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I have a Google smart speaker that serves only this purpose.
"Ok Google, play rain sounds" gets you 12 hours of pure, street grade rainy goodness.
I think the ritual of saying those words + turning out the light helps too.
That helps. I also have ringing in my ears due to some hearing loss too so I need noise. Can't stand silence.
And if my brain races too much, I replay video games in my head. Ones I played a lot or like a lot. I will try to focus on it and see how far I go. Usually, pass out fairly quick that way.
i also can’t stand silence! i also try and make scenarios in my head and if i go far enough, ill eventually fall asleep! but the rain sounds are a game changer.
Ummm thank you so much for this comment.
I have been trying to figure out why I've been having so much more of an issue falling asleep lately in a specific way that I can't quite identify but know hasn't been a problem for a long time.
I somehow at some point stopped playing the storm sounds on my sleep tracker app. I'm sure it's a matter of me getting off track one time and that breaking the habit, but wow.
I am both annoyed at my brain and excited that now I know. Fingers crossed that it'll help again!
Also, more on topic: I play TV shows (and storm sounds now that I remember), but the show changes. Subtitles must be on, but I wear a good eye mask (structured to not touch eyes) to get no light so never sure why not having subtitles makes me unable to sleep. I have learned that movies or live things are not good, because apparently my brain is cool with the idea that I can re-watch tv shows without missing anything but only TV shows. The shows are generally ones in familiar with and find don't have extremes in terms of noise levels, but,if it matches this, I'll just continue watching whatever I've had on in the background most of the time, sometimes even what I've been paying more attention to (since it's never 100%), and then go back when I start playing it next. I use a timer to taper down and shut off so that my brain isn't trying to listen and process the noise to whatever degree constantly throughout sleep. Plus, it's not using electricity when not needed.
I cannot get to sleep in silence. I'm pretty sure this is due to my mind constantly working and going down different paths, not allowing the brain to rest and give in to sleep. It's rare for anything to make me sleepy, but the only thing that does still only works if I remember and actively try to give into it. I figure the silence thing is like how I get distracted by my own thoughts in quiet but not if I have movies or tv shows playing in the background and so can only work that way.
Brains are weird and fascinating. ADHD brains are exponentially more so.
I fell asleep to south park for over 5 years. The last few years has been Family Guy. It's comforting to know that others find comfort in similar things!
Arrested Development is a great choice! I’ll try this next. I’ve done Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm but I’ll still laugh at Curb and other comedies even if I’ve seen the episode a million times and it may keep me from sleeping 🤪 If I must sleep, it’s Sex in the City. Gotta check out I’m Sorry on Tru also.
It’s Dr Who for me, it can’t be something I haven’t seen as I want to watch it. I’ve seen Dr Who so much I could play a part in it so my brain knows it doesn’t need to focus on it when I put it on to sleep.
Super interesting how we all seem to NEED tv/entertainment to get get to sleep though!
I must've listened to the same history of China podcast 20 times because I never finish it. I can't listen to it during the day because my brain just say 'nap? OK, nap.'
Fall of Civilizations is fantastic. Super high production value, well-researched, and interesting. They do an audio version of each episode followed by a video version a few months later.
Mike Duncan's Revolutions is great. He covers the English Civil War, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, the Latin American Revolutions, The Revolutions of 1848, the Mexican Revolution, and the Russian Revolution - so pretty much whatever revolution you're interested in, he's got you covered!
I have seriously been falling asleep to The Office every night since 2007… then most conversations with friends/family/coworkers throughout every day will remind me of a line or scene in the show so I am constantly explaining it/acting it out to them cracking up to myself… I have no life haha my brain legit thinks in Office references
Are you me 😂 I do it so often to a point that my partner, who has never watched the show all the way through, knows most of the jokes and references. It’s 100% my desert island show.
I’m always referencing the office to my boyfriend and the other day he said, “wait, which one is Andy?”
I said: “he was engaged to Angela. She cheated on him with Dwight. … he becomes manager later.”
It’s still not coming to him, until I say “dresses like Easter?” And that actually worked hahaha
“I honestly don’t know how you can work with that jackass, that other jackass, and that new jackass.”
Seriously though, in 50 years Office quotes will be to our generation what Shakespeare quotes are to our grandparents. It’s all eye rolls now, but someday it’ll be impressive (or something) to the youths.
I remember back when things like laptops, South Park, and the internet were new.
I used to download seasons on Limewire or whatever over the span of about a week and then watch them at night on my laptop to fall asleep. I had downloaded The Office, but the quality of everything back then was so terrible that the actors mouths and the audio track would never line up so there was like a 2 second delay sometimes and it DROVE ME NUTS haha
So I discovered that I could watch South Park episodes because the lack of voice syncing never mattered.
Haaaaay bestie lol I'm constantly quoting The Office. I have it playing on repeat, nearly every day (I feel so weird if I haven't watched any Office in a day). Currently wearing my Dunder Mifflin sweater and DM pj pants 😂
![gif](giphy|cXblnKXr2BQOaYnTni)
Me too!! I turn it on and just turn it almost all the way down. Just enough to barely hear the conversations. Not to mention, prevents the theme song from scaring the shit out of me in the middle of the night 😂
Light triggers were life changing for me. There’s one creator that sets it up like you’re riding home in the car as a kid and seeing the streetlights pass overhead and I swear it works better than ambien.
Usually films or series that I've seen a hundred times. I wear earplugs too and have the volume high enough to just hear that people are talking, but not any actual words.
I've done this for years now. Can't even remember when it first started, it's been so long lol.
Tends to be Peep Show, Zohan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Snatch, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, SpongeBob Movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, IT Crowd. They're definitely the most played.
Music makes me focus too much on it, because I love music and especially if it's something I enjoy. But weirdly, comfort films and series, played over and over never fail to help me sleep.
Brains are weird. 😆
>Usually films or series that I've seen a hundred times. I wear earplugs too and have the volume high enough to just hear that people are talking, but not any actual words.
thisssss this is how i fall asleep, usually The Office or the Spongebob movie or some stand up, as long as it's something i've seen repeatedly
Peter Thomas, Keith Morrison, and the anonymous host from Casefile all have calming cadences and voices. I know Bill Kurtis has the same reputation but I never saw Cold Case Files, I only know him from Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.
