Welcome to the Midnight Launderette

Every night, before falling into a dreamless sleep, I listen to the Midnight Launderette sleepcast under the Sleep tab of Headspace. The narrator, a guy, opens with a brief description of what’s about to happen. We’re going to relax, we’re going to work on some short breathing exercises, and ultimately, we’re gonna go to sleep. He describes the people who are in the midnight launderette: Astrid, a weirdo in a long skirt who reads your star sign, a man who is likely a mechanic who is washing his uniform and his daughter’s clothes, a chill cat named Albert who lives on the dryers and an aspiring actor who comes to the launderette to get away from his huge ass family at home.

 I have listened to it all the way through a few times but only because my sleep habits aren’t sound. Most nights I pass out after the first few minutes. Occasionally, I will wake up and he’ll still be chatting away about what’s been happening at the launderette. I love the entire mood of the place and hearing the sound of the machines in the background. Each night differs slightly from the prior one. I love the people described and as a laundromat user, it’s as though I’ve been there before. Compared to the other sleep casts, it feels more authentic. I like hearing the campfire one or the one in the Indigo gallery where the man is describing different shades of blue.

I feel a strong resistance when I’m unable to get to sleep as quickly as I expect others are. Frustration and heat surface in my body when I should be chilling out. I understand this doesn’t help my cause but I feel it anyway and hope it dissipates. If I could, I’d spend all night at the launderette. As it stands, I have some sleeping to do so when I put on the Midnight Launderette and bide my time until I fade off to sleep listening to the background noise of the launderette’s machines.