AARP Hearing Center
If eight hours of slumber sounds like a dream to you — and counting sheep just doesn't do the trick — a podcast might be the ticket to a good night's sleep. A few of the six super-relaxing podcasts featured below focus on calming sounds, while others offer soothing bedtime stories or whisper sweet nothings that quiet the mind. You can listen using apps such as Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or go directly to the websites included below.
1. Sleep With Me
San Francisco Bay Area host Drew Ackerman (aka Scooter) records his twice-weekly podcast, Sleep With Me, from within a “Harry Potter closet under the stairs” at his house, he says. And the whole idea behind his “bedtime stories for grownups,” which are usually an hour to 90 minutes long, is that you're on the phone with a friend (one “you don't really have to listen to,” he says) who's telling you a story to help you fall asleep. Ackerman suggests using a smart speaker with a sleep timer to listen to his show, which might include him paging through old HBO guides and detailing other similarly dull things designed to make you lose interest — and wakefulness. “There's a lot on peoples’ minds right now,” he adds. “You deserve a good night's sleep.”
AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.
2. Sleep Whispers
This is a “podcast of whispered ramblings and whispered readings” by Shenandoah University professor Craig Harris Richard (he goes by “Harris” on his show). Richard is the author of Brain Tingles, which delves into ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) — a pleasurable, tingly feeling that can be triggered by certain hushed sounds — and his podcast is relaxing in a similar way. Sleep Whispers alternates through six types of themed episodes “to calm those overactive squirrels running around in your head,” says Harris, who may quietly share some trivia with you or take you along on a deep, softly whispered dive into the topic of dreams and dreaming. He adds that listeners often tell him they have no idea what he talks about in most of his podcasts because they fall asleep within the first 10 minutes. “This would be an insult to most podcasters,” he says, “But to me, this is the greatest compliment I can get.”
3. Deep Energy and Dark Ambient Podcasts
If voices in general tend to keep you awake, then these roughly hour-long Deep Energy and Dark Ambient Podcasts that combine the sounds of nature with synthesizers might be the perfect lullaby. “My music purposefully doesn't have a beginning or an end, it just flows,” says host Jim Butler, who notes that his podcasts (there are more than 300 in the bank) are used by listeners both for stress relief and to induce sleep. “I think the distraction from your own mind is what helps people sleep,” he notes.
More From AARP
6 Simple Strategies for Sleeping Through the Night
Tips for getting the deep sleep you need. Plus, how to get back to sleep if you wake in the wee hours
How to Create a Sleep Sanctuary and Other Tips for a Good Night's Sleep
13 habits to give your body the rest it needs
What’s the Best Sleeping Position for Your Health?
How you snooze can affect sleep quality, plus brain, heart and stomach health