It’s been a crazy year, with plenty of stress, and no shortage of things to think (and worry) about. For that reason falling asleep at night can sometimes be tough. If you’ve already tried drinking less coffee and getting some exercise, you might need a podcast to help lull you to bed. Thankfully, there are many podcasts out there designed to do just this. Sleep podcasts include story podcasts, ASMR podcasts, and podcasts filled with ambient noise and random sounds. Whatever flavor of relaxation you’re looking for, hopefully these podcasts help you get to sleep and sleep well. If you’re looking for podcasts to listen to during the waking hours, check out our round up of 2021’s best podcasts, in case you missed any.
Get Sleepy
Get Sleepy begins with meditation alongside soothing music in the background. They then read stories. Slowly. And calmly. In boring, dulcet tones. Give this one a try.
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Nothing Much Happens
On Nothing Much Happens, the narrator reads a story where, well, nothing much happens. In a soothing whisper, allow your mind to wander until you eventually fall into a gentle, peaceful sleep. The narrator reads the story twice, slower the second time, to make sure you’ve drifted off before the podcast ends. Because the narrator is also a yoga instructor, the podcast kicks off with relaxing breathing exercises as well.
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Sleep With Me
From PRX, Drew Ackerman reads various things in a dull, monotone voice. Some examples include a JC Penny Catalog and the narration of a Great British Baking Show episode. Despite the half hour or so of talking and ads at the beginning, once you skip ahead to the actual podcast it’s a good one.
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Slow Radio
Slow Radio falls more into the sound category of podcasts than stories. They include earth sounds for each month which are backed by orchestral music. Their November sounds includes a Thai rainforest, a loch in the Scottish highlands, distant church clock chimes, and grazing cattle. All this mixed with calming classical music.
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On A Dark, Cold Night
If you like scary stories and horror podcasts this is the sleep podcast for you. Kristin Zaza reads these stories slowly and calmly and in a tone that is, no offense, easy to tune out. This podcast fills the background nicely as you fall asleep.
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Stories from the Borders of Sleep
Seymour Jacklin reads original stories in a calm, soothing voice. This podcast allows your mind to wander off into other worlds and lose focus on whatever might be keeping you awake. Exactly what you want from a sleep podcast.
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Bore you to Sleep
As the name suggests, this podcast focuses on boring material (manuals, old books) the drier the better. The authors voice is also incredibly monotone and I did indeed find this podcast really boring. Take a listen to recent episode — The American Printer: A Manual of Typography, to see what I mean.
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The ASMR Podcast
Lastly, if ASMR is your thing, there are a number of podcasts out there to satisfy your sleep desires. ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response, which is a unique reaction to sound that some of us experience. In podcast form, this results in whispers, tapping, scratching, and other various sounds. Some people report getting a tingling or soothing sensation from ASMR. Others find it annoying. Give the ASMR podcast a listen and find out for yourself.
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