In the words of Faithless, “I can’t get no sleep” and I never have been able to.
Yet I’ve found what you may think is a strange way to sort it out, which I’ll explain, and hopefully if any of this sounds familiar then it can help you too.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve laid awake with my mind running wild. “If you fall asleep now you’ll get six hours’ sleep, that’s fine,” I often say to myself. Then it goes down to five hours, four, three… you know the drill.
Even in pure comfort it can be difficult to fall asleep
I have concluded I don’t really need as much sleep as everyone else. If I get eight hours or longer I generally wake up feeling worse than if I’d only slept for five. However, that doesn’t stop me struggling to fall asleep every night.
At first, nothing seemed to work
I’ve tried lots of remedies such as listening to Classic FM, relaxation tapes and apps but nothing really helped.
Then came aromatherapy using lavender but my husband hated the smell, so it had to go. To be honest, it didn’t really work anyway.
When the oppressive heat of summer 2018 kicked in, my insomnia got worse. I was uncomfortable every night in a flat with no a/c and a fan that simply thrust more hot air at me. Desperate times called for desperate measures and a friend recommended over-the-counter sleep tablets. She advised me to take half the recommended dose a while before bed. I did and the result was a-mazing!
I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. But… I woke up in the morning feeling like I’d been hit by a bus so I didn’t want to use them. I prefer a natural approach.
The drugs do work… but not as a long term solution for me
What really worked… ASMR & latex gloves
Then, by chance one day, another friend told me about something called ASMR. He explained it was people falling asleep to the sound of hairdryers, ocean waves or other sounds. I thought it was bizarre, but then he said some people do ASMR videos on YouTube of eye exams and doctor’s appointments and this got me interested.
Since I was a kid I’d found going to the opticians relaxing. A dark room, whispers and someone lightly touching round my eyes had me feeling deeply serene and relaxed. So, I checked out ASMR.
ASMR stands for ‘autonomous sensory meridian response’. In short, it’s getting tingles or chills when you see or hear certain stimuli, but what actually causes the response differs by person. Some like white noise, some prefer tapping, some whispering and some crinkly plastic sounds – each to their own.
At first when I watched a couple of videos I wasn’t sure. There was a lot that was not relaxing, but then I found a video by the ASMRtist (this is what ASMR vloggers call themselves) Gibi that demonstrated different triggers so you can see what you like best.
I found softly whispered words and the sound of someone using latex gloves triggered the most tingles. I didn’t really know I was a latex gloves kinda gal, but you live and learn!
These latex gloves on this ASMR video helped me sleep
There is lots on YouTube of this
I found loads of YouTube videos of optician, doctor, and dermatologist appointment role-plays and I watched one each night on my phone with earphones in and the lights out. I struggled to keep my eyes open after about twenty minutes. ASMR videos are usually between fifteen minutes and one hour long and I can honestly say I’ve never made it to the end - I always fall asleep before.
I felt weird using videos of role plays to get to sleep at first, but then I saw how many millions of views they got. ASMR is a growing phenomenon worldwide and I understand why. For now, at least, it has solved my insomnia and if you struggle too, I recommend it. I have put links to some of my favourite ‘go to’ videos below so you can check them out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuACWFJ1oOY – Gibi ASMR triggers for sleep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMoRSEekmPc – Gibi eye exam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3cEBXsLsfE – Sophie Michelle dermatologist appt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42uUSF8vXGg – ASMR August cranial nerve exam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81H9B738C3g – Whisper Audios annual physical exam