Two Months, and I'm a Little Disappointed

DreamDiver wrote:

robysue wrote:And since the gerbil on the wheel can trigger the wake up, is there a way of insulating yourself from that noise? Move the gerbil cage? Have some white noise in the room you sleep in? ...

I suspect he's talking about the metaphorical 'gerbil wheel' the mind sometimes finds itself on at 3am. Whitenoise might still help if the problem is a noise that can be masked that acts as an arousal mechanism: neighbor's dog barking, owls, etc. Earplugs might work too. One unexpected thing that works for me is to listen to a story in audio book format. It helps for it to be something not too engaging, as robysue also suggested for reading material -- something you've heard a number of times before. Classics are good for this. If your parents read to you as a child, it could actually trigger sleep in less time than you might expect. I use an mp3 player with the volume turned down just so I can barely hear it. Your mind is sort of on the story -- not on problems, and then you fall asleep.

Yes, I was talking about the metaphorical gerbil.

jjborders wrote: Yes, I was talking about the metaphorical gerbil.

Mine is a squirrel. It runs best at 1 am.

The idea of chants is great. I have some I used to use when I was doing massage. Now all I need is to find a functioning cd player.

BlackSpinner wrote:

jjborders wrote: Yes, I was talking about the metaphorical gerbil.

Mine is a squirrel. It runs best at 1 am.

The idea of chants is great. I have some I used to use when I was doing massage. Now all I need is to find a functioning cd player.

And mine are three tag-teaming hedgehogs. Cute as they might be, they're darned annoying in the wee hours, especially when they want the affection so many of our less-imaginary cats and dogs do.

Chanticleer has some great gregorian chants. If you want something that sounds very traditional, go for 'Chants' by The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos. I'm partial to Anonymous 4's 'An English Lady Mass' composed by Abbess Hildegard von Bingen. (Incidentally, von Bingen was a brilliant nun who composed a lot of music and poetry, etc.) Technically, this album is not pure plainsong, but it's very good. If you need something simpler, try '11,000 Virgins: Chants for the Feast of St. Ursula', also recorded by Anonymous 4.

There: 4 albums, 2 with male choir, 2 with female choir. Enjoy.

So last night when the squirrels started to go in circles I did what the various insomnia people have suggested - I got up and did something. Didn't work for me I feel much more of a wreck this morning then when I stayed in bed. I have to figure out the music thing.

robysue wrote: I think the software would really help sort some other issues out---even beyond potential leak problems and spotting a pair of almost worn out pillows.

Agreed. The software has "turned a bad game into a win" for many people. Often. See viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60874&p=570977#p570977 .