Sounds for the Soul (no spam please)

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 11:35 am

A friend and I were recently discussing various sounds we enjoyed listening to while drifting off to sleep. We both expressed that, in particular, the sound of rain is very soothing.

There is something wonderful about lying there in the dark, protected and cozy, as the rain splashes down against one's window pane and upon the streets below.

So I'm wondering if anybody else hear responds deeply to particular sounds. What do you find soothing? Are there any sounds that create a sense of anxiety?

CM · Post by CM » Sun Jul 18, 2004 11:38 am

I am weird but i listen to rock when i sleep. Classic through metal it depends on my mood really.

Lost One · Post by **Lost One** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 12:43 pm

I agree with you DW. Few natural sounds please me more than the sound of rain. As I live in an apartment, I do not experience the beauty of rain falling on my roof, or on top of me. But it's still soothing to watch the rain fall outside while I'm inside, especially when it falls on leaves.

Other things that soothe me:

- Being in a dark place where only a shaft of light comes in. Something about a single beam of light invading the darkness just really puts me in a relaxed state of mind.
- Large, empty places. Kind of like going on a camping trip, you ascend a mountain and reach one of its peaks, and you look around at the amazing view, and there seems to be only you and the rest of the world. Or even something simpler such as relaxing by an empty pool.
- Jazz can be very soothing, or nature sounds.
- Good smells, such as perfume or incense.
- The sounds of casino machines, the shuffling of cards, the spinning of a ball in the roulette table, the sound of running water. The smell of a new book or a new car, the sound of chalk used on a blackboard...heh, there are so many little things. Sometimes, the voice of a person can be soothing.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I have to mention lounge or elevator music. Very relaxing.

FireLighter · Post by **FireLighter** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 12:57 pm

Any type of music or sounds (Preferably rain) that can keep me from concentrating on songs stuck in my head, the days work, what I will do tomorrow, etc. all are very helpful when I am trying to sleep, which is why I slept well last night. (Thunder storm)

beornica · Post by **beornica** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 2:00 pm

Ahhh, rain. I just love it. It's been raining and storming a lot here lately - and today was wonderful, because it was bright and sunny, yet the rain came down so hard that it looked as if the ground was boiling.
Other sounds that put me to sleep or relax me: The sound of the ocean waves crashing outside my window (a pleasure I no longer get to enjoy except when I go visit my family) My husband's light buzzy snore, The wind, whipping around like crazy and whistling around the sides of the house, white noise, such as the fan we always have going in our room at night, Billie Holiday, my husband strumming pleasant lullabye songs for our baby on his acoustic (he is very very good; he's been playing since he was 7) Ooo! And crickets. I always leave my windows open in the summer, because I LOVE falling asleep to the sound of crickets.
Hearing someone hum always relaxed me too, or whistle. Maybe because you know if you hear someone humming or whistling, they're in a good mood...
Anyway, when I was in the hospital after having my baby, I was a wreck. The baby never wanted to sleep, just eat and cry; and like fifty million people came in to see me, so I was scarcely ever without visitors. Then, when I just thought I was going to go crazy from lack of sleep, the woman on the other side of the room would hum to her baby. It was wonderful. And even though I STILL didn't get that much sleep, it was unbelievably relaxing.
I love the smell of lavender, too, for more than just because it's known to be a relaxing smell therapeutically. My mother always had lots and lots of huge lavender bushes in her garden, and we'd harvest the lavender and hang it all around the house. Reminds me of home. Love it.

So I keep a lavender sachet hanging near my pillow, and it soothes me right to sleep.

Sounds that irritate me beyond belief: Buzzy alarm clocks. I think I have a phobia. I have been known to have miserable days just because I had to wake up to that sound. Also, shouting. Some people thrive on it, most people don't mind it - usually people from large families, who often sound like they're fighting even when they're just calling a friendly greeting - (my inlaws, for instance.. ack!) Loud voices are unbelievably irritating to me.

