Twenty minutes, five segments. One rule: never wake them at the end — a sleep session should trail off, not conclude.
Permission to stop listening
2 min[quiet from the first word — and stay there; don't drift back up in volume]
Hello. This one is for sleep, so there's nothing you need to follow, and nothing you'll miss. If you fall asleep in the first two minutes, the session worked.
Get comfortable. Adjust the pillow if it needs adjusting. Get the temperature right. Do all the small fidgeting now, so you don't have to do it later. [pause for 20 seconds]
Let your eyes close. Not tightly. Just let the lids fall.
The day is finished. Whatever's unresolved in it will still be there tomorrow, and it will be easier then. [pause for 20 seconds]
Letting the breath lengthen
4 min[suggest the longer out-breath, don't count it — counting keeps people alert]
Notice you're breathing. You have been all day without once being asked to. [pause for 25 seconds]
See if the out-breath wants to get a little longer than the in-breath. Don't force it. Just let it lean that way if it will. [long pause — 60 seconds]
And with each out-breath, a little more of your weight goes down into the mattress. You don't have to hold yourself up here. That's what the bed is for. [long pause — 60 to 90 seconds]
Softening, head to feet
6 min[downward, not upward — moving toward the feet pulls attention away from the thinking]
Let the forehead go smooth. [pause for 25 seconds — everything in this segment gets the same slow spacing]
The eyes, heavy. The cheeks, heavy. The jaw, loose. [pause for 30 seconds]
The neck. The shoulders, letting go of the day. [pause for 35 seconds]
The arms, heavy. The hands, open and still. [pause for 40 seconds]
The chest, rising and falling on its own. The belly, soft. [pause for 45 seconds]
The hips. The legs, heavy all the way down. [pause for 45 seconds]
And the feet. Warm, still, done for the day. [long pause — 60 seconds]
Somewhere quiet
5 min[keep the image vague on purpose — over-describing gives the mind work to do]
If it's easy, picture somewhere quiet. It doesn't need to be anywhere real. A room with the light low. A path you half remember. Somewhere nothing is asked of you. [long pause — 60 seconds]
And if no picture comes, that's fine. Stay with the weight of the body instead. The image was only ever a place to put your attention. [long pause — 90 seconds]
If a thought arrives about tomorrow, you don't have to push it away. Let it come and let it pass, the way a car goes by outside. [long pause — 90 seconds]
Thinning out
3 min[no closing line, no thank-you, no name — lines get shorter and further apart until you simply stop]
Nothing left to do now. [pause for 45 seconds]
Heavy. Warm. Still. [pause for 60 seconds]
Sleep well. [stop speaking; let the recording run on for another 30 seconds, then fade to silence]