Sleep story · cozy, rain
Sleep story: an attic room, when you feel fine and want to stay that way — for jet lag
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
The lamp is on the floor beside the bed because there is no room for a table. The floorboards are bare and slightly uneven, and one of them always creaks. The bed is pushed into the low corner, which makes it feel like a den.
The rain changes intensity every few minutes and never quite stops. The roof is holding, and the rain is outside, and that is the whole arrangement. There is a dormer window with a deep sill, and a mug left on it from last night.
Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop. Feel your wrists loosen.
Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs. Feel the weight of your head on the pillow.
A carrier bag of shopping is still on the chair, unpacked. The air up here is warmer than downstairs and smells of old wood.
Notice how much of you has already stopped moving. Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it.
Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts. If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
Feel the top of your head relax into the pillow. Feel your cheeks let go.
Let the sound of this go soft at the edges. Let the breath be the only thing you are doing.
Let it all get further away. Slower now. Sleep.
Feeling fine is a good reason to do this, not a reason to skip it.
Let everything get quiet, including this.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for cozy, rain.
If this story does not settle you, try A lake before dawn (a sleep story), when you want something simple — for winding down, 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 or The house after everyone is asleep — a slow story for the end of the day, if you are new to this — for jet lag.