Relax and Sleep: Easier Said than Done

There is this wonderful Android app called "Relax and Sleep" by Mizu Software Solutions that offers 35+ ambient sounds for you to fall asleep to!  Yes, I realize it is a little bit sad that I require external help to fall asleep.  I blame this on my very active mind!  Even when I was still living in Singapore, where there was clearly more walking and exercise involved, and would get home tired from work, I would still struggle at night and end up tossing and turning for hours on end *cry*.  Despite my body screaming "let me sleep!", my mind would traipse off on its own, refusing to let the Sandman in.  I was very tempted to buy osim's uMoments Portable Sound Therapy but I decided I wasn't willing to plonk down SGDs for that.  So for a while, I would play soothing rain / ocean sounds from YouTube before going to bed (resourceful huh!?) but the problem with this arrangement was, being very practical and stingy thrifty, I ended up staying wide awake since I would worry about the laptop shorting (granny thoughts?) from keeping the laptop on all night, etc etc.  Also, I think because of the fact that I knew my laptop was still on, my body was anticipating some sort of work or activity, which meant it refused to hunker down in preparation for sleep.

No wonder smart people suggest turning off all gadgets for a good night's sleep!

Then I discovered Relax and Sleep (there are so many apps for almost anything)! Heavy Rain or Ocean made me want to pee and Thunderclaps made me nervous (coming from a tropical country where flooding is common).  The Rainstorm + Crickets combo didn't make sense to me - I would think "with rain this strong, won't the crickets drown or get washed away?".  Finally, I found my magical melody: Rain Crickets!  I can even specify how long I want the sound to play (usually 20 minutes will do the trick) and then it fades out!  Hallelujah!

Acoustic guitar, thunderclaps, different types of frogs, monks chanting!, whale song, music box - so many choices!

After getting married, I found it easier to fall asleep beside my husband, since I associate relaxation, peace, and other happy thoughts with him (yihee).  I didn't need the app so much, but kept it on my phone anyway.  It still takes me a while to fall asleep but I am happy to say, less tossing and turning nowadays.  I'm sure my husband will have something to say if this is not the case!  Lucky for him, he falls asleep in like 5 seconds.  I'm so jealous!

How does he do it??

During the holy week, J had to go out of town for a climb and was gone for 5 days, during which I suffered poor sleep again after a long time.  I think my body was trying to stay alert, waiting for him to get home (even though my brain obviously knew he wasn't going to be home until a few days later...what sorcery is this!?).  This meant I would wake up feeling like I didn't get any sleep at all.  I only had the good sense to resume my dependence on Relax and Sleep during the latter part of my home alone stint.  Still, good to know I still respond positively to it!

This is a great app for those who find comfort in even the strangest things (Dishwasher Running? Fog Horn?...okay fine, no judgements!).  As for me, it's definitely going to be my savior again for the next time my husband goes off on another one of his mountain adventures.