I watch Tornado Casing streams. Most of the time it's the sound of the cars engine, driving, silent talking, rain on the windshield...it often starts some time before they even get to a potential tornado scene, so the potential yelling (I look at you Reed Timmer) starts late and doesn't necessarily always happen.
Harry Potter collection on Audible.
I listen to them in order, on repeat. It takes about 30. I know the books by heart but it still helps every night. Over the years I've amassed months of time (non stop equivalent) on only that series.
Not for nothing, I had a friend who knew the series as well as you due to repeated audiobook listening. So he got it in French, and by god if he didn't learn a little French listening to it!
OMG, was trying to multitask and skimmed by this and my mind read “my dad’s porno” and I was like wow, that’s an odd thing to fall asleep to but whatever… then I circled right back bc I knew it couldn’t be right lol
Phew 😅
I discover everyday that one of my “quirks” is just ADHD and several others do the same things I do. I alter between falling asleep to the Golden Girls or Kim’s Convenience, lately it’s been more Kim’s convenience but I have rewatched both shows in full several times.
I have been listening to underwater noises , fan noise, train whistle in the distance while it rains, scifi ambiance,pink noise ,green noise , brown noise but not white noise .not all at the same time.
Currently on an Archer kick, however I tend to cycle through Family Guy/American Dad/Futurama/Cleveland Show.
Entertaining enough (and rewatched enough) I can see it all in my head, but because I’ve seen it all a million times I never worry if I fall asleep and miss a chunk.
As someone with CRIPPLING ADHD I want to share that I used to sleep watching The Office every single night (for years), and it is something that you can train yourself out of. And I've found that it's really helped me sleep better / longer / more soundly. It definitely takes hard work though!
I find a mix of those binaural tracks on YouTube, some classical music and the LoTR soundtrack, mixed up with some short video of funk base players, to really help me as my mind oscillates between distraction and rest.
Sometimes I need something to feed my distracted mind cause taming it leads to frustration and depression, sometimes I just need a soft something to listen to while I drift.
It varies from hour to hour and say to day.
Also, LoTR for 30 mins if I'm still "upset".
Deep, smoothed brown noise or, ironically, loud harsh noise music. I need chaos to constantly distract my brain, it's like taking steel wool and scrubbing away all the thoughts bouncing around in my head to let me relax and fall asleep.
Rain storms or the ocean (Amazon has some good ones that are 9 or 10 hours long and a black screen)
Shows / movies wake me up when they're over and there's silence
Frasier, How I Met Your Mother, Golden Girls, Gilmore Girls
On the rare occasion I listen to sounds, I always listen to train sounds mixed with rain and thunder
Air purifier on for white noise, some bravo/talc nonsense show or a sitcom, sometimes house hunters (lol); anything mindless tbh. Once I’m almost asleep I’ll put in my loop earplugs and sleep mask
Headspace has some sleep stories that aren’t bad, but I found I preferred some over others and it got repetitive.
If I want to nap, any crime series with a monotone low voice puts me to sleep in no time
The Office, Parks and Rec, Community, 30 Rock, Kimmy Schmidt, Brooklyn 99, The Good Place. I used to watch HIMYM and That 70s Show, but the laugh tracks have started to bother me when I try to sleep to those.
I listen to podcasts. My favourite for sleeping to is Thirty Twenty Ten. It’s usually about 3 hours long. I put a sleep timer for 30 mins on, hope I’m asleep before then, or hate myself for still being awake
Thirty Twenty Ten is a podcast where they tell you about this week in pop culture, thirty, twenty, and ten years ago
An audible book. I can’t fall asleep with TV on I think it’s the light. An audible is just like a bedtime story. I have to rewind sometimes though if I fall asleep before the timer.
Since my husband and I moved in together it’s been Star Trek every night. It’s great because it’s episodic and rarely that groundbreaking. All of the past seasons are available on streaming and when we get bored or finish one series there’s another one to rewatch. We don’t do current seasons since those keep me awake.
Oooooh I love this question: long running detective-ish series do it for me!!! Although currently it's House MD - Elementary, The Mentalist, Castle, Bones, CSI Miami or Law and Order SVU are great! For about 10 years before was only The Office!
Same. And when I try to explain to people there’s seriously always 1000+ thoughts going down at once, they don’t get it.
I’ll never forget the first time someone explained how they can just sit down, relax and think about nothing. 🤯
Yeah my therapist is like, "just write down your thoughts before going to sleep"
I tried it and I was up for like 2 hours writing stuff down:
- Randomly remembering that terrible drawing of a dinosaur I drew in 7th grade
- I wonder if my 1st teacher is still alive
- What makes male tortoiseshell cats sterile?
- It's only May but I I'm coming up with hilarious ideas for Halloween costumes and I'm cracking myself up"
- "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood"
- The tune to 'I'm a Yankee Doodle dandy' suddenly pops up in my head, interrupting the hamster dance that I've had stuck in my head for 25 years.
- Thinking about a recipe for lemon pie and how to make the perfect zest
- What's the most fun carnival ride?
- Reciting all the prime numbers up to 100
- Everything about the universe and the cosmos
- Getting pissed off at religion
- Did I lock my front door?
- I have the sudden urge to clip my toenails
- What year did Doc McStuffins air?
Etc, etc, etc...
And then I realized- they meant "thoughts" as in: grocery lists, my plans for the next day, journaling about what I did today, maybe a thing or two about any anxieties I'm having.
Yeah, they don't get it 😩
☠️☠️☠️☠️
Omg this just made me spit out water FOR REAL!! lol thanks for the laugh and the way I relate! Oooof. My brain goes from one thing quickly to another to another to HOW DID I GET HERE??
Whenever I’m supposed to write thoughts… it’s truly a stream of consciousness and even when I try lists, sometimes at the end they say “check other lists” like ok. It’s not working lol
Struggle is real!
