Ask Lemmy

Just the sound of my CPAP running

We have the sounds of NYC to fall asleep to.... when we (are able to) go upstate, I sleep like a rock, the silence is deafening

I use an app (iOS, Android, Windows, web) by TMSoft called White Noise. I think it was like $2.99. It has a bunch of pre-programmed sounds (waves, chimes, birds, traffic, etc) that you can use. You can also import sounds, change existing sounds (alter pitch, make slower, etc), create your own mixes, etc.

My current "sleep sound" is a mix. The base is pink noise, which nicely muffles many sounds. Since a constant hiss can be annoying on it's own, I topped it with a pitch-lowered heavy rain (the regular pitch was a little annoying). To avoid being woken up by bass noises (lawnmowers, vacuum cleaners, delivery trucks), I added in a slowed-down heavy thunderstorm: it has intermittent peals of thunder that rumble on and then fade away; any base noises that I hear, my sleeping mind interprets as a long peal of thunder and doesn't bother waking me up. Underneath all that, I have a very slowed-down heartbeat; my heart will tend to try to match it, prepping me for sleep. And I've added in some very intermittent birdsong and frogs croaking to make it a little more cheerful, and a kitten purring because that's relaxing too so why not?

I tinker with it occasionally, but it really helps me sleep through any disturbances at night.

Varies from one night to the next, but I typically put on something from myNoise.net when I do want sound.

Every night, White noise via the sound of rain and/or the fans of my computer if I leave it on.

Yes. Generally with Would I Lie to You or the Unbelievable Truth.

I have tinnitus, I can't sleep without it.

Yes I use a fan.

Give me the sound of rain or white noise or give me death!

I used a fan for almost three decades. About a year ago, I fell asleep without my fan accidentally and I have not slept with one since. #JustTinnitusThings

I’ve had some success with binaural beats. It’s two pure sin wave tones - one in each ear. The tones are out of tune with each other so it has a bit of a wavy or pulsing sound. But they’re close enough to sound like one note and not two. Apparently the difference between these two waves gets entrained into your brain waves even though you can’t hear it. My favorites are 94 hz carrying a 3 hz differential, 96 hz carrying a 4hz differential, and 115 hz carrying a 5 hz differential. I’m using an app called Binaural Beat Gen by TMSOFT. Anyway the very low brain waves are delta waves associated with deep sleep. In a way, it’s hacking your brain to sleep.

I have sleep with me podcast

Oh man no. Not like that. White noise or nature sounds is great. One thing is I run a fan often in the summers and it is a bit annoying to adjust to not having it but its not so big a deal I feel I have to use it. Its like a treat for myself to put on some nature sounds but I rarely do it. I love having a fire with ocean rains and a light storm combined. Im actually sorta the opposite of you. Sounds that actually have engaging audio drive me nuts and its kina worse the lower it gets. The most annoying thing is to have this sound of a show or voices that is just barely loud enough that I can hear them and its keeping me from actually sleeping. Have had to remind my wife a bunch to put on her headphones as she always thinks she can just lower the volume and it will be fine. But the lower volume is as I said. Worse.

I use a fan. Without it it's too quiet and hot.

I honestly would prefer library silence or less. Earplugs cause other issues for me so they are not an option, I have tried. I also prefer almost complete darkness.

I'm honestly looking to build a float tank to use for times when I am really struggling to sleep. When I scuba dive the only reason why I don't try to take a nap is the risk of losing my regulator or running out of air.

Ive been sleeping with a noise maker (the kind that blows air through holes) my entire life. Ive noticed I get deeper sleep in silence though, it just takes too long to fall asleep without the white noise.

Yeah, I have a mp3 player under my pillow with a white noise track on it

I started sleeping with rain sounds years ago because I would always hyperfixate on every little noise. The wobbling tone of the ceiling fan was enough to keep me awake some nights. I've played my usual setup for people and it's always too quiet for them to near, but it's louder than every creak and pop of the house. The track I picked was based on what actual rain sounds like outside my window.

Nope, the quieter, the better

Whatever it takes to quiet the thoughts. Plus, adding a base layer of familiar sound helps drown out the odd sounds that makes your brain assess the danger. I don't often use sound, but for a while I did key myself into playing a particular Deadmau5 album to knock me out for a lunch nap.

The thoughts can be a problem. You can't stop thinking about how to fix something from earlier. My favorite mental game is picking a category and going through the alphabet, naming an item for each letter. It's OK to skip a letter, come back later. You're still thinking creatively, but the speed is much slower. The "problem" is no longer something threatening you (bills, arguments, chores), it's just finding a one-word response at a time. Cities, towns but not real cities, desserts, bodies of water, car models, zoo animals, construction materials, colors...

Before I got married, I always put some snoozefest video to fall asleep to. Now I fall asleep by itself. Frankly, I am not even close to my wife who falls asleep in 5 minutes if she leaves her phone alone. But 10 to 15 mins is guaranteed for me.

It took practice too. After I stopped doing it, sometimes it would take me more than half an hour to fall asleep. Especially if something is bothering me. Overtime I have developed ways to take my mind off these thoughs by focusing on music or sounds around me.

It takes practice, like anything else. Doing something makes you better at something and not doing something will make you worse at it. In this case you have been conditioning your brain to need ambient noise. There is a line between it being a small help on some days and it being a crutch you've built your life around. Sounds lile you are in the latter camp.

I do not. AI prefer quiet for sleep.

The sound of rain is nice though to go to sleep.

I'd prefer to sleep in total silence, but since that's not an option where I currently live, I have a white noise machine.

I have the TV on in the other room while falling asleep. I live alone, so nobody is bothered by it

White noise. I cant stand random volume changes, otherwise I wouldn't mind soft music. I also cant stand the sound of my own breathing, so silence isnt an option.

Used to. Had to have the radio going on low or a fan running during the summer. Not anymore. Any chance you’re adhd? Sometimes The noise in the head is hard to shut off so you can sleep.

I sleep in my AirPods listening to tv shows. The new feature where it pauses my stuff after I fall asleep is pretty nifty.

Yes.

I prefer movies or anime I've seen so many times that I have them memorized, so my mind follows along effortlessly.

It's sort of like my mind is a toddler, and if I don't plunk it down in front of something familiar that I know it likes, it'll run off and get into god-knows-what and I'll never get a moment's peace.