People who have trouble falling asleep know how disturbing it is to toss and turn and still not find the right spot or position. It is not really about all that. Sure, posture helps, but if your mind is too busy and continuously working on the day’s problems, dreamland will remain just that – an elusive dream.

Ultimately, that poor soul might end up staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night without a single ZZZ in sight. Stress begets stress. The situation gets worse until exhaustion finally captures them and they eventually drift off only to be woken by their alarm clock a few hours later. It is the beginning of another stressful day and a day they wish was not upon them. 

What if you could mitigate all of that? What if you could turn back the clock and do what you loved to do as a child before bed?

‘Adults are just outdated children.’

That’s what Dr. Seuss, the American author of more than 60 children’s books, claimed. Let’s say he was right. That would mean that we could get an update like an app and reclaim some of our inner children.

What use is that?

Think back to when you were a kid. What part of the bedtime ritual did you enjoy the most? What is it that we see in most movies or TV series that involves children?

Bedtime stories!

I found an interesting article on a sleepingguide.org that mentioned children love listening to stories and that over and over again until eventually they can say the words before mom or dad have even uttered them. Apart from maybe the repeat side of things, the same is still true when we grow up. We just don’t know it yet.

And the benefits are proven. Listening to a calm and pleasant voice before falling asleep reduces stress and cortisol levels while inspiring creativity in the brain.

How do we get that very same thing?

In short the podcast.

What? How will listening to a podcast help me sleep? Hello, we just spoke of stories and their relaxing properties. That is what a podcast can do for you. So, let’s start with the benefits.   

Benefits

When listening to a podcast, you are not stressing over your relationship, work, the mortgage or other matters. All you are doing is listening to something soothing, and this distracts the mind. It will make that slip into sweet slumber all the more natural because the brain focuses on the serenading voice. Also, there is nothing visual, keeping the brain cognitively aroused, like when watching TV or surfing the net.

What do you want to listen to?

At this juncture, you might ask yourself what do I even want to listen to? Think back to when you were little or maybe to your last holiday when you read a bestseller that was really good. Maybe something from the New York Times fiction list might be too heavy for you. No worries, there are even more options. You could go for a language, meditation or information podcast or maybe even a lulling and droning bedtime story for adults to name a few of the options out there.   

In contrast to the radio, a podcast has a time limit and will switch off once it is finished. So, there is no need to worry that you will be assaulted with the news in the middle of the night. Another benefit over conventional media is that a podcast for falling asleep is specially designed to do just that.

Still suffering from insomnia give the podcast a try. Many people swear by it.  

Guest Blog Post by tom@blogondirt.com