Welcome to the wide world of sleep aids, apps, and accessories.
Our ancestors certainly didn’t have trouble getting to sleep like we do these days. That’s because they were usually dog-tired from working the farm, tending the wood- or coal-fired stoves, grooming the horses, or walking into town for supplies.
These days, we’re tired too, but we have so many stressors that our ancestors didn’t have to deal with that it seems like everyone has trouble sleeping. I haven’t met anyone, young or old, who says, “I sleep like a baby.”
I’ve personally benefited from all of these things, but it’s the sleep videos and bedtime stories that often have me looking forward to going to bed, and soon I am
in the arms of Morpheus.
New-Fangled Sleep Aids
Whether they’re listening or watching on various devices, insomniacs now have their pick of thousands of sleep meditations to choose from. These include music-only or spoken word broadcasts, sleep frequencies or binaural beats, and the whole shebang encompassing relaxing video images with sleep talkdowns and storytelling.
My first introduction to sleep videos came when I ran across a YouTube channel called
The Honest Guys and their video titled “
Guided Meditation – Blissful Deep Relaxation.” I don’t know if it was the narrator’s
English accent, the sound of lapping waves, the breathing exercises, or the countdown that grabbed me the most, but the first time I listened to it, I fell asleep after just 10 minutes. I was shocked.
When it happened a few more times, I was sure I had found the panacea for all my sleep needs.
But sooner or later, everyone encounters that time when nothing works; when the troubles of the day march through your mind like a high school pep band—complete with bass drums and cymbals—and nothing short of a two-by-four to the head will put you out. Those are the nights we dread.
Eventually, I found other channels, such as
Get Sleepy hosted by Tom Jones (not the Welsh singer). His video begins with his signature intro: “Welcome to Get Sleepy, the podcast where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy.” The first few times I heard it, I laughed, thinking it sounded like an old Monty Python skit. But I soon fell in love with the varied content and the more in-depth storytelling. And perhaps the English accent again.
The point of listening to storytelling is that your mind begins to follow something besides your own narrative—which is usually the day’s problems fighting for attention inside your head. As the narrative begins to be replaced with more relaxing content, your whole system begins to slow down. Your mind is saying: “Oh we’re thinking about the exploits of Larry the Leprechaun now instead of the bank teller we had the go-around with. This won’t be so draining; I can calm down a bit.”
Some people are drawn to ASMR videos, which inevitably carry the caption “better enjoyed with headphones.” Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) was a term coined by
Jennifer Allen to describe a tingling sensation that runs down your spine and makes you kind of shudder when someone whispers in your ear. For some folks, this enjoyable sensation can be triggered by many different sounds and images—all of which can be found online.
While research shows that 82 percent of people who listen to ASMR videos are using them as a sleep aid, experts agree that
ASMR sounds can promote relaxation but admit that they can’t conclusively say they help you sleep.
Binaural beats are something you definitely need headphones for.
Sleep.com describes them as “two tones with two frequencies, divided between your two ears.” These tones combine to create one low-frequency sound that some people say helps them not only with sleep but anxiety, stress, and even pain relief. Healthline gives a firsthand account of Jessica Trimberger, who has benefited from binaural beats as she battles an extremely painful facial nerve disorder called
trigeminal neuralgia. It’s one of the
most encouraging articles on binaural beats to date.
Classic Sounds
More well-known sleep aids include white noise and nature sounds. I remember my mother buying a cassette tape of thunderstorms back in the 1980s. Since we were a family that loved storms, we all sat together blissfully listening to the thunder crashing and the barnyard sounds in the background. Sometimes we worried if all the animals were safe. It was revolutionary in its time.
My first introduction to white noise came when I was watching John Cusack’s character in “
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” (1997). Cusack plays a reporter from New York City who’s traveled to Georgia. He pulls out a cassette player and pops in a tape of big-city traffic sounds to put him to sleep.
Perhaps the most popular “relaxation and sleep” guru is a Norwegian composer named
Peder B. Hellend. His YouTube channel,
Soothing Relaxation, has more than 11 million subscribers. Combining stunning nature images with his own musical compositions, his is the go-to channel for millions of desperate, bleary-eyed people.
I know what you’re going through. The 21st century finds us all sweaty, nervous, hyperventilating, and grinding our teeth at night. We have
sleep terrors,
sleep apnea,
restless leg syndrome, and so much more. Sadly, many folks are also contending with chronic pain and illness. But the good news is that once you know where to look, there are some potentially life-changing options out there to help you finally get some rest.