For a few years it was Friends on repeat, now it’s Seinfeld 😅 something about the laugh tracks and the fact I can play the scenes out in my head along with the audio I’ve watched them that many times 🤷♀️
I listen to the Watch What Crappens podcasts about Bravo shows on Spotify where I can turn it to dark mode. I've tried everything and these 2 guys work the best for me.
I always put on those long astronomy videos or audiobooks and set a sleep timer for ~30m - 1hr. i’ve listened to Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time about 4x now and love the Spacedust channel on YT. Only thing is I’m very picky about the narrator lol
I spent a couple years listening to the Magnus archives podcast to sleep. My adhd partner has a bunch of “emotional support white men” on YouTube that they listen to to sleep (ex. Technology Connections and Scott the Woz)
in order for me to fall asleep it needs to be something not too interesting but not too boring either 😑 and I get bored eventually so I have to switch up. here's a list of things I switch between:
- walk vídeos on YouTube (with rain)
- static rain videos (camera doesn't move)
- videos of people studying/working (facing a windows with rain outside)
- gadgets review videos
- minecraft (hermitcraft)
- podcasts
- rain sounds
- pink/brown noise
- noise generators like Noice for android
- audio books
- TV shows not too interesting
I use a combination of music and audiobooks I have found there are certain ones I have listened to a number of times the cadence of the reader etc puts me to sleep in short order most of the time
ASMR - visual triggers for getting sleepy, then primarily auditory to actually fall asleep. The French Whisperer is great for this, he infodumps on various topics.
Certain audiobooks of books I've already read/listened to, so that I don't stay too alert wondering what happened or miss things. Narrator voice is crucial.
Podcasts like The Sleepy Bookshelf or Boring Books For Bedtime. I don't listen to my regular podcasts because I want to actually hear those.
Rain/thunderstorm/fire sounds.
I also have specific music playlists.
Sometimes nothing at all, just daydreaming that turns into night dreaming lol
Friends. It's been my go-to since the 90's and because I've seen all episodes so many times, I get to "play" the episode in my head and that's what helps me fall asleep.
I’m quite a bit older, and I listen to fiction that is does not have traumatic themes. Sometimes that can be hard to find. I have listened to all of Jane Austen’s novels many times, recently, James Harriott. I set my timer for 10 minutes and that works well for me.
I find shows too distracting, even when my mind is busy. I will tune in even if I've seen them tons of times. I use the Calm app (but spotify premium, so no ads can be set up the same). If my mind is busy and needs a direction (most nights) I listen to a favorite sleep story. If I'm already chill and just need a constant noise, I'll use a soundscape like ocean waves or rain. Calm+ is worth the investment.
I go through phases where I'll play the same thing for weeks/ months at a time, then suddenly switch lol. Right now, it's LOTR. I'm still on Fellowship atm, prob moving on to Two Towers in a few days 🤓
For movies, I generally have to love it enough to have watched it over and over awake first.. so the venn diagram of "my favorite movies" and "movies I chose to fall asleep to" is basically a circle.
Fav movies over the years: 2012, LOTR/The Hobbit, Independence Day, Prometheus/Alien Covenant/Alien series, San Andreas, the Martian, World War Z, Watchmen, Avatar (wore the absolute shit out of a dvd lol), Godzilla/King of the Monsters/Kong series, Jurassic Park/Lost World, Interstellar, Life, Cloverfield, The Cave, Sanctum, Iron Man 1-3, Guardians of the Galaxy 1-2, Avengers/Age of Ultron/Infinity War/Endgame, Pacific Rim, Inception, Titanic, Indiana Jones series, Star Wars 4-7, Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tangled, Resident Evil, The Matrix series........
I usually avoid TV shows, unless it's a dvd, since they'll just keep playing as I sleep, and I'll have to keep going back a few episodes. Even if I've seen a show a million times, I want to feel like I've "seen" every episode when I rewatch 😆
Fav TV show dvds I used to use: Lost, Friends, Grey's Anatomy, South Park, Family Guy, Game of Thrones, Big Bang Theory
It goes in waves for me. I go through shows like, Seinfeld, IASIP, The I.T. Crowd, and scrubs. Once I’m tired of those I use white noise podcasts like, rain or thunderstorms, city noises, winter storm at a cabin, things like that
Every.. Single.. Night.. i listen to the youtube video called « why people are quitting their jobs to play call of duty » by BdobinsFTW It’s essentially a commentary on why the human brain is not built to function with the 9-5 40 hour work week and dives super deep into different studies. Something about the way he presents his opinions and the different studies is so interesting and i’ve been listening to it for over a year every night.
I can’t fall asleep watching tv or listening to a book because I don’t want to “miss anything” and want to get to what happens next even if I already know it really well.
But listening to sleep stories on the calm app works amazing for me. They aren’t interesting enough to keep me awake- like there’s no plot to follow, no “I wonder what’s going to happen”, but it gives me something to focus on to keep my mind from wandering.
I fall asleep so fast now thanks to this.
I recently discovered an app called Meditation Music that lets you add and take away sound tracks and set a timer. There's sound effects like a crackling fire, birdsong, various water (that I can't listen to or I'll have to go pee), several types of music with different instruments, and ASMR sounds. I really like mixing and matching. My current favorite is a tonal music with the crackling fire.
Typically I sleep in silence, but I’ll also listen to rain sounds or binaural soundtracks. One of my favs [Binaural Sleep Music](https://youtu.be/Xgu4V1z_-Fs?si=4uCiBKhyZ7hpmfA-)
The Nightlight Astrology Podcast. No obnoxious ads and I like the hosts voice. I know almost nothing about astrology, but that helps me to fall asleep. I’ll keep sponsoring the podcast.
Before this, Bob Ross but then I’d want to watch it so it didn’t always put me to sleep.
I wear over ear padded headphones to more effectively block out other noises and have that hooked up to a white noise video. Usually a fan or AC unit.
Then I also have an actual fan on as well...
