I struggle to fall asleep. I always have. As the poet Dana Gioia writes, every night brings to me the useless insight, the unbroken dark. I am not anxious or unhappy as I lie awake–I am, simply, awake when I do not wish to be.
One of the tricks any good insomniac uses is lulling the mind into sleep. Nature sounds, very dull stories, stressless math problems that have no end–I’ve tried them all. None are as effective as rereading a comfort read. Over the years, I’ve become languorously heavy-eyed to The Best Man by Kristan Higgins, The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander, Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas, Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare, and Uncommon Passion by Anne Calhoun. These are books I can pick up, scroll to anywhere in the story, and read until my eyes begin to droop. They are, given my deep familiarity with them, soothing and unchallenging, so familiar that I barely need to pay attention to their prose. They nudge me toward dreamland, where I fall asleep with fragments of true love and great sex winnowing through my brain.
Do you do this? If so, what do you read? And if not, what works for you to sink into restful slumber?
If I’m having trouble getting to sleep, then I’ll go for an audiobook – probably one I’ve listened to before so I don’t keep myself awake because I’m worried about missing something! I’ll usually choose one based on who the narrator is rather than what the book is, so Greg Tremblay, JF Harding and Iggy Toma are probably my most listened to gents when I’m trying to sleep.
I don’t use ebooks as a way of dropping off – I can definitely get tired while reading, but it’s probably because I was tired anyway. A book is more likely to keep me awake!
I can’t fall asleep with headphones and I worry an audiobook would wake up Dr. Feelgood.
I have one of those headbands with earphones built in. It’s comfortable and can also act as an eye mask. They’re inexpensive – well worth the 13 quid I spent on it!
Cool. I will look for it!
I want to try the headband with earphones! I just remember one of my daughter’s has one and she likes it. Sounds like it would be good for winter walks, too, since I have to cover my ears if it’s chilly outside.
This is the one I have – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QLS8HM7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I’m sure there are loads available at Amz US.
I usually read whatever book I have going at the moment, but if the book is angsty/stressful (or if I’m simply at a stressful/angsty part), then I keep a short story anthology and a few novellas on my ereader to read instead.
But I confess, after being diagnosed with chronic insomnia almost 2 decades ago, I’ve been on one or the other prescription meds for sleep. My doctor and I tried for almost two years to change my sleep habits, dietary habits, environment, plus started therapy to treat it “naturally,” but nothing worked. I was getting so little quality sleep I was having issues with cognition and memory.
I go for comfort rereads too, not so much to get me to sleep but to provide pleasant dreams. Anything by Loretta Chase, early Eloisa James—something with likable people who don’t behave like idiots. Music too, preferably something cheerful like Haydn. (My favorite Haydn story: Someone complained that his religious music wasn’t solemn enough. He said, “But it makes me happy to think about God.”)
I have the opposite problem and usually fall asleep quickly when I’m in the prone position or my eyes are tired at the end of the day, no matter how interesting or thrilling the book. My husband is amused at how hard I fight to stay awake just a little longer while reading a book at night. To sleep well, though, I avoid caffeine after my morning coffee and try to limit my screen time, and exercise during the day. Both caffeine and too much screen time will keep me half awake with a buzzing brain that won’t shut up. Unfortunately, I still won’t be able to keep my eyes open if I get up and try to read in the middle of the night.
A combination of factors can also make me sleepy. Back when I was in the office every day, I’d grab lunch, go to a quiet place to read at our office building’s patio, and read my book. The combination of food, book, and the hum of traffic in the background had a soporific effect on me. It could be quite soothing, actually.
My husband falls asleep within moments of getting into bed. It’s enviable!
I have been a “night owl” since I was a child. My body’s preferred bedtime is between midnight and 1:00 am. And I don’t just lie down and fall asleep quickly, it takes awhile to actually feel sleepy. I usually plan for at least an hour of reading to wind down. Rather than having a “Go to” sleep read, I tend to have genres or subjects I avoid at bedtime. No thrillers or suspense, nothing dark or angry, no violence, no tragic death or accidents, etc. It has to be mellow and relaxing. Even extra hot sex scenes can wake me up! So if I really need to get to sleep at an earlier time, I turn to an old favorite such as Jane Austen, Mary Balogh, or Georgette Heyer. They all have humor and make me smile. There is a gentleness to most of their stories, and they are populated primarily with good people. They are comforting and can help me slide into sleep when I need them. But I try not to use them too much, so they don’t lose that power.
I find reading nonfiction will often do that for me!
I mostly read nonfiction for my book clubs, so I do that during the day. But maybe I can find a slightly boring one that I can keep next to my bed!
I very rarely have trouble falling asleep but do have trouble staying asleep. I’ll wake in the middle of the night, usually for no particular reason, then half the time lie awake and eventually decide to grab a book. Whether I’m awake because there is something bothering me or not, books allow me to spend time in another world with other characters, and eventually I do get back to sleep, The problem is, it’s usually a couple of hours later, and I don’t know if it was insomnia that kept me awake so long, a good story, or the realization that the library book will soon be overdue so needs to be finished.
I don’t usually have trouble falling asleep. I listen to music as I’m falling asleep, and if I wake up in the middle of the night I take it as a hint that I need to go to the bathroom. The music takes my mind off whatever is keeping my mind awake. I do make sure I don’t have any caffeine after my morning cup of tea and I make sure I get daily exercise to ensure I’m tired at night. I’m a night owl and I normally go to sleep anywhere between 11 pm and 1:30 am. No matter what time I go to sleep, I’m usually up by 7 am. Sometimes an afternoon nap is needed. If I’m tired enough, I’ll fall asleep reading, but usually reading just keeps me awake, especially if I like the book.
Lloyd Alexander… I love his Prydain books. I might have to go back and reread them.
The Prydain books hold up beautifully. I hope you do!
No talk ASMR massage videos on youtube are what sends me to dreamland every night.
Before I found them I hade a very soothing slow paced instrumental playlist.
Like Dabney’s husband, I am very fortunate in that I fall asleep within a few minutes. However, I always need to read before going to bed. It helps me unwind. I used to feel guilty keeping the nightstand light on after my husband turned his off to go to sleep, although he reassured me that he didn’t mind. However, then I got a Kindle. I read it with my nightstand light off and when my husband turns his light off to go to sleep, I dim the Kindle backlight a little (he almost always goes to sleep first). Nowadays, I am often reading in the evenings so when I go to bed, I continue reading my current book. If I am in between books, I will spend 15-20 minutes re-reading sections of my favorite books, typically funny passages or romantic ones – just anything that will make me feel happy before going to sleep. In the past few years I have been reading a lot of M/M contemporary romance so these favorite books include Rule Breaker by Lily Morton, Perfect Day by Sally Malcolm, The Best Men by Sarina Bowen and Lauren Blakely, and The Dating Experiment by Briar Prescott, just to name a few.
One odd thing I have noticed in the past year or two is that I can’t start watching a movie past 9 PM. If I do then I start nodding off during the last half hour. Yet if I am reading on my Kindle, I don’t get sleepy in the evening hours and can stay up until 1-2 AM to finish off my book without problem (on weekends – on weekdays I have to stop earlier to get enough sleep for work the next day!). I guess my mind is more engaged by reading?
I too used to feel guilty about keeping up Dr. Feelgood. But I read, and have for years, on an iPad. I love the black background for night!