Audio for Relaxation and Stress Relief: How it
Started
Sometime in 2002-2003 I was miserable. I needed
relaxation and stress relief to get some sleep. My insomnia had become so
bad that I dreaded the thought of attempting to 'go to sleep'. I had been
on Ambian for about 2+ years at that point and was barely feeling the
effects of that drug anymore. I had begun drinking to get sleepy. A little
at first, then more... and more and more. By then I had given up on
the medical community as they did not seem to want to do anything but
prescribe more drugs. Like most insomniacs I did not want drugs. I wanted
answers. Luckily I had Internet access and began my own research. I read
online 'somewhere' that 'someone' had very good results with relaxation and
sleeping while listening to audio books. OK, I thought. I'll try that... no
real help for my stress. Someone else blogged that they listen to old time
radio shows from the 1930's to make them sleepy. OK, I thought. I'll try
that. I was surprised to find that that really did help a little.
Continuing in my quest, I downloaded a hypnotic lucid dreams recording. The
tape, probably made in the 70's, used individuals speaking while sounds
were heard in the background... trains, wind, and other ambient noise. Now
that really helped. But why? In my research I discovered that a sleep state
existed that no doctor ever told me about. The Theta brainwave state. I
call it the daydream state. In a normal sleep progression our big brains go
from Beta (alert) to Alpha (relaxed) to Theta (daydreamy) to Delta (deep
sleep). I realized that the radio shows were constructed with
'visualization' in mind. I am a master of the obvious. It was
radio... duh.
Nature Sounds for Sleep : The Early Tapes
On the lucid dreams tape the visualization combined with
the natural sleep sounds (wind, train) seemed to have more of an
effect on me then the people 'talking' on the same recording. Then the
bright idea... construct my own sleep CD that simulated a virtually real
environment, utilizing our brains natural ability to visualize, using
nature sounds with no talking. The first mix was rough... real rough. Wind
blew, rain and hail fell. There were footsteps and a gate opening. Soon
there was a fire crackling. The idea behind the tape was simple. I was in a
snowy mountainous area seeking shelter and come upon a cabin... and it
worked. I could sleep.
I felt like I had discovered something. I realized over
time that I merely stumbled upon something that the medical sleep community
has known about for a long time. The Theta brainwave state. Anyone who
meditates can tell you of this state of mind. You have felt it when
staring out a window at length on a rainy day or driving long distances and
wondered 'how you got there'. Or maybe when you think about that wonderful
'place' in your past that you desire to go again.
Its a daydream... used for sleep onset, relaxation and stress
relief... and its what we try to emulate here with our sleep sounds.