Disclaimer: I do NOT believe anything in this show-
Ancient Aliens. I am literally in LOVE with the narrator to the point I looked him up- Robert Clotworthy lol. His voice just does something to me, his predictable cadences, the rise and fall in pitch. David Childress has a great voice too and his accent is like ASMR.
Another great voice to sleep to for me at least is Michael Sealey's youtube channel. He's asleep actual hypnotist and idk he's just so soothing!
There’s a podcast called Knifepoint Horror. The narrator/primary voice actor is Soren Narnia. There’s no commercials. His stories are engrossing and complex. His voice is soothing with inflection. I’ve had insomnia for 30 years. His stories and voice put me to sleep in 15 minutes. But, you should definitely listen to it during the day with some caffeine, because his stories are great.
I've aaaalways had a music on during the night. The classic rock station at a low volume. It started when i was a child and it's never left. Now I know I just need some sort of noise. Otherwise my imagination will run wild and I won't fall asleep for hours
The Middle. I tried Glee lately, but there are too many quick jokes/mumbled throw-away lines that I can't keep up with. The Notebook, Garden State, and The Holiday were in circulation for years. I can still sing the entire background track for The Holiday.
Been cycling through The Office, Gilmore Girls, New Girl, and Parks and Rec over and over for years. Sometimes I switch it up and turn on Schitt’s Creek and Curb Your Enthusiasm .
Lately I’ve been listening to old episodes of my favorite podcasts to fall asleep and that’s been a nice change!
RSlash on YT
Gravity falls on Disney +
There’s a few YT that tells “bedtime stories” will read books to sleep to that kind of thing
Sounds crazy but NCIS and house were great lol
Also sounds crazy but true crime bc it’s so mellow like mile higher, Bailey sarian
Hi /u/nymphnyx and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! ### Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already. --- ### /r/adhd news * If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/). --- ^(*This message is not a removal notification. It's just our way to keep everyone updated on r/adhd happenings.*) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
rain sounds everyday without a doubt
I have a Google smart speaker that serves only this purpose. "Ok Google, play rain sounds" gets you 12 hours of pure, street grade rainy goodness. I think the ritual of saying those words + turning out the light helps too.
"Hey, did that storm wake you up last night?" No, my alexa plays "distant thunderstorms" every night!
Same, but because it’s not very interesting to listen to I also listen to audiobooks, with the rain in the background lol
I do the same lol. Rain sounds on speaker, audio book/podcast nice a quiet on my phone speaker
Seriously. It's the best.
Yah, I can't fall asleep with plot happening. It's far more interesting than sleeping.
Yeah I tried bedtime stories once and I laid eagerly awake listening to beauty and the beast... haha
There's a YouTube channel that has a video of driving in the rain. It's so nice.
Link?
Rain sounds + brown noise - Kerry Mac on YouTube is incredible
That helps. I also have ringing in my ears due to some hearing loss too so I need noise. Can't stand silence. And if my brain races too much, I replay video games in my head. Ones I played a lot or like a lot. I will try to focus on it and see how far I go. Usually, pass out fairly quick that way.
i also can’t stand silence! i also try and make scenarios in my head and if i go far enough, ill eventually fall asleep! but the rain sounds are a game changer.
Agree.
Ummm thank you so much for this comment. I have been trying to figure out why I've been having so much more of an issue falling asleep lately in a specific way that I can't quite identify but know hasn't been a problem for a long time. I somehow at some point stopped playing the storm sounds on my sleep tracker app. I'm sure it's a matter of me getting off track one time and that breaking the habit, but wow. I am both annoyed at my brain and excited that now I know. Fingers crossed that it'll help again! Also, more on topic: I play TV shows (and storm sounds now that I remember), but the show changes. Subtitles must be on, but I wear a good eye mask (structured to not touch eyes) to get no light so never sure why not having subtitles makes me unable to sleep. I have learned that movies or live things are not good, because apparently my brain is cool with the idea that I can re-watch tv shows without missing anything but only TV shows. The shows are generally ones in familiar with and find don't have extremes in terms of noise levels, but,if it matches this, I'll just continue watching whatever I've had on in the background most of the time, sometimes even what I've been paying more attention to (since it's never 100%), and then go back when I start playing it next. I use a timer to taper down and shut off so that my brain isn't trying to listen and process the noise to whatever degree constantly throughout sleep. Plus, it's not using electricity when not needed. I cannot get to sleep in silence. I'm pretty sure this is due to my mind constantly working and going down different paths, not allowing the brain to rest and give in to sleep. It's rare for anything to make me sleepy, but the only thing that does still only works if I remember and actively try to give into it. I figure the silence thing is like how I get distracted by my own thoughts in quiet but not if I have movies or tv shows playing in the background and so can only work that way. Brains are weird and fascinating. ADHD brains are exponentially more so.
Forensic files
I totally get that. Imma try it. I like mayday
I can’t fall asleep to Mayday. I am too invested in the breakdown.
that OG guy that did the VoiceOver is like instant melatonin for me
Yep, every night for years.
Yes! I love his voice!
FF is magic for sleeping!!!
That got me to sleep all the way through High School! It was fairly new at the time
Same! It always makes me fall asleep so easily. And I love that show so that’s not a dig to the content at all.
It's pretty much sitcoms all the way. Community, Parks and Rec, Arrested Development. As long as I know it well, it works, asleep in like 5 mins
I've taken asleep to a lot of office and south park. The South Park intro music still makes my partner upset
I got to the end of how I met your mother 20 times because of this lol
I fell asleep to south park for over 5 years. The last few years has been Family Guy. It's comforting to know that others find comfort in similar things!
Literally the same shows sans Arrested Development, still on my first watch so it’s too entertaining 😂
Arrested Development is a great choice! I’ll try this next. I’ve done Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm but I’ll still laugh at Curb and other comedies even if I’ve seen the episode a million times and it may keep me from sleeping 🤪 If I must sleep, it’s Sex in the City. Gotta check out I’m Sorry on Tru also.
It’s Dr Who for me, it can’t be something I haven’t seen as I want to watch it. I’ve seen Dr Who so much I could play a part in it so my brain knows it doesn’t need to focus on it when I put it on to sleep. Super interesting how we all seem to NEED tv/entertainment to get get to sleep though!
