“Hello. I’m Harry Styles. And tonight, I’m going to help you drift off to sleep.”
Undoubtedly, there are many thousands of humans who have longed to hear the One Direction singer whisper this sweet nothing to them at bedtime. But earlier this month, Calm, the meditation and sleep app, made it a real-life possibility.
As part of the app’s Sleep Stories series, Styles has recorded a 35-minute reading in his reassuring, Northern English lilt, titled “Dream With Me.” Backed by soothing piano, flute and strings, Styles gently tells a winding story that encompasses elements of guided meditation and visualization. And it is remarkably hypnotic.
“Now we snuggle on a raft and drift for endless hours,” he lulls at one point, “as willow trees sway in the breeze and blossoms fall in showers. Gently swaying to and fro, we look up at the sky, and watch the clouds above us forming shapes as they pass by.”
Styles describes everything from chirping crickets and twinkling stars, to glistening snowflakes and toes in sand. It’s a half hour of non-stop soothing that is so effective that getting through the whole thing without falling asleep poses a genuine challenge.
