Top 8 podcasts to fall asleep to
The best podcasts designed to ease you into a deep slumber – perfect for insomniacs and sleepless nights
Text: Hui Yi Phua
credit: Ketut Subiyanto
Some nights are just harder to get to sleep– we toss and turn in attempts to find the best position and our minds can’t seem to quieten. Even counting imaginary sheep fails to induce much needed sleep. For those who face sleepless nights, incorporating sleep podcasts into your night-time routine can help.
Podcasts that are designed to help you fall asleep have been rising in popularity, as more and more people find it effective in lulling them to sleep. Although there currently isn’t enough scientific proof to explain how these podcasts help us doze off, theories have been made. Some say that the podcast hosts’ right voice tone and rhythm taps into our brain’s innate rhythmicity, making it more conducive for our brain to enter the earlier sleep stages. Others hypothesize that podcasts distract us from the thoughts which chase around our sleepless minds. Whatever the reason is, it seems like sleep podcasts can work well for many of us.
Here is our list of the most praise-worthy sleep podcasts and in various types, including bedtime stories, ASMR and plain white noise. See which one suits you and to help you get into deep, peaceful slumbers.
An essential to any sleep podcasts list, Sleep With Me’s method is plain and simple: host Drew Ackerman, or Scooter, narrates dull, overlong stories filled with tangents that are designed to help you forget about your problems and eventually bore you to sleep. Each 60-minute episode takes on a random topic with light humour, random ramblings, and a monotonous tone. And because this series has been going on since 2013, you won’t have to worry about running out of episodes to listen to.
Listen here on Spotify.
2. Get Sleepy
The small team at Get Sleepy comprises of professional writers, voice-over artistes, and sound designers – a perfect combination of experts who can help you fall asleep easier at night. In their 30- to 40-minute episodes, narrators with soothing voices guide the listeners through relaxing sleep meditations such as mindful body scans and breathing techniques, followed by calming stories.
Listen here on Spotify.
3. Slow Radio
BBC Radio 3’s Slow Radio calls itself “a lo-fi celebration of pure sound” – each episode lasts 15- to 30-minutes and provides listeners with soothing music and calming soundscapes from various sources around the world. Drift off to the immersing sounds of chirping birds from National Parks, or the Grumeti River in Serengeti, Africa.
Listen here on Spotify.
The podcast is exactly what its title suggests – Nothing Much Happens features low-stakes, simple tales that are easy on your mind and contains no gripping cliff-hangers so you can doze off peacefully. Each 20-minute bedtime story is narrated by yoga and meditation teacher Kathryn Nicolai, who seamlessly blends storytelling with brain training techniques that can help build better sleep habits over time.
Listen here on Spotify.
If you’re a fan of ASMR, Sleep Whispers will be right up your alley. Host Harris whispers his way through the 30-minute episodes about everything from curious facts, bedtime stories to cooking recipes, all of which are designed to slow down your thoughts, reset your mind and allow you to drift off into slumberland.
Listen here on Spotify.
6. Sleepy
Host Otis Gray (think deep voice with a tinge of Southern drawl) retells classic tales in 40- to 50-minute long episodes. This podcast is great for all who wish to bring back their childhood memories of being read to before bedtime, and because the stories are familiar, we don’t have to stay up till the end to find out what happens.
Listen here on Spotify.
This one is for horror-lovers with insomnia. Every week, narrator Kristen Zaza will tell a new original scary story that lasts 20- to 30-minutes in a slow and raspy voice. These spine-chilling yet soothing ghost stories are paradoxical, but are somehow effective in calming the mind and lulling certain listeners to sleep.
Listen here on Spotify.
Sometimes all we need is white noise to help us fall into deep sleep. This podcast collects 30- to 60-minute clips of relaxing and comforting sounds. Whether you prefer the sounds of passing trains, heavy rain or background city noise – this podcast series has it all.
Listen here on Spotify.
For more sleep-related articles from The Soothe, click here.