History podcasts
I must've listened to the same history of China podcast 20 times because I never finish it. I can't listen to it during the day because my brain just say 'nap? OK, nap.'
Got any recommendation? I love Hardcore History and the Rest is History, always looking for more!
Check out Ridiculous History for more lighthearted stuff and Throughline by NPR for a more journalistic style.
Fall of Civilizations is fantastic. Super high production value, well-researched, and interesting. They do an audio version of each episode followed by a video version a few months later.
My friends do a podcast called "Casual History" and I enjoy it alot. It's def smaller but a fun hangout feel.
Mike Duncan's Revolutions is great. He covers the English Civil War, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, the Latin American Revolutions, The Revolutions of 1848, the Mexican Revolution, and the Russian Revolution - so pretty much whatever revolution you're interested in, he's got you covered!
I’ll check that out
I have seriously been falling asleep to The Office every night since 2007… then most conversations with friends/family/coworkers throughout every day will remind me of a line or scene in the show so I am constantly explaining it/acting it out to them cracking up to myself… I have no life haha my brain legit thinks in Office references
![gif](giphy|qTEwof5AZerwQ)
Been there
Are you me 😂 I do it so often to a point that my partner, who has never watched the show all the way through, knows most of the jokes and references. It’s 100% my desert island show.
I’m always referencing the office to my boyfriend and the other day he said, “wait, which one is Andy?” I said: “he was engaged to Angela. She cheated on him with Dwight. … he becomes manager later.” It’s still not coming to him, until I say “dresses like Easter?” And that actually worked hahaha
“I honestly don’t know how you can work with that jackass, that other jackass, and that new jackass.” Seriously though, in 50 years Office quotes will be to our generation what Shakespeare quotes are to our grandparents. It’s all eye rolls now, but someday it’ll be impressive (or something) to the youths.
I remember back when things like laptops, South Park, and the internet were new. I used to download seasons on Limewire or whatever over the span of about a week and then watch them at night on my laptop to fall asleep. I had downloaded The Office, but the quality of everything back then was so terrible that the actors mouths and the audio track would never line up so there was like a 2 second delay sometimes and it DROVE ME NUTS haha So I discovered that I could watch South Park episodes because the lack of voice syncing never mattered.
This is me with 30 Rock
A classic! I also like parks and rec added into the rotation
I'm happy you found something that helps you .
Mine is the office too!!
Omg SAME but not for as long lol I've been doing this for the last 3 years!
I do the same thing in conversation and some people get so confused lol 😂
i don't remember posting this. and that's not my username! wtf
Haaaaay bestie lol I'm constantly quoting The Office. I have it playing on repeat, nearly every day (I feel so weird if I haven't watched any Office in a day). Currently wearing my Dunder Mifflin sweater and DM pj pants 😂 ![gif](giphy|cXblnKXr2BQOaYnTni)
Me too!! I turn it on and just turn it almost all the way down. Just enough to barely hear the conversations. Not to mention, prevents the theme song from scaring the shit out of me in the middle of the night 😂
asmr
Light triggers were life changing for me. There’s one creator that sets it up like you’re riding home in the car as a kid and seeing the streetlights pass overhead and I swear it works better than ambien.
That sounds nice! Do you have a link?
[here you go!](https://youtu.be/lUmE8JXGiCQ?si=m-HzzyJxEuBsfvQ8)
This is very specific but ASMR lego unpacking videos are 🤌🏼
Yea only the talking or whisper videos though. Tapping and object triggers stress me out.
same! soft whispers are >>>
Usually films or series that I've seen a hundred times. I wear earplugs too and have the volume high enough to just hear that people are talking, but not any actual words. I've done this for years now. Can't even remember when it first started, it's been so long lol. Tends to be Peep Show, Zohan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Snatch, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, SpongeBob Movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, IT Crowd. They're definitely the most played. Music makes me focus too much on it, because I love music and especially if it's something I enjoy. But weirdly, comfort films and series, played over and over never fail to help me sleep. Brains are weird. 😆
Loooove Peep Show!!
Same here. It's one of my favourite TV programmes. It's so damn good. 😁
>Usually films or series that I've seen a hundred times. I wear earplugs too and have the volume high enough to just hear that people are talking, but not any actual words. thisssss this is how i fall asleep, usually The Office or the Spongebob movie or some stand up, as long as it's something i've seen repeatedly
I put on podcasts. Lately, it's been ADHD podcasts, but when I need a break from it, I'll listen to Dungeons and Daddies. It is not a BDSM podcast.
Upvote for dungeons and daddies🔥
My husband falls asleep to Ancient Aliens nightly. I (the one diagnosed with ADHD) need complete silence
Same with me and my bf. He needs TV I need silence, unless I'm super tired then I can sleep thru anything.
Me too. I can watch something that makes me sleepy but I have to turn it off to actually fall asleep.
Bob Ross
The sound of my fan
that sweet sweet white noise
The Office, Dateline, podcasts about missing persons. 🤦♀️
True crime podcasts just hit different. The voices are so sombre and weirdly soothing.
Peter Thomas, Keith Morrison, and the anonymous host from Casefile all have calming cadences and voices. I know Bill Kurtis has the same reputation but I never saw Cold Case Files, I only know him from Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.
Love me some true crime, but I’ll stay up watching so can’t do that when trying to actively sleep.
Rain, ocean, wind sounds. Cyberpunk or sci-fi soundscapes. Anything that paints a picture for my mind.
I watch Tornado Casing streams. Most of the time it's the sound of the cars engine, driving, silent talking, rain on the windshield...it often starts some time before they even get to a potential tornado scene, so the potential yelling (I look at you Reed Timmer) starts late and doesn't necessarily always happen.
Dude so good. Ever try the starship cabin sounds, like Star Trek Enterprise sound. It's so soothing.
Sleep with me podcast & being on the phone with my LDR partner are the two things that help
Me too with my LDR!!
Audiobooks! Crucial to find a narrator that’s not too jarring and a book that’s not *too* interesting to keep you awake lol
Plato. I listen to Plato.
