I’ve had acne for decades and am a professional picker/popper. I stumbled onto the “Dr. Pimple Popper” YouTube channel last week; she’s a dermatologist who records and posts zit procedures.
This week I’ve been watching her vids when I’m in bed and they lull me to sleep in about 20 minutes. Given that it usually takes me up to two hours to fall asleep, this has been great – it’s very cathartic seeing juicy blackheads and grody zits spew their contents.
Maybe I’ve discovered a new kind of meditation or even religion!
I think it’s more the structure of the videos rather than the content themselves. That is, it’s probably because you’re watching something where the content is repetitive without a linear structure. I do something similar, but with yoga videos. It gives my brain something to focus on without having to think too much about it. And if I doze or space out for an interval, my brain doesn’t realize there was a gap.
I do wonder if it’s your brain thinking “If I go to sleep, I can stop watching this!”
Since I started CPAP, I often fall asleep before I can get my mask on. I know it’s my brain avoiding it, because it used to take me ages… now, I’ll conk out even sitting on the edge of the bed before I put That Contraption on.
I watch unsuspecting rodents get shot straight through the brain as a sleep-inducing aid.
It’s a youtube channel devoted to pest control, and it’s filmed in England. Invasive grey squirrels are lured in to a feeder, and then shot. The narrator/hunter has a calm, pleasant delivery. It’s a little like listening to those restrained, understated English sports announcers who cover Wimbledon or golf tournaments. It sends me right to sleep.
