I used to be a sound sleeper. I could sleep through my brother playing loudly in his room, through thunderstorms, and through typically busy nights in the residence hall.  The only noise that was certain to wake me as a college student was the click the fire alarm made just prior to sounding the full alarm.  To this day, my heart skips a beat when I hear a click in the night and my body becomes ready to jump into action to clear the hall.  #RAprobs

My identification as a heavy sleeper ended when Logan was born. Suddenly I was able to anticipate his cry and awoke with the slightest movement, even when he moved into his own room across the house.  My sleep became even less deep when Jack came along.  Now my subconscious was tuned into two breaths.  To make matters worse, every person in our house talks in our sleep.  A typical night will include Trey muttering incoherently between snores, Logan yelling about a soccer goal, Jack singing about animals, and…well…my talking doesn’t bother me so I won’t detail it here.  Ask Trey though, he typically keeps a list of absurd things I tell him in the night.  For example, apparently I was concerned that one of my fingers was missing the other night.

Some nights I wander the house feeling simultaneously feeling pity for my wakefulness, jealousy that every other creature in my house is able to slumber, and gratitude that the boys are able to sleep so soundly.  I’ll admit that there are nights that I lie next to my beloved husband plotting ways to enact revenge against him while he snores.  Surely dumping a large glass of ice water on his face or suddenly playing the cymbals would be forgivable offenses?  Logan and Jack may be high energy during the day, but once they are in bed, not even a marching band can wake them.  Despite my envy, I do pray #3 will sleep as well as the boys have been able to do!  Even my dogs are great sleepers.  If sleeping were an Olympic sport, and dogs could compete in the Olympics, Banjo would surely be a medalist.  She is able to sleep in the most absurd positions.  I wish I could have a little hound DNA! 

In an attempt to improve my ability to tune out non-emergent night noises, I’ve relied on various sound machines over the past several years. I initially used a clock radio that had a bubbling creek option.  Trey hated coming to bed and hearing a creek all night.  I recently discovered an app on my phone called “Rain, Rain” that has introduced new soundscapes.  My current favorites are “Rain on Tent”, “Rain on a Tin Roof”, and “Crackling Fire.”  To make the app even more exciting, users can piece together various sounds.  I have enjoyed putting off sleep while pretending to be DJ Snoozie Snooze and dropping dope beats of rain drops, wind storms, and high tide, yo.  While the app has multiple sound options, I have caught myself daydreaming about additional sounds I’d like to add to the mix.  Below is a partial list of sounds I’m proposing to help all of the light sleepers block out their responsibilities in order to get a better night’s sleep.

• Golf on tv
• An ethics training
• My husband talking about my need to stop online shopping
• My husband talking about our need to create an updated budget to assist in growing our savings
• Television shows about Alaska. (Excluding the one featuring the Brown family. They are an intriguing social experiment.)
• My dog, Mojo, snoring
• 401K explanations
• Someone reading a “to do” list
• The sound of my dryer indicating there is laundry to fold
• Car wheels on the interstate
• John Mayer (excluding his blues work) and Coldplay

Until I am able to add the above to my sleep soundscape, I’ll continue to work to prefect my mix with the options I’m given.  I do understand that in just a few short months, however, I will be adding a new person to the home and my sleep will become even more sparse.  At that time, I’ll go back to the drawing board and try to invent new ways to maximize my sleep time.  What sounds work for you?