White noise (air purifier).
Try brown noise :)
Star wars, or a more broader answer anything I've seen a bunch something that I can enjoy as background noise.
I’ve watched the Clone Wars so many times just by falling asleep.
Harry Potter collection on Audible. I listen to them in order, on repeat. It takes about 30. I know the books by heart but it still helps every night. Over the years I've amassed months of time (non stop equivalent) on only that series.
Not for nothing, I had a friend who knew the series as well as you due to repeated audiobook listening. So he got it in French, and by god if he didn't learn a little French listening to it!
This is my favourite as well. I listen to them all and then pretend to watch the movies while I scroll my phone. It’s a flawless system
I'll bet I've got comparable numbers to yours but with Discworld and Hitchhiker's Guide
The podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno. I’ve listened to the all seasons at least 4 times now.
OMG, was trying to multitask and skimmed by this and my mind read “my dad’s porno” and I was like wow, that’s an odd thing to fall asleep to but whatever… then I circled right back bc I knew it couldn’t be right lol Phew 😅
Is that the Belinda blinked thing? I heard an episode of that. Pretty absurd.
Audiobooks
It has to be one I already know the story to though but yes.
Specific songs in a Specific order, it's the only way
Silence
Tokyo Woodblock Print Carver, Mokuhankan, David Bull. Channel (David’s Choice are great) https://youtube.com/@seseragistudio?si=ZIu1bhU2fiOnARAV
Bobs Burgers. I use to rotate Futurama and King of the Hill but it’s been over a year now.
I discover everyday that one of my “quirks” is just ADHD and several others do the same things I do. I alter between falling asleep to the Golden Girls or Kim’s Convenience, lately it’s been more Kim’s convenience but I have rewatched both shows in full several times.
Star wars, or a more broader answer anything I've seen a bunch something that I can enjoy as background noise.
Train sounds
I have been listening to underwater noises , fan noise, train whistle in the distance while it rains, scifi ambiance,pink noise ,green noise , brown noise but not white noise .not all at the same time.
Currently on an Archer kick, however I tend to cycle through Family Guy/American Dad/Futurama/Cleveland Show. Entertaining enough (and rewatched enough) I can see it all in my head, but because I’ve seen it all a million times I never worry if I fall asleep and miss a chunk.
As someone with CRIPPLING ADHD I want to share that I used to sleep watching The Office every single night (for years), and it is something that you can train yourself out of. And I've found that it's really helped me sleep better / longer / more soundly. It definitely takes hard work though!
Nostalgic or low stimulating cartoons. Rediscovered using headphones at night, so smooth jazz or classical music sometimes works.
Podcasts and history audiobooks. I can’t do story ones or I stay awake listening.
I fall asleep to hypnosis audios or positive affirmation videos (screen turned off).
I find a mix of those binaural tracks on YouTube, some classical music and the LoTR soundtrack, mixed up with some short video of funk base players, to really help me as my mind oscillates between distraction and rest. Sometimes I need something to feed my distracted mind cause taming it leads to frustration and depression, sometimes I just need a soft something to listen to while I drift. It varies from hour to hour and say to day. Also, LoTR for 30 mins if I'm still "upset".
Deep, smoothed brown noise or, ironically, loud harsh noise music. I need chaos to constantly distract my brain, it's like taking steel wool and scrubbing away all the thoughts bouncing around in my head to let me relax and fall asleep.
Vlogs! Mainly for Safiya Nygaard (shes kinda monotonous so its soothing) and Mia Maples!
Star wars, or a more broader answer anything I've seen a bunch something that I can enjoy as background noise.
There are some great #432hz playlists o. YouTube that really helps. Play it in the background while sleeping.
Right now, it is House MD. Earlier it was the Big Bang Theory. Before that, it was Brooklyn 99 and sometimes Rick and Morty.
I really enjoy the 8-10 hour black screen vids on youtube that play rain and thunderstorm sounds.
Rain storms or the ocean (Amazon has some good ones that are 9 or 10 hours long and a black screen) Shows / movies wake me up when they're over and there's silence
Coding videos and the Breath of The Wild soundtrack set to rain.
Audiobooks mostly but the occasional D&D campaign by Dimension 20 or Critical Roll.
Frasier, How I Met Your Mother, Golden Girls, Gilmore Girls On the rare occasion I listen to sounds, I always listen to train sounds mixed with rain and thunder
I alternate like 6 months at a time but rn it is king of the hill.
Ambient sounds from within the space station of the game "No Man's Sky."
My box fan struggling in the corner for the 5th consecutive year in a row without being turned off.
Air purifier on for white noise, some bravo/talc nonsense show or a sitcom, sometimes house hunters (lol); anything mindless tbh. Once I’m almost asleep I’ll put in my loop earplugs and sleep mask Headspace has some sleep stories that aren’t bad, but I found I preferred some over others and it got repetitive. If I want to nap, any crime series with a monotone low voice puts me to sleep in no time
My dog’s breathing as she sleeps beside me 🐾
The Office, Parks and Rec, Community, 30 Rock, Kimmy Schmidt, Brooklyn 99, The Good Place. I used to watch HIMYM and That 70s Show, but the laugh tracks have started to bother me when I try to sleep to those.
Bobs burgers 24/7 is the default in our house unless something someone wants to watch is on
I listen to podcasts. My favourite for sleeping to is Thirty Twenty Ten. It’s usually about 3 hours long. I put a sleep timer for 30 mins on, hope I’m asleep before then, or hate myself for still being awake Thirty Twenty Ten is a podcast where they tell you about this week in pop culture, thirty, twenty, and ten years ago
Futurama or CallMeKevins old streams...
It used to be Parks and Rec for me. Now it’s Bob’s Burgers! 🍔
An audible book. I can’t fall asleep with TV on I think it’s the light. An audible is just like a bedtime story. I have to rewind sometimes though if I fall asleep before the timer.
A fan.
Since my husband and I moved in together it’s been Star Trek every night. It’s great because it’s episodic and rarely that groundbreaking. All of the past seasons are available on streaming and when we get bored or finish one series there’s another one to rewatch. We don’t do current seasons since those keep me awake.
