Who listens to bedtime stories as an adult?

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Normal-Internal164@reddit

I don’t listen to stories but having had terrible sleeping problems over the last couple of years, black screen Alan Partridge has saved me. Literally!

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lovesorangesoda636@reddit

My husband puts on two episodes of Futurama to fall asleep to. TV has a sleep timer so it just turns itself off after 30mins.

If I'm having a nap I listen to the "Nothing much happens" podcast which is just bedtime stories.

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BigMagic88@reddit (OP)

Haha I did used to like family guy but it’s too bright and I’m trying to avoid tv cos my brain is mad enough 😂

People keep saying nothing much happens. I need to properly look!

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lovesorangesoda636@reddit

I turned the TV brightness waaaay down so its not too bad!

The podcast is really good, the stories are super chill so you're not invested enough to stay awake and they tell them twice (2nd time slower).

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miarosecavendish@reddit

Romance is dull. Good erotic fiction on the other hand ... (admittedly 'good' is hard to come by and can be subjective!)

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GrabbedByTheGhost@reddit

What's the point in listening to anything if you're just going to sleep through it? I don't get it

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I want something to send me off. Instead of my own thoughts. To relax me. If you have no idea what I’m talking about then thank yourself lucky you don’t need to spend hours in bed spiralling every single night for years on end. This is just a calming and distracting way to get to sleep.

I’m not looking to learn anything or educate myself. Just relax into sleep

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GrabbedByTheGhost@reddit

Fair enough, so just like half-listening noise??

Maybe try audiobooks on topics that would get you thinking but stuff that you wouldn't mind missing.

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thecraftybee1981@reddit

I listen to a channel called TheExploringSeries on YouTube. His main series is about the SCP sci-if/horror universe and each episode can be 10 minutes or 1 hour+.

I find his voice soothing and usually nod off within 5-10 minutes. He also has older series on various fantasy and sci-fi universes, explains the lore behind them - D&D, WoW, Warhammer, Middle Earth, as well as real world mythology.

I used to listen to him on Spotify, but for some reason I always get adverts part way through listening, despite having a paid subscription which can be quite jarring when you’re half asleep and suddenly get a loud volume ad that livens you up.

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Hot_Cookie2308@reddit

What about audio crime dramas on YouTube

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Desperate_Land_8975@reddit

James Bond books on YouTube are my go to for falling asleep. I’ve listened to them so many times that I don’t care which one it is as I know the story already.

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AndrewHinds67@reddit

I like those relationship break up channels in YouTube. The ones with an AU voice and the video accompanying the soundtrack is quite often just some weird video game of something running along a railway track, jumping from carriage to carriage. They're all pretty formulaic but a great way to go to sleep to.

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jastity@reddit

I’m into vintage radio comedy. I rarely get to find out how the story ends.

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Clear_Mode_4199@reddit

boring history for sleep

the awful looking bizarre AI slop videos that youtube keeps recommending to me? actual real people watch those?

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kwakimaki@reddit

I listen to them to nod off to. No ads, no obnoxious intro/ending jingles and 5+ hours. Yes, some of it is repetitive drivel but every now and again there's a genuinely interesting topic.

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SpaTowner@reddit

I’ve never listened to it, but there’s a podcast called ‘Nothing Much Happens’ which seems to be that link of thing.

https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/kijdc-6b6d8/Nothing-much-happens-bedtime-stories-to-help-you-sleep-Podcast

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OutrageousClaim8475@reddit

So many ideas yay thanks all ❤️❤️

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YouCantArgueWithThis@reddit

Well, I listen to reddit stories. 😆

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Proud-Initiative8372@reddit

At the risk of sounding thick, I’d this a podcast or have you managed to get your Reddit to read to you? 🤔

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Fandangojango@reddit

I listen to the podcast on my IPhone App, but Mark Narrations is on YouTube too.

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OutrageousClaim8475@reddit

What is it based on?

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YouCantArgueWithThis@reddit

YouTube

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Fandangojango@reddit

I like Mark Narrations!

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YouCantArgueWithThis@reddit

Me too! And a couple of others.

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OutrageousClaim8475@reddit

Used to do adhd music and sounds too big I got distracted and forgot about it🤣🤣

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target51@reddit

Finally my time to shine!!

I'll stop there but if anyone wants any other suggestions let me know :) (Yes i know I am a massive Engineering / Tech / Game nerd)

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OutrageousClaim8475@reddit

Thankyou

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CapnAfab@reddit

OMG Thank you for telling me about the Video Background play fix extension! That's been annoying me for months.

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AdaandFred@reddit

BBC sounds has a good selection of audio books. They currently have the secret diary of Adrian Mole which still makes me laugh 30 years after I first read it.

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OutrageousClaim8475@reddit

Oh my god really .. Loved those books. There are grown Adrian mole ones too for those interested Cappuccino years is one

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smoking-gnu@reddit

I second BBC Sounds. There’s always something decent to listen to, Night Watch by Terry Pratchett is currently available. It’s a dramatised version.

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VerbingNoun413@reddit

I had my Pratchett collection but lost it when my old laptop broke.

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OutrageousClaim8475@reddit

Amazing

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Poseidons-Pond@reddit

Ohh Pratchett is a good call!

