
Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs. Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop.
Feel one shoulder go heavy, then the other. Let your lower back sink down into the mattress.
The fridge motor stops, and the room gets even quieter. The kitchen is warm, and the small light over the hob is the only one on.
Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away. Let everything you were holding today stay on the floor beside the bed.
Your ankles can go loose now. Now feel your whole body at once, lying here, being held up.
There is a bowl of fruit nobody has touched since Tuesday. The clock on the oven shows a time that feels later than it is.
If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks. Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
Let your palms open if they were closed. Let your upper arms fall wherever gravity puts them.
Just the dark. Stay with the weight of your body.
Sleep. Almost nothing to do now. The words can start to blur now.
Not being sure it will work is a perfectly good reason to try it once.
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 warm, home.
If this story does not settle you, try Sleep story: a garden in the rain, when you cannot concentrate on anything else — for a restless night, A fire dying down — a slow story for the end of the day, when you have just finished work — for an overtired night or The house after everyone is asleep (a sleep story), when you are on your own — for an overtired night.