Sleep story · sea, simple
Sleep story: a caravan by the sea, when you have been on screens all day — for a racing mind
Thin walls, wind outside, and the sound of shingle about fifty metres away.
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 whole caravan smells of salt, gas and clean bedding. The curtains are thin, and the moon makes a pale rectangle on the floor. There is a torch by the door in case you need to walk to the toilets in the night.
The sea is about fifty metres away, over a bank of shingle. The wind pushes against the side of the caravan in long, slow gusts. A clock on the wall ticks with a slight rattle on every second.
Feel your cheeks let go. Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be.
Notice your hips, wide and settled. Feel the back of your knees soften into the bed.
The window over the sink has a small crack in the corner that has been there for years. You can hear the shingle moving as the waves pull back.
Notice the places where your body touches the bed, and let them be heavy. Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away.
Let everything you were holding today stay on the floor beside the bed. Feel the top of your head relax into the pillow.
The bed folds out of the seating area and takes up most of the floor. There is a gas ring, a kettle, and two cups, one of which is a different pattern.
Let the back of your neck lengthen out. Your eyelids can be too heavy to open, and that is fine.
Everything you need is within two metres of where you are lying. The caravan rocks very slightly in the wind, which is more comforting than it sounds.
Feel the weight of your head on the pillow. Let the mattress take all of it.
A clock on the wall ticks with a slight rattle on every second. The bed folds out of the seating area and takes up most of the floor.
Feel one shoulder go heavy, then the other. Let your ribs stop working so hard.
The sea is about fifty metres away, over a bank of shingle. There is a torch by the door in case you need to walk to the toilets in the night.
You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back. Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
Let the space between your eyebrows smooth out. Let your forehead go cool and smooth.
Just the breath. Just the dark.
They will find their own way out. Let the quiet be boring. Stay with the weight of your body.
Let the room get slightly further away. Let the thoughts come and go without you getting up to answer. Let your breathing do the rest.
After a day of screens, the eyes and the shoulders need this first.
The end. Sleep well.
21 paragraphs, roughly 4 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for sea, simple.
If this story does not settle you, try An attic room, when you have been putting it off — for winding down, A library at closing time — a slow story for the end of the day, after a long day — for winding down or Sleep story: the house after everyone is asleep, when the day has been loud — for waking too early.