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>I sleep with one airpod/bluetooth headphone in. I have ADHD and if I'm not tired enough I'll wake up around 2-4 to pee then be awake thinking about work/family/stupid things I did 10 years ago. I don't know how I got started doing this but now I listen to an audiobook at very low volume on a 15 minute sleep timer

Wow, this is me, I do the exact same thing. Concentrating on the audio gives me something different to focus on and inevitably puts me back to sleep.

Similar here, but with certain youtube channels that feel very peaceful for me:

   forestyforest
   hoboshoestring
   wristwatchrevival
   clough42

and a few others. I'd be interested in learning about more channels with a similar flavor, or if you're familiar with these and can help me find words for their common thread.

I think you might also like myselfreliance on YT then

I've slept with some kind of audio going for as long as I've had the ability to (i.e. since getting my first tape deck as a kid in the 80s). Certainly my parents found it hilarious that I'd put on a thrash metal tape and be asleep by the second song, whereas in silence I'd be awake for much longer. I've moved from music to speech and these days I wear an earphone because my partner doesn't share my taste in podcasts, but the habit is still strong after ~40 years. I never thought it was particularly weird, and have always assumed a fair number of people do the same. None of my partners have ever thought it odd, or told me so at least.

I can't tell you why I do it, mind. I don't think I'd claim it drowns out unwelcome thoughts - if anything, when my mental health is poor the thoughts drown out the audio. I basically just don't really get on well with silence. To my knowledge I don't have ADHD.

I've always done the same. As you say, it does have to be something very familiar. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy original radio series more often than not, for me. I've tried purpose created material, like This Book Will Send You to Sleep on Audible, but it was too interesting.

I've never tried with a Bluetooth headphone but have always used a wired one, with one line cut off a the Y junction to help avoid tangling. Sometimes have to use a player which supports sending stereo as mono, otherwise you often only get one side of the dialog in dramatisations, like Hitchhiker's.

Wow are you me?

The only difference is that I set the timer to 30min, sometimes 40min. Something about having a 15 minute timer, gives me sleep anxiety.

That's a good idea on listening to books I've already read, as I definitely don't remember anything or know where to jump back into the next night.

I put one some white noise such as a fan or play the sound of rain such as this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6dkqlcyPTM it really helps.

> Melatonin a half hour before bed has changed my life.

I thought your body habituated to externally-supplied melatonin and it became less effective with time; are you using it only sometimes or did I misunderstand?

I don’t believe this is the case, though it’s worth noting that the doses you typically find at pharmacies are much larger than you actually need. From what I’ve read it’s unlikely to be habit-forming at lower doses and it typically works just as well (if not better) at those doses.

Lots of info here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/07/10/melatonin-much-more-th...

i've wired my brain to fall asleep about 20-30 minutes into my nightly podcast. really makes me enjoy weeknights when my favorite podcast drops, weekends i struggle haha