In order to unlock the full benefits, you need to upgrade to the paid subscription at $12.99 a month or $69.99 annually. Headspace's free version contains very little sleep content. Targeted content focuses on situational aspects, including specific content for when you wake in the middle of the night and need help getting back to sleep. The timer function is also handy, allowing you to customize the length of your play.

The sleep function is easy to use and contains a library of content, ranging from music to soundscapes to sleep radio with extended play. The overall focus of the app is centered around “sleep hygiene,” or creating a routine that improves how fast you fall asleep, and also the quality of your sleep. Every time I need something to help me sleep, it's the first thing I turn on.Headspace is known primarily as a meditation app, but it also contains an amazing sleep music offering. When listening to Rainforest Sounds, my brain becomes the inside of the white room where God hangs out in movies. You hear birds chirping, the low hoot of an owl, and other soothing sounds in a combination that captures your attention and then does nothing with it. It's a layered soundscape built on top of a softly rolling stream. None of them felt real enough, natural enough, that they could lull me to sleep.įinally, I discovered Rainforest Sounds by Voice Apps, LLC. I scrolled through various sleep sound options, but to no avail.

Without a large body of open water and a pair of diesel V-8s, I looked at the next best thing: the Echo Dot with a clock. I had to distract myself from my racing thoughts after sundown.

Some of the best naps I've ever had were on trips between islands.Įarly in the pandemic, my latent desire for an at-home audio sleep aid swelled to an absolute need. When I was a camp counselor at Sitka Fine Arts Camp, I discovered the joy that is the diesel coma. On boats in southeast Alaska, they call it the “diesel coma.” The gentle whirr of boat engines combines with the rolling sea and eau de petroleum, lulling you into some of the best z's you'll ever catch-on a fishing vessel or otherwise.

Soft music to fall asleep