Tonight, we’ll journey to the misty valleys of Ireland, where you’ll embark on a tranquil drive through the countryside in your own campervan. As rain gently taps on the roof and the mist rolls over the hills, you’ll discover the serene beauty of Ireland’s west. Feel the peaceful rhythm of the van beneath you, and allow the calming landscape to lull you into a restful sleep. 😴
My journey in attempting to relax and decompress continues. I think I've finally found a cure to my insomnia, and it's these lovely sleep stories by Stephen Dalton. Often, I have trouble sleeping, not due to any underlying medical condition (at least, I don't think so) but because my brain refuses to slow down. I feel like I spend all day red-lining in first gear and it is really hard to come down from the adrenaline and cortisol. I've been experimenting with different nighttime routines to help get my eyes off screens and allow my body to start resting, but the effect wasn't too significant. My sleep was unfortunately still light and rather patchy at best (I tracked my sleep with a smartwatch to confirm).
On a whim, I found out the meditation app I've been using (Insight Timer) had sleep stories, and I randomly decided to try one by Stephen Dalton. I was sleepily blown away. For those that don't know, these are like bedtime stories for adults. They feature soothing stories, relaxing music, tranquil sound design, and sometimes a little wind-down meditation at the beginning.
Stephen's stories seemed to work particularly well for me, I'm not quite sure why. The little relaxation session at the beginning is exactly the right tone and length to help my mind slow down a bit--like he's reaching out a hand and catching me in frantic flight, slowing me down just enough to be receptive to the story. And then the story itself just slips in and before I know it, I'm out like a light. I don't even need to track my sleep anymore--I can tell where I knocked out based on the last detail of the story I remember. I was shocked to find it was usually no more than six or seven minutes in, since it has taken me thirty to forty-five minutes to fall asleep for years. Sometimes I'm out in the relaxation session, and I don't even get to hear the story!
They also just put me in a good mood for sleep, even if I don't use them all the way through. More often than not these days, I don't quite fall asleep, but I get sleepy enough, pop my earbuds back in their case (they're a little uncomfortable to sleep with but not disruptively so) and I'll fall straight asleep on my own. Sometimes, they slip out on their own, and I wake up with them underneath me. I hope that won't damage them.
This story (A Cozy Drive Through Misty Ireland) that I posted was the first one I ever listened to, and for some reason I keep coming back to it. The piano is perfect, and the peaceful rolling thunder in the distance is so relaxing coupled with the tapping rain. In this story, you drive a camper van through the misty western mountains of Ireland. He takes you over swelling roads, by large dark loches, and along ancient stone walls marking boundaries that have stood for hundreds of years. Something about the mist and the fog and the "verdant green of the land", as Stephen describes it, fills my heart in the best way and finally gives me permission to relax.
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| The video is available in 4k, which seems...counterproductive. |
The full list of stories I've been using is available at this YouTube playlist. I add any stories I like; though there's quite a few there, I have a few favorites, including:
- The Scribe of Alexandria (absolutely love this one)
- Saul the Sleepy Sloth (short but perfection)
- A Magical Forest Night with a Sleepy Owl
- Readings from the Shipping Forecast
- Finding Harmony in the Himalayas
- The Sleepy Donkey
I might write reviews for a few of these since I find the very act of reflecting on the sleep stories and writing a few words about them wonderfully relaxing in and of itself, a perfect way to wind down before sleep.
Previously on this blog:
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