Hello, friends. Have you checked out our new channel on Apple Podcasts? Over the past few years,

Clark and I have worked hard to bring you stories and science content that entertains and

educates while helping your little ones relax and drift off to sleep.

On our new channel, you'll find ad-free episodes, bonus stories, and for the first time,

classic tales, presented just as they were meant to be heard, one chapter at a time.

It's a wonderful way to experience these timeless stories together, helping to make bedtime

a cozy, shared adventure. Look for Sleeptight Media on Apple Podcasts, and let's make bedtime the best part of the day.

Hi, and welcome to Sleep Tight Relax.

Music Tight, relax. Hi there. This is Clark, and welcome to this episode of Sleep, Tight, Relax, the podcast where we help you prepare to drift calmly off to sleep by listening to the calming sounds of nature, soothing music, and Rich Sleep Stories. Our format is simple.

You pick an episode, get comfortable, then I lead you through a short relaxation exercise,

followed by other music, sounds of nature, or a long sleep story.

Before we continue with tonight's episode, let's first make sure you have a suitable environment for comfort.

When I get ready for sleep, I like to try to ensure that my bedroom is as dark, quiet, and cool as possible.

So take a moment to get yourself situated in your bed and lie on your back.

Position your pillows or your other little comforts to make sure that everything feels as it should. Now, let's try to take a few deep breaths.

And remember, as you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Breathe in blue skies and breathe out gray skies.

Take your time.

Breathing in, breathing in and out.

One fun thing to do when you're taking deep breaths is to have a stuffed toy on your belly when you breathe.

When you breathe in, the stuffed toy or animal goes up.

Then when you breathe out, the toy animal goes back down.

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