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I would like to call for a reclaiming of the lost art of bedtime. I mean for grown-ups; kids have it down with all their routines, their nighttime baths, their combed hair and pjs and Easter Islands of stuffed animals arranged just so, and then of course, the bedtime story. Grown-ups not so much -- we stay up doing Important Things (AKA puttering and tidying and internet-ing and who knows what else), we fall asleep on the couch, we wake up in a drooly confusion and stagger to the bedroom.
But we're always hearing about the importance of getting a good night's sleep, and everyone knows a good night's sleep starts with proper preparation. An ambitious sleeper must achieve just the right proportions of coziness and snuggliness (yes, there is a subtle but important difference), just the right balance of sleepiness and relaxation (ditto), so that the threshold of sleep is crossed with a delicious sense of release, not the frenzied capitulation of the way-over-tired. And so, consider this a challenge. Can you achieve bedtime greatness? You'll need proper pajamas (not just yoga pants and the shirt you wore all day, like me), and clean bedclothes and of course you're going to need a bedtime story.

Assuming you don't live with your mother, you're probably going to need to consult outside resources for this last element. As a semi-pro sleeper, I have a great horror of television-stained sleeping -- there is nothing restful about that flickering glare. The radio is unpredictable.

And thus, Miette's Bedtime Podcast. Hours and hours of grown-up bedtime stories by greats like F. Scott Fitzgerald,  Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton, and many more, read in Miette's hypnotic Scottish accent. Or maybe "read" is too blunt a word to use. Miette purrs the stories in just the right, soft, soothing way you need at the end of a hectic day. Her blog posts are prefaced with charming non-sequiters; her story selections are impeccable.  She is, essentially, a gift from the bedtime gods.

The podcast is free on iTunes. Pajamas you're going to have to find yourself.

Read More:
National Pajama Month is Coming
Bedtime Essentials for a Good Night's Sleep