Do you use any apps or recordings, etc. to help you fall asleep. Or meditate, if you’re into that?
My sleep is basically crap, so I have several things that help. I’ve been using a recording by Andrew Johnson (no, not the impeached president) for several years. It’s a guided meditation. I wanted to post a link, but I see that particular one is no longer available on Amazon, although there are others by him. He has a Scottish accent, so it’s like being talked to sleep by Sean Connery. If I wake up during the night and can’t go back to sleep, I play it again (and sometimes even again).
I’ve also recently discovered Headspace, which is an app/site that has lots of different meditations and sleep aids. One of the coolest things is their “sleepcast.” These are aimless narratives in a variety of settings that distract you from your busy mind. I listened to one last night set in an apartment building, where the narrator just describes people walking their dogs or hanging up their laundry (or “washing,” as the British narrator calls it). There’s one called “Cat’s Marina” where you just walk down among boats and learn about the different cats that live there. There are meditations and “courses” on a variety of topics, such as sadness, loneliness, happiness, creativity, preparing for job interviews or presentations, mindful eating, even some that you listen to while walking in specific cities-- or just walking around your house. The site/app is vast, and I listen to two or three of the pieces every day. A lot of Headspace is free, but to have access to all of it you have to pay (which I gladly do).
A friend told me about iRest, a site that has yoga-nidra-ish guided meditations for sleep. Also part free, part paid.
Another friend told me that she wears earbuds and listens to (not sure of the current terminology) hemi-sync or brain-sync recordings that take you from alpha down to delta brainwaves for deep sleep. I don’t have a link, because I’m not exactly sure what she uses. I used to use something like this 20-something years ago when it was on CD.
Anyone else use digital relaxation/sleep aids? Do they help you fall asleep and stay asleep?
I listen to the Sleep With Me podcast. Similar to your sleepcast it’s a variety of narratives, ranging from retellings of TV shows to reading out of the Trader Joe’s ad flyer, to musings about the podcast creator’s youth, to original meandering stories.
Podcast is free, but I kick in $5 a month to help it stay a going venture.
Hmmm… I’m thinking of a way some preachers I’ve known could make a little extra money for their congregations. “Fall asleep to Pastor/Rabbi Bob’s sermons! Subscribe for $5/month!” If they’re Catholics, they could throw in some indulgences, right?
More to try: Ebb takes a more direct approach and cools down your prefrontal cortex. Claims that science supports metabolically cooling the brain results in better sleep.
Muse gives you biofeedback and helpfully lets you know your mind is a raging thunderstorm, by playing… thunderstorm sounds. If you mind is calm it plays calm sounds. Beats me why I need a device to tell me that.
My own theory: The heart, that seat of emotions, sprays emotional fuel into the mind, feeding a raging fire of thoughts that keeps people anxious, angry, and awake. The heart does the mischief while the mind gets the bad rap. Antidote: forget the mind, meditate on the heart. Even extreme emotions quieten after a period of sustained focus on the heart. The mind will naturally calm down, though you never asked it to.
If I wake up during the night and can’t go back to sleep, I play it again (and sometimes even again).
