What do I listen to to go to sleep?

[Shitshower]

I am not a relaxed person and I find it hard to switch off and sleep (like now, I’ve been in bed since 11pm, awake) I hear everything and I easily get into a cycle of not sleeping.

Anyway, I thought I’d try listening to stuff to get me off, but it doesn’t seem to work.
White noise is just irritating, brown noise works occasionally, ditto water sounds/fire/nature sounds.

But nothing seems to work very often. It might work twice then inexplicably instead of a noise being soothing it becomes noisy and it’s all I can hear if you get me?

So, what do people use? Are there podcasts that are meant to lull you off?

Because I don’t relax I listen too much, so if I used an audiobook I would start listening to the story and getting involved, I think I need something vaguely boring and droney that is designed to basically bore you to sleep.

The whole sleep thing is a big frustration to me, because I am tired and I want to sleep but nothing really helps.

Any suggestions for things I can listen to would be greatly appreciated

Nothing Much Happens

The Sleepy Bookshelf

Boring Books for Bedtime

Get Sleepy

I just put lbc talk radio on alexa for 30 mins always fall asleep before the 30 mins. Or an audible book. I have listened to the ist 2 chapters of we do murders at least 20 times.

Following! Thanks for the suggestions

Me abd dh find that too with Brian Cox. Also Chris Packham and Prof David Olasuga have the same calming, restful voices, particularly the latter. Really soporific.

I need to find something interesting enough that my brain doesnt go ‘oh this is boring let me rehash the day or neurose about xyz’ but not so interesting that i actually start thinking about the speaker. I have found the countryside hour pod casts are excellent, also cooking tv shows that are very repetitive in nature like Beat Bobby Flay or Bake Off. i play them on my tablet, but turn it face down so the screen light doesnt bother me

Another vote for the "Nothing much happens " podcast. It's wonderful! Her voice is amazing

I like listening to audiobooks I’ve already listened to a million times before. Something about the comfort of knowing what’s going to happen next. Nothing too exciting, just a lovely book where I’m not hooked bc I know the plot inside out, so it doesn’t matter that I’ll fall asleep. My regular sleep books:

Pride and Prejudice
Treasure Island
Lud in the Mist
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
A Discworld book (my faves are Guards,Guards! And Wyrd Sisters)

So as an update.

I started with the Norland train, I love his voice, but it wasn’t working at all because I was listening and getting distracted, so I swapped into Nothing much happens.

That actually did work, I fell asleep on the 2nd reading, then woke up at 2 and put it on again and went back off, so I’m going to try those again. I only wish it was maybe a little bit longer.

Im going to try it again tonight and see, as there seems to be lots of them, and it’s quite true, nothing happens and I couldn’t get invested in the story 🤣

@Shitshower so true! It's a strange concept but literally nothing happens and this must be how it works! I think they've done some longer ones too that last 90 mins, so look for those.

Brown noise on my Alexa. I can't sleep without it.

Try the Headspace ones. I listened to one about a laundrette last night. Well I think I did, I was asleep by the end of the breathing exercise at the start. I have a friend token for 30 days of headspace for free if you want it.

I use Nothing Much Happens too, most of the time I'm asleep in minutes. It won't necessarily work on the first or even second or third try though - it's a form of brain/sleep training so consistency is key, if you decide to give it a go then my advice would be to listen to it for at least a week before deciding whether or not it's for you.

@Shitshower i just add loads of them in a queue so they keep playing. Works every time for me.

I can't listen to audiobooks because I can't concentrate on the story. I can listen to factual podcasts though. However, I couldn't sleep last night and because I love his voice, decided to put a David Attenborough audiobook on. Heard the beginning and woke up 6 hours later (that's a good sleep for me) to him reading the acknowledgments. Result.

The Bore You to Sleep podc st is very good

*podcast

Soothing pod on Spotify
Soothing sleep stories for adults

They start with some sort of relaxation exercise such as muscle tension/relaxation or more often visualisation.

I've never heard the stories so they must work

Spoiler - don't listen to the stories as stories. They are a travesty of the actual story.

I was also going to suggest this, but I thought people might think I was a total weirdo for finding disaster stories so soothing! It's honestly the calmest, cosiest podcast - although it gives me crazy dreams 🤣🤣 (same for Uncanny!)

Eta this was meant to be a reply to the person who suggested real life survival stories on BBC Sounds

I always love it when I find my 'tribe' on MN.

Yoga nidra (eg Tanis Fishman or Rosalie) or sleep hypnosis on YouTube (eg Michael Sealey or Jason Stephenson)

Get Brave browser as it gets rid of the ads on YouTube, and put settings so it only plays one track and then stops.

I play documentaries on YouTube. The more boring the better. History ones, or ones about outer space work especially well. Last night I listened to one about China's forbidden city. I think I got about 10 minutes in before nodding off.

There's a channel called Hollywood Graveyard, which is just a guy narrating his way around the graves of "famous" people. It's pretty America-centric, so 95% of the people I've never heard of. But he says everything in the same very calm mellow voice than sends me right off.

BBC sounds have shipping forecast set to soothing music. It's delightful.

Could you post a link to that please?

@HilariousNames

The Sleeping Forecast

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0hwp5k3?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

I listen to podcasts. More often than not, The Garden Clinic in Sydney, Australia! It’s a phone in radio show and the announcer has a very soothing voice.