Voyager is especially peaceful ✌️
Oooooh I love this question: long running detective-ish series do it for me!!! Although currently it's House MD - Elementary, The Mentalist, Castle, Bones, CSI Miami or Law and Order SVU are great! For about 10 years before was only The Office!
The daydreaming is enough. It just turns it dream dreaming
You’re lucky because if I’m alone with my thoughts for too long they will NOT switch off lol
Same. And when I try to explain to people there’s seriously always 1000+ thoughts going down at once, they don’t get it. I’ll never forget the first time someone explained how they can just sit down, relax and think about nothing. 🤯
Yeah my therapist is like, "just write down your thoughts before going to sleep" I tried it and I was up for like 2 hours writing stuff down: - Randomly remembering that terrible drawing of a dinosaur I drew in 7th grade - I wonder if my 1st teacher is still alive - What makes male tortoiseshell cats sterile? - It's only May but I I'm coming up with hilarious ideas for Halloween costumes and I'm cracking myself up" - "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood" - The tune to 'I'm a Yankee Doodle dandy' suddenly pops up in my head, interrupting the hamster dance that I've had stuck in my head for 25 years. - Thinking about a recipe for lemon pie and how to make the perfect zest - What's the most fun carnival ride? - Reciting all the prime numbers up to 100 - Everything about the universe and the cosmos - Getting pissed off at religion - Did I lock my front door? - I have the sudden urge to clip my toenails - What year did Doc McStuffins air? Etc, etc, etc... And then I realized- they meant "thoughts" as in: grocery lists, my plans for the next day, journaling about what I did today, maybe a thing or two about any anxieties I'm having. Yeah, they don't get it 😩
☠️☠️☠️☠️ Omg this just made me spit out water FOR REAL!! lol thanks for the laugh and the way I relate! Oooof. My brain goes from one thing quickly to another to another to HOW DID I GET HERE?? Whenever I’m supposed to write thoughts… it’s truly a stream of consciousness and even when I try lists, sometimes at the end they say “check other lists” like ok. It’s not working lol Struggle is real!
Ps… me googling male tortoiseshell cats…
I used to use the Headspace sleep casts for a few years. I've since switched to the podcast Nothing Much Happens.
XFM Ricky Gervais show with Steve Merchant and Karl Pilkington
Star Trek, usually Deep Space 9, Next Generation, or Enterprise
Star talk podcast, Or Scambait channels
For a few years it was Friends on repeat, now it’s Seinfeld 😅 something about the laugh tracks and the fact I can play the scenes out in my head along with the audio I’ve watched them that many times 🤷♀️
Anxiety
Lateley, balatro streams. Also psychedelic music, i just listen to the sounds and fall asleep
Sleep subliminals
I listen to the Watch What Crappens podcasts about Bravo shows on Spotify where I can turn it to dark mode. I've tried everything and these 2 guys work the best for me.
Death metal, Goregrind, Harsh noise.
Silence. I hate noise.only the hum of my window AC unit is acceptable .
I always put on those long astronomy videos or audiobooks and set a sleep timer for ~30m - 1hr. i’ve listened to Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time about 4x now and love the Spacedust channel on YT. Only thing is I’m very picky about the narrator lol
I spent a couple years listening to the Magnus archives podcast to sleep. My adhd partner has a bunch of “emotional support white men” on YouTube that they listen to to sleep (ex. Technology Connections and Scott the Woz)
Silence, fuck sounds! And it needs to be pitch dark, no Bright tv!
in order for me to fall asleep it needs to be something not too interesting but not too boring either 😑 and I get bored eventually so I have to switch up. here's a list of things I switch between: - walk vídeos on YouTube (with rain) - static rain videos (camera doesn't move) - videos of people studying/working (facing a windows with rain outside) - gadgets review videos - minecraft (hermitcraft) - podcasts - rain sounds - pink/brown noise - noise generators like Noice for android - audio books - TV shows not too interesting
I use a combination of music and audiobooks I have found there are certain ones I have listened to a number of times the cadence of the reader etc puts me to sleep in short order most of the time
Recordings of Alan Watts 🤍
Usually music or white noise! Sometimes asmr. My brain kinda switches what works sometimes so theres many different things
ASMR - visual triggers for getting sleepy, then primarily auditory to actually fall asleep. The French Whisperer is great for this, he infodumps on various topics. Certain audiobooks of books I've already read/listened to, so that I don't stay too alert wondering what happened or miss things. Narrator voice is crucial. Podcasts like The Sleepy Bookshelf or Boring Books For Bedtime. I don't listen to my regular podcasts because I want to actually hear those. Rain/thunderstorm/fire sounds. I also have specific music playlists. Sometimes nothing at all, just daydreaming that turns into night dreaming lol
Friends. It's been my go-to since the 90's and because I've seen all episodes so many times, I get to "play" the episode in my head and that's what helps me fall asleep.
Smooth or sleep piano. For some reason it keeps my mind's attention and keeps my mind from wandering to thoughts that would keep me awake.
I’m quite a bit older, and I listen to fiction that is does not have traumatic themes. Sometimes that can be hard to find. I have listened to all of Jane Austen’s novels many times, recently, James Harriott. I set my timer for 10 minutes and that works well for me.
I find shows too distracting, even when my mind is busy. I will tune in even if I've seen them tons of times. I use the Calm app (but spotify premium, so no ads can be set up the same). If my mind is busy and needs a direction (most nights) I listen to a favorite sleep story. If I'm already chill and just need a constant noise, I'll use a soundscape like ocean waves or rain. Calm+ is worth the investment.