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Fingertoes1905@reddit

I listen to true crime podcasts to sleep. I cannot sleep without them.

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OutrageousClaim8475@reddit

I do this too

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Wide-Affect-1616@reddit

Same here! People think I'm weird when I tell them this.

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OutrageousClaim8475@reddit

Sleepy scientist and drowsy histrorian

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CapnAfab@reddit

You probably already know about The Magnus Archives, but if you don't, do yourself a favour and find out.

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e650man@reddit

Try googling Dr Martin Fido & Podcast & Murder After Midnight

:)

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Soggy_Detective_4737@reddit

Welcome to Nightvale sends me to sleep really easily

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89ElRay@reddit

I like The Rest is Science, some episodes are a little too energetic though for sleeping time, but it's kinda cerebral and interesting for a sleepy brain.

I will often just find a YouTube documentary on something semi interesting (current obsession is nuclear war and weapons...cheery!) and play that. Or a history thing or something easily digestible astronomy. I have YT Premium against my better judgement so I can play it with the screen off.

A good podcast is Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures. It's live recordings of public lectures which are for the most part interesting and understandable for the lay person.

I quite like spacey or dark stuff when I'm in bed. Sometimes I just pick a couple chapters of LotR though.

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One-Price680@reddit

Audible book on a sleep timer. Sometimes, if I forget to set the timer, i fall asleep and then hear the book in my dreams - I'm listening to it but can't turn it off, then I wake up and realise its still playing 😆

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OverlyAdorable@reddit

Mr Nightmare, Mr Ballen, and Lazy Masquerade are my favourite talky talky go to sleepy channels. I'd personally say Mr Ballen is the best overall with Mr Nightmare being best for sleep. In not saying he's boring, it's just the sort of voice that I like to go to sleep to

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Ill_Refrigerator_593@reddit

I listen to long form astronomy or history videos. Either that or ambient sounds or music.

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Squeak_Stormborn@reddit

I like the Calm app. It's specifically bedtime stories with lots of different genres. They're all read in a way to encourage relaxation. Oddly, I found I like the very young children's stories like Winnie the Pooh! But there are loads on there

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RaspberryJammm@reddit

Horrorbabble podcast (horror short stories, old classics) is good to fall asleep to.

Currently my routine is falling asleep to Loremen podcast

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VolcanicBear@reddit

I normally listen to SCP, but at the moment am listening to Marathon lore.

I'm not entirely sure it's what you're after though tbh.

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BigMagic88@reddit (OP)

Me neither. Just something soothing. And different. I’ll try anything at this point. I want to learn new things or just not have my own brain chatting rubbish all night

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VolcanicBear@reddit

It's too far off my history to find now, but there were some "Boring History" or "Sleepy time history" that was alright.

The voice was trying a bit too hard to be soothing for me to get on with though.

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Aware_Ad_431@reddit

Boring histories for sleep is pretty good

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Future-Exercise-7433@reddit

I listen to Andy Weir books. The Martian and Project Hail Mary are so great for going to sleep. I know that sounds weird but they're honestly pretty boring, in a nice way. So much science and maths and engineering I only half understand, and the characters barely have any emotions really, and space is quite a trippy thing to think about, and I know the stories, so I just drift away on it.

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Primary-Angle4008@reddit

I put on ncis and just turn the screen off, I know all episodes so well by now that I just fall asleep to it. It turns itself off after one episode

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Bethlizardbreath@reddit

I can’t be the only one who has a tendency towards Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter?!

I listen to new books and other things, but this is such a fail-safe comfort audiobook for me, especially when I can’t sleep.

I don’t care that it’s for kids.

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Individual_Bat_378@reddit

Mythos audiobook by Stephen Fry. There's also loads of specific sleep stories out there but I find his voice very soothing. He's also narrated the entire Sherlock Holmes collection which is over 70 hours so plenty of stories to listen to.

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MrBoggles123@reddit

I'm listening to the Lord Peter Wimsey dramas from Radio 4 with Ian Carmichael.

Each one is a 30 minutes episode which is just about the right length and nice and gentle.

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errjelly@reddit

I listen to the podcasts Myths and Legends. I put a sleep timer on for 30mins so this allows me to re-listen to the same episode several times as I normally fall asleep after 5-10mins.

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Cinnamon-Dream@reddit

Same with welcome to nightvale. It's peculiar but never fails to send me off!

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griffaliff@reddit

I love listening to 'true' ghosts stories from channels like The Tape Library and Into the Fog with Peter Laws. The channel Bedtime Stories and Wartime Stories are also well produced channels on the topic of the paranormal.

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elbapo@reddit

I listen to history, theology and philosophy lectures from a YouTube channel called centrepiece. Honestly, its sleep golddust.

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Acrobatic-Ad-943@reddit

I always listen to the podcast Nothing Much Happens, highly recommend

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BigMagic88@reddit (OP)

I’ve seen that recommended somewhere else recently. I’ll have a nosey :)

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ScreamingDizzBuster@reddit

I just discovered it last week. It's fantastic for dropping off. Each story is repeated, which annoys my brain enough to wake me up, so I set a timer to stop it after the first time