Note ofcourse that for this to work, you need to be, like me, nowhere remotely interested in grain yields or commodity trading or work in related fields. I don't live in the US either. Nor do I have any business there. To put things in perspective, after listening to the podcast I had to Google why the world would possibly need so much soy sauce and only then discovered what a vital role soybean plays in the world economy.
I haven't found anything as soporific as listening to detailed stats on bushels of corn and tonnage of wheat presented by people who are earnestly interested in this. Played at 50% volume.
I think it has something to do with the psychology of delivering bad news?
It's a podcast where the host reads a soothing story she wrote where very little happens
Themes include a huge range of topics such as working in her garden, stuff she sees while hiking, preparing a gift for a friend's wedding, etc
The stories take placr in a village called Nothing Much. Each story is independent but there are recurring characters
I often fall asleep before the episode ends
There's a website and merch too, though I just listen for free on Castbox, which has a nice option to shut itself down at the end of the episode: https://www.nothingmuchhappens.com/kathryn
My go to for videos to put me to sleep were trains going through snowy mountains. I didn't see any on the site, but an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygjw-n1bOnE
Seriously. I just watched 3 fascinating videos I would have otherwise never given the time of day.
I think I can at least partly explain it as a distraction from whatever anxiety inducing thoughts I might otherwise be running in my head.
If I’m engaged in something, I can’t really think about anything else. My mind stays on a relatively straight track, long enough that my body finally relaxes and I drift off.
But if I’m bored, my mind wanders to more “interesting” things that aren’t exactly soothing, and my mind’s director isn’t nearly as … linear or focused.
I listen to podcasts about topics that fascinate me. I fall sleep within mins and have to relisten during waking hours the next day.
The content has to be not so boring it’s annoying, but slow paced and open ended enough that I can fall asleep. Audio books fiction or otherwise, don’t do it for me, I guess I’m too invested and end up following along.
I’ll take any recommendations!
Jeremy Parish (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrIttXi0WgLXHI1poCk0D6g) has been my jam lately. His content is well done, his narration is articulate and spoken in a low-key academic voice, and the content is interesting but not _too_ interesting.
Zzzz!
Now, falling asleep with AirPods in every night? Maybe not the best habit. But I know it works when I need it to.
Here's how it works:
I set the volume to be as low as possible while still allowing me to understand the content.
This makes me focus in order to hear the words, and since the topic is very interesting to me (with incredible guests), I naturally concentrate.
This deliberate effort channels all my brain power into listening, preventing my mind from being bombarded by a multitude of thoughts at a rapid pace.
I usually set the sleep timer to 30 minutes in the podcasts app. In my years of applying this method, I've only managed to stay awake past the half-hour mark twice.
Why this particular episode?
As mentioned earlier, the guests (and the host) are exceptional, and the information they share remains intriguing even after repeated listening. Moreover, their soothing voices, slow pace, and absence of interruptions or advertisements contribute to the calming effect.
I hope this helps!
I just wanted to add that I tried multiple podcasts intended to induce sleep, but their lack of any substance (by design, of course), does not work for me as my brain would start drifting not long after I start listening.
Also, having one single episode to listen to over and over again means that I can simply download it once to be able to play it even when there's no internet. The repeat listening also creates a reinforcement effect where, now, I feel my lids becoming heavy almost as soon as I hear the host talking!
Something like if you link your fitness tracker then it's ad-free while you're awake. Then they play special brainwashing experimental ads while you're asleep.
There's loads of similar "manufacturing" videos on youtube these days, but they don't have the narration or 'vibe', sometimes annoying thumping music, etc.
for me that would be something that i would like to dream about, so i'd focus on the story just enough so that i can take it into my dreams.
I’ve watched the first ~5min of Arrested Development seasons 1-3 probably 100 times at this point. Before that it was pirated copies of Simpsons or South Park episodes (years and years ago).
I'm working my way through the entire back catalogue, currently in approx 2009 and today it was Suffragism. I'll rewind back to roughly where I was when I fell asleep and continue another time.
It's not that it isn't interesting (it is!), but the soothing voice and calm delivery is the best sleeping aid I've had in many years!
TV in Spain after lunch time is famous for being very good at inducing good siestas. There’s nothing like falling asleep to a nature documentary, La Vuelta Ciclista or a direct-to-TV movie under a soothing fan in a warm summer’s day.
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No nap for me then....