There's a better method to catching some shut-eye than counting sheep. If that works for you, great! But if not, try adding a sleep-inducing podcast to your bedtime routine. Below are a mix of soothing sounds and stories and episodes focused on achieving an autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), like spine-tingling, to choose from.
If you have trouble sleeping, keep in mind that a good night's rest can also be attainable by changing habits during the day [1]. Fit in an exercise in the morning, for example, decompress before hitting the sheets [2], tune into a podcast, and you'll be asleep before you know it.
Check out six podcasts that are even better than a bedtime story.
- Sleep Whispers — The ASMR Podcast [4]: ASMR artist Harris whispers the entire duration of the podcast, which is strangely relaxing. So far, he's whispered fairy tales, a "fade-to-sleep" session, and trivia.
- Sleep With Silk [5]: There are five separate podcast series within Sleep With Silk, including Sleep With Nature Sounds [6], Sleep With Background Noise [7], and Sleep With Binaural Beats [8]. Enjoy noises like howling with drizzling rain and a small fan blowing.
- Game of Drones [9]: This Sleep With Me [10] podcast series is narrated by a guy named Scooter who has the ability to make such an action-packed show like Game of Thrones sound incredibly boring. He recaps and analyzes every episode for about an hour and a half or more, but you'll be knocked out cold way before he's done.
- The Auracle — The ASMR Podcast [11]: In this ASMR podcast, The Auracle guides you through a series of unintelligible whispers, cupping, tapping, and more. Her soothing voice layered on top of mouth sounds will have you drifting off in no time.
- Sleep and Relax ASMR [12]: This podcast/YouTube channel offers whispered words, soothing narrations, and background noise and music to sleep to. Learn about Edgar Allan Poe's life in detail; listen to a train ride in Brussels, Belgium; and more.
- ASMR Sleep Station [13]: Enjoy boring commentary on random subjects, technical reading, white noises, and whispers. The Sleep Station features a variety of sleep-inducing options, each episode running for about 30 minutes to an hour.