I think this last couple of weeks sleep and I have been on a break. In fact, I'm beginning to suspect that sleep has started to see other people, whilst I lay in bed night after night wondering where it all went wrong and if we'll ever be reunited.
What started off as a slight sore throat developed into me losing my voice, then a cold decided to join the party and then to complete the guest list, a hacking cough rocked up.
What a treat for me!
All of them combined to ensure that my ability to sleep well and truly left the building.
The cold finally got the message, took its party bag and left. The sore throat and lack of voice is hanging around, I feel like it wants to leave, but also like it doesn't want to miss anything. The Cough however is that party guest that is searching the cupboards looking for for the tequila so they can try and convince everyone to do shots. It refuses to get the message and just like the annoying party guest that won't go home, it has left me with nights of disturbed sleep.
I have tried all my normal "I need a good night's sleep" tricks.
Read till I couldn't keep my eyes open. You can read my review of "The Longest Goodbye".
Watched TV until I've fallen asleep, thank goodness there's lots of episodes of "90 day Fiancee". Pretty sure I'm ready to advise couples on the K-1 Visa process now.
I've tried sleeping sitting up, but I just end up slipping back down the pillows.
I've drunk pineapple juice. Apparently there's something in pineapple juice that helps with a cough, I'm not sure what and this time it didn't work.
Got drunk on red wine.
My sister Lucy said to sit with my arms raised above my head, but to frank I felt a bit silly and as thought I were about to launch into the 1981 Ottoman classic, "Hands Up".
Every morning I've felt like my Fitbit is mocking me, telling me how little sleep I've had. I found myself saying to it, "I know you smug git"
I was desperate!
Then an email popped up, my Calm app was due for renewal and it was going to cost me £10.00 more than it had done the previous year! I'd gone through a phase last year where I'd used the app all the time. I'd done the "daily calm" the 10 minute meditation and I went to sleep using one of the deep sleep meditations. They'd really worked for me, but I'd got out of the habit.
I figured it was time to give it another go. After a particularly bad night's sleep, I decided my only option was an afternoon disco nap. Rather than use a meditation, I looked through the soundscape options, I liked the idea of dozing off to the sound of a babbling brook.
Rather than enjoy a little nap, I found myself obsessing over the sort of things you could choose to fall asleep to and more to the point, who was choosing these as their background noise?
Now don't get me wrong, there are the more traditional soundscapes of "mountain spa hot tub", "sea of diamonds", "rain on tent" and "crackling fireplace" - and my personal favourite, "waters of Iceland".
Some are slightly more bizarre. I can't imagine nodding off to "Jurassic World", cue nightmares about being eaten by a Velociraptor. I could have chosen the sound of a "commercial airliner", I wonder if it comes up with the special effect of the cabin crew offering you a bag of pretzels just as you've nodded off.
For the more gothic amongst us there's "the sound of Mr Poe's Library". I'm quite scared of Edgar Allen Poe, so that would be a no from me, but my absolute most random favourite is "washing machine".
Falling asleep to the sound of a washing machine wouldn't work for me for a number of reasons.
I'd wake up mid sleep panicking about all the laundry I had to do.
I have a lounge / kitchen at my house so at night if I was watching TV and the washing machine was on, I'd end up nodding off in front of the TV.
So, what I want to know is what soundscape sends you to sleep?
UPDATE:
Just had to nip my friend out and as we got in the car my phone synced with the car and started playing the sound of the washing machine I'd been listening to for research. She looked at me like I'd gone bonkers. Hopefully she'll read this and realise I was telling the truth!
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