Stress Or Menopause Keeping You Awake at Night? Podcasts to the Rescue!
Life or menopause: both can interrupt or totally banish your sleep.
Menopause found me, and I found myself laying awake at night and mulling over things I couldn't do anything about.
I didn't want to take sleeping medications, so after months of nearly nonexistent sleep, I decided that if I was doomed to insomnia then I was going to use my extra awake time to get SMARTER...
I would listen to interesting audiotapes.
And if I happened to fall asleep while getting smarter, well great -- I'd win in either case! But since audiotapes are a de facto thing of the past, I consulted a teenager (my daughter) about what to do.
She said that I wanted an iPod.
Holy hot flash, Batman! I thanked her, and then reminded her that my birthday was in two weeks.
It worked.
(I knew my husband was willing to pay anything if there was even a slight chance that I might stop kicking him and throwing off all the covers every night.
) If you cruise over to iTunes, you will find thousands of FREE podcasts that you can download and listen to while you're not sleeping.
There are podcasts that will teach you another language, make you laugh, teach you to relax, guide you in meditation, tell you bedtime stories, bathe you in culture, reveal how things work, and many of them will bore you straight into a nice, deep sleep-- no charge, and drug free! Download your picks to your new iTunes account, sync your iPod, and stash it under your pillow, within easy reach.
You'll have it right there for when you need it.
No fumbling around in the dark.
(Tip: you don't need to use both earpieces-- one will suffice, and you will be more comfortable.
) Here are some of my favorite podcasts: The New Yorker Fiction series...
New Yorker Authors read a favorite story of another New Yorker author, followed by an always-interesting discussion (if you're still awake).
You'll either be engaged or you'll be sleeping.
Both are very very good.
Check out the TED talks, short talks from leading innovators.
This American Life is excellent.
WNYC Radio Lab is eclectic and fun.
Terry Gross' Fresh Aire series is great.
The Long Now Foundation has some very interesting programs...
kind of egg-heady, but they will put you to sleep pretty fast and truly make you smarter.
Want to learn about the history of the Roman Empire? I thought not, but consider this: listening to it will put you to sleep nearly instantly, so search for those kinds of things.
Really, the variety is endless, and is infinitely customizable to fit your tastes.
I'm sleeping well AND I'm smarter since I became a nighthawk podcast fan.
So, your restless and sleepless nights don't have to be unproductive.
Podcasts are a great non-drug work-around to the out-of-control stress of the daytime.
Check it out! Just one word of caution: NEVER, EVER, download the news!
Menopause found me, and I found myself laying awake at night and mulling over things I couldn't do anything about.
I didn't want to take sleeping medications, so after months of nearly nonexistent sleep, I decided that if I was doomed to insomnia then I was going to use my extra awake time to get SMARTER...
I would listen to interesting audiotapes.
And if I happened to fall asleep while getting smarter, well great -- I'd win in either case! But since audiotapes are a de facto thing of the past, I consulted a teenager (my daughter) about what to do.
She said that I wanted an iPod.
Holy hot flash, Batman! I thanked her, and then reminded her that my birthday was in two weeks.
It worked.
(I knew my husband was willing to pay anything if there was even a slight chance that I might stop kicking him and throwing off all the covers every night.
) If you cruise over to iTunes, you will find thousands of FREE podcasts that you can download and listen to while you're not sleeping.
There are podcasts that will teach you another language, make you laugh, teach you to relax, guide you in meditation, tell you bedtime stories, bathe you in culture, reveal how things work, and many of them will bore you straight into a nice, deep sleep-- no charge, and drug free! Download your picks to your new iTunes account, sync your iPod, and stash it under your pillow, within easy reach.
You'll have it right there for when you need it.
No fumbling around in the dark.
(Tip: you don't need to use both earpieces-- one will suffice, and you will be more comfortable.
) Here are some of my favorite podcasts: The New Yorker Fiction series...
New Yorker Authors read a favorite story of another New Yorker author, followed by an always-interesting discussion (if you're still awake).
You'll either be engaged or you'll be sleeping.
Both are very very good.
Check out the TED talks, short talks from leading innovators.
This American Life is excellent.
WNYC Radio Lab is eclectic and fun.
Terry Gross' Fresh Aire series is great.
The Long Now Foundation has some very interesting programs...
kind of egg-heady, but they will put you to sleep pretty fast and truly make you smarter.
Want to learn about the history of the Roman Empire? I thought not, but consider this: listening to it will put you to sleep nearly instantly, so search for those kinds of things.
Really, the variety is endless, and is infinitely customizable to fit your tastes.
I'm sleeping well AND I'm smarter since I became a nighthawk podcast fan.
So, your restless and sleepless nights don't have to be unproductive.
Podcasts are a great non-drug work-around to the out-of-control stress of the daytime.
Check it out! Just one word of caution: NEVER, EVER, download the news!