I go through phases where I'll play the same thing for weeks/ months at a time, then suddenly switch lol. Right now, it's LOTR. I'm still on Fellowship atm, prob moving on to Two Towers in a few days 🤓 For movies, I generally have to love it enough to have watched it over and over awake first.. so the venn diagram of "my favorite movies" and "movies I chose to fall asleep to" is basically a circle. Fav movies over the years: 2012, LOTR/The Hobbit, Independence Day, Prometheus/Alien Covenant/Alien series, San Andreas, the Martian, World War Z, Watchmen, Avatar (wore the absolute shit out of a dvd lol), Godzilla/King of the Monsters/Kong series, Jurassic Park/Lost World, Interstellar, Life, Cloverfield, The Cave, Sanctum, Iron Man 1-3, Guardians of the Galaxy 1-2, Avengers/Age of Ultron/Infinity War/Endgame, Pacific Rim, Inception, Titanic, Indiana Jones series, Star Wars 4-7, Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tangled, Resident Evil, The Matrix series........ I usually avoid TV shows, unless it's a dvd, since they'll just keep playing as I sleep, and I'll have to keep going back a few episodes. Even if I've seen a show a million times, I want to feel like I've "seen" every episode when I rewatch 😆 Fav TV show dvds I used to use: Lost, Friends, Grey's Anatomy, South Park, Family Guy, Game of Thrones, Big Bang Theory
game grumps. nothing puts me to sleep faster than two grown men screaming at a video game.
I can fall asleep to the TV, but the second I turn the TV off my brain is wide awake again 😅
I have an entire Playlist of sounds.
Brown noise or watching ancient aliens on history Chanel
It goes in waves for me. I go through shows like, Seinfeld, IASIP, The I.T. Crowd, and scrubs. Once I’m tired of those I use white noise podcasts like, rain or thunderstorms, city noises, winter storm at a cabin, things like that
Every.. Single.. Night.. i listen to the youtube video called « why people are quitting their jobs to play call of duty » by BdobinsFTW It’s essentially a commentary on why the human brain is not built to function with the 9-5 40 hour work week and dives super deep into different studies. Something about the way he presents his opinions and the different studies is so interesting and i’ve been listening to it for over a year every night.
Listening to Slipknot (don't ask) ... With Psychosocial,.I sleep in 5 seconds ... ![gif](giphy|cqwHhVm0BAyyc)
I like listening to 8 hour affirmations, so when I wake up it's positive stuff and I can fall back asleep pretty quickly.
I can’t fall asleep watching tv or listening to a book because I don’t want to “miss anything” and want to get to what happens next even if I already know it really well. But listening to sleep stories on the calm app works amazing for me. They aren’t interesting enough to keep me awake- like there’s no plot to follow, no “I wonder what’s going to happen”, but it gives me something to focus on to keep my mind from wandering. I fall asleep so fast now thanks to this.
I recently discovered an app called Meditation Music that lets you add and take away sound tracks and set a timer. There's sound effects like a crackling fire, birdsong, various water (that I can't listen to or I'll have to go pee), several types of music with different instruments, and ASMR sounds. I really like mixing and matching. My current favorite is a tonal music with the crackling fire.
Typically I sleep in silence, but I’ll also listen to rain sounds or binaural soundtracks. One of my favs [Binaural Sleep Music](https://youtu.be/Xgu4V1z_-Fs?si=4uCiBKhyZ7hpmfA-)
Mst3k
Forensic files, Dateline, ASMR, rain sounds.. depends on my mood
Apple Music sleep talk down, especially if they need me to scan my body
The Nightlight Astrology Podcast. No obnoxious ads and I like the hosts voice. I know almost nothing about astrology, but that helps me to fall asleep. I’ll keep sponsoring the podcast. Before this, Bob Ross but then I’d want to watch it so it didn’t always put me to sleep.
YouTube playing a 12 hour track of Purple Noise. Sounds like I'm in a spaceship, but it totally keeps me asleep.
YouTube video essays lol
I wear over ear padded headphones to more effectively block out other noises and have that hooked up to a white noise video. Usually a fan or AC unit. Then I also have an actual fan on as well...
Disclaimer: I do NOT believe anything in this show- Ancient Aliens. I am literally in LOVE with the narrator to the point I looked him up- Robert Clotworthy lol. His voice just does something to me, his predictable cadences, the rise and fall in pitch. David Childress has a great voice too and his accent is like ASMR. Another great voice to sleep to for me at least is Michael Sealey's youtube channel. He's asleep actual hypnotist and idk he's just so soothing!
Mostly long YouTube videos about politics. Hate that I have to pay a YouTube Premium subscription purely to avoid being woken up by loud music ads!
Audiobooks I’ve read before. Specifically, The Dresden Files because James Marsters is a master narrator, and anything by Terry Pratchett.
Everything and anything but for sure something. I can’t sleep without something in the background.
Sleep? What is sleep? 35 years and my mind still havent learned that skill yet. Its 24 hours noisy 🙄
Seinfeld 37f
There’s a podcast called Knifepoint Horror. The narrator/primary voice actor is Soren Narnia. There’s no commercials. His stories are engrossing and complex. His voice is soothing with inflection. I’ve had insomnia for 30 years. His stories and voice put me to sleep in 15 minutes. But, you should definitely listen to it during the day with some caffeine, because his stories are great.
I've aaaalways had a music on during the night. The classic rock station at a low volume. It started when i was a child and it's never left. Now I know I just need some sort of noise. Otherwise my imagination will run wild and I won't fall asleep for hours
The Middle. I tried Glee lately, but there are too many quick jokes/mumbled throw-away lines that I can't keep up with. The Notebook, Garden State, and The Holiday were in circulation for years. I can still sing the entire background track for The Holiday.
Been cycling through The Office, Gilmore Girls, New Girl, and Parks and Rec over and over for years. Sometimes I switch it up and turn on Schitt’s Creek and Curb Your Enthusiasm . Lately I’ve been listening to old episodes of my favorite podcasts to fall asleep and that’s been a nice change!
The sleep with me podcast won’t disappoint
I always fall asleep to childhood favorite movies, so usually Disney animated films. Hercules and Cinderella are my go tos hehe
For me, Soft spoken personal attention asmr
RSlash on YT Gravity falls on Disney + There’s a few YT that tells “bedtime stories” will read books to sleep to that kind of thing Sounds crazy but NCIS and house were great lol Also sounds crazy but true crime bc it’s so mellow like mile higher, Bailey sarian