Sleep story · cozy, rain
An attic room (a sleep story), when you are at home and cannot settle — for a restless night
Sloping ceiling, rain on the roof a foot above your head.
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
A carrier bag of shopping is still on the chair, unpacked. The rain on the roof tiles is much closer and louder up here than anywhere else in the house. There is a dormer window with a deep sill, and a mug left on it from last night.
The radiator is small and makes a ticking sound as it cools. The air up here is warmer than downstairs and smells of old wood. The rain changes intensity every few minutes and never quite stops.
Let the pillow take the whole weight of your head. Feel your heels sink a little into the mattress.
Your eyelids can be too heavy to open, and that is fine. Your jaw can drop slightly. Let your teeth part.
The lamp is on the floor beside the bed because there is no room for a table. The bed is pushed into the low corner, which makes it feel like a den.
Let your thighs be as heavy as they want to be. Notice the places where your body touches the bed, and let them be heavy.
Feel the back of your knees soften into the bed. Let your forearms get heavy and warm.
The room is in the roof, and the ceiling slopes so steeply that you have to duck near the window. The roof is holding, and the rain is outside, and that is the whole arrangement.
If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself. Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
Let your calves spread out and flatten. Let your palms open if they were closed.
Leave it there. Let each breath be a little smaller than the last.
Let the dark be ordinary. Slower now. Follow the breath out, and let the next one arrive by itself.
Being at home and unable to settle is a very specific problem.
No more sentences. Just the weight of you in the bed.
14 paragraphs, roughly 3 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for cozy, rain.
If this story does not settle you, try A caravan by the sea, when you feel restless rather than tired — for a night when you do not want to think, A hotel room somewhere (a sleep story), when you cannot concentrate on anything else — for jet lag or Sleep story: a caravan by the sea, when you are cold and want to be warm — for a racing mind.