As much as I love this idea, I fear finding a video that ends up being so fascinating it keeps me awake. All I would have to show for trying to take a nap is a new hyperfocus and being even more tired.
I just watched the Tetris one for longer than I care to admit. If I weren't at work, it would have been even longer. I don't think I could fall asleep before it ended.
I watched it until he had 300,000 points then skipped to the end. It makes me nostalgic for all the moments I’ve played Tetris before, including back in high school math class on a Voyage 200. (Back then I was so bad at Tetris.)
Love those ideas. 2 years ago I've build sth similar(not targeted for sleeping though) -> https://tv.istasyon.app/ It was going to be a curated version of the YouTube where people watch the same high quality content (from youtube) together like a TV. A free online TV where no subscription is required.
In Spain I used to watch Cycling Tour rides at 3-5PM. Pretty good to sleep at Summer. You got nice aerial views and panoramas of the countryside with a commenter speaking with a dull voice, it was perfect,
All I need is "How It's Made" on a loop and I will be out in three minuets flat. That mans voice, pacing, and the semi bland but interesting content is somehow a recipie for shutting me down. Love the idea and the URL. Gold
That's what I did for a long time; the main issues with it is the leader music, youtube ads, and that they're relatively short.
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.
What I've figured out works wonderfully for me is to turn on an agri-commodities podcast where the most exciting news is something like the US soybean production unexpectedly falling 30% over the past 6 months.
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've recently become a NMH listener as well, and I'm a fan. I don't need it every night, but definitely it's part of the overall package for getting good sleep under stress, along with screen hygiene, physical activity, and light cannabis use.
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
I’m convinced that the genre of boring Podcasts for sleeping is a large but undefined market. I listen to “in our time” and “The Guardian Long Reads” and “conversations with Tyler”.
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.
Not sure it totally fits the bill for you but for me “The Science of Everything” by James Fodor does the trick. The variety of topics plus his generally soothing voice might work?
If there was a way to ensure no commercial breaks && you could turn off the announcers/commentary leaving just nat sounds, NASCAR races will put me right out.
I know the site is meant to be boring videos, but I found this one extremely interesting (and I've not even watched Star Trek) https://napflix.tv/?id=e5Did-eVQDc
I got the Owl documentary and it made me wonder if I’d be slightly proud or slightly annoyed if I something I made and found interesting ended up as a tool for people to fall asleep to.
I’m probably the only person alive who pretty much only falls asleep to things they find interesting.
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’m with you. My go to is a podcast called “The Science of Everything” by James Fodor. He does a fantastic job explaining so many things - it almost feels mean to say I love falling asleep to it. It just means I’ve listened to so many episodes over and over. It’s the right amount of stimulation and engagement to relax me from my day until sleep takes over.
Now, falling asleep with AirPods in every night? Maybe not the best habit. But I know it works when I need it to.
I listen to audio from retrogaming YouTubes to fall asleep.
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.
If you're not interested in the lore or you know it already, https://www.youtube.com/@VaatiVidya is also a really good channel, the man has got a very soothing voice and speech mannerisms. Since Elden Ring came out, he's made some 'movies' of up to an hour long where one storyline (of the many that intercross in the game) is highlighted.
Here's my guaranteed (for me) method for falling asleep in less than 30 minutes: playing BBC 4's "In Our Time" episode on the Epic of Gilgamesh.
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!
I literally just woke up from an In Our Time-induced nap!
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.
Oh it's an aggregator. I was concerned it's the dawn of a new awful form of advertising.
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.
Dr. Todd Grande channel on YouTube analyzes missing person cases, murder cases, situations of unusual behavior, and so on, from a psychological perspective, all with a soothing voice and a good level of sarcasm and dry humor. The material is interesting but easy to fall asleep to. Right now he pumps out seemingly at least one a day, there's a huge back catalog.
I put on a show on my iPad I know really really well so it’s slightly enjoyable to drown out my mind otherwise racing but not new enough to keep me awake listening.
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).
61 comments
[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 103 ms ] threadThere's loads of similar "manufacturing" videos on youtube these days, but they don't have the narration or 'vibe', sometimes annoying thumping music, etc.
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
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!
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!
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.
Now, falling asleep with AirPods in every night? Maybe not the best habit. But I know it works when I need it to.
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!
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!
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'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.
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.
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).