Robnark · Post by **Robnark** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 2:57 pm

I agree with the rain thing. I have a massive climbing rose growing over my bedroom window. I regularly have to prune out space around my window, but it still surrounds it completely. when I can't sleep, I love to open all my windows and sit on the edge. the smell of the garden below and the cool night air is just beautiful, and it's amazing when the rose is in flower. but it is most perfect when it is raining. I can hear the raindrops through the foliage all around me, but I never get it coming through the window, just rustling through the leaves. and recently birds have been nesting in the rose, and I hear them rustling around when I open the window. it usually helps me sleep, but sometimes it's too good to just sleep through.

and birdsong is good. not in the early hours of the morning when I can't sleep, but in the evening. our garden and some of our neighbours have trees and hedges that are filled with nesting birds, especially now we've managed to keep the bloody cats away. we even had a nightingale once. as the sun goes down in the evenings, illuminating the treetops, just sitting in the garden and listening to the song and the bumble bees is so comforting and relaxing, no matter how badly other things are going.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 4:04 pm

I find it fascinating how so many people respond deeply to rain, and water generally...

Perhaps because there is something so very primal about it. Water is the source of life... the planet is roughly 3/4 water.. the human body is also about 75 % water.. for the first nine months of existence we are suspended and rocked within fluid....

The most amazing sensory experience I have ever had occurred in the rain. Just over three years ago we spent a month in Belize; we were staying at a friend's beach house. One day it was extremely hot, and over the course of the late afternoon and evening the storm clouds gradually gathered.... engendering a cloying and oppresive humidity... Then finally.. I think it was around midnight... I lay sprawled beneath my mosquito netting unable to sleep.... the wind began to rise up, slowly at first, gradually gathering momentum. After a time, it began to rain, and I heard the first stirring of thunder. Against the dark, brief flashes of lightening illuminated the velvet backdrop of stars and ragged cloud. I couldn't take it once I rose from my bed and looked out of the window. So without a thought, I leapt up and ran outside down to the beach....

The wind whipped and sighed through the palms and brush behind me... lightening and thunder crashed and shuddered and crashed upon ocean and sand.. and the rain streamed down... lashing against my skin..soaking me to the core...

It was one of the most incredible encounters I have ever had....

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 4:20 pm

Most sounds, even pleasant ones, keep me awake. (But I have chronic insomnia, so what else is new.) When I listen to music, I usually start humming and tapping my foot, and I can't get the melody out of my head. I enjoy driving a car down the highway during heavy thunderstorms because it gives me a rush, especially if the sky is putting on a nice "light show", but that has nothing to do with sleeping.

One thing that does soothe me and make me feel relaxed is a purring kitty cat. My big red tabby purred so loudly, I could hear him all the way across the room, but he liked to stay close to me--on the bed, on the sofa, on my keyboard, wherever--and the effect was intoxicating.

Psi_RedEye22 · Post by **Psi_RedEye22** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 5:33 pm

The sounds of my air conditioner and computer always give me a feeling of serenity (and about 40+ decibels at a constant rate) so I'm never lonely!

JesterKing · Post by **JesterKing** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 7:16 pm

I live very near the equator. it rains soooo frikin much. I assume you guys mean a soft pattering rain and not a bloody thunderstorms... which are a bit to loud to encourage sleep for me. soft pattering rains on the other hand frovide a constant regular sound, not loud enough to annoy me but loud enought ot be faintly audible. rains ok... any soft regular noise is ok, breathing, air conditioning, stuff like that. regularity and softness are the key for me. i

t makes you wonder, though, what about the human brain accepts rain as soothing and safe. perhaps predatory beasts didnt like the rain so much, so if it rained our ancestors knew instinctively it was ok to sleep. if you are for evolution anyway... deep thoughts. ha.

RandomThug · Post by **RandomThug** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 12:41 pm

Otis Redding is always really nice... I like to set up a play list on my pc of songs like "When a man loves a woman" "Sittin on the dock of the bay" and other classics in the same vein... of course Im sleeping with my fiance so having nice love songs always makes the mood better. I definitly find easier sleep when being soothed by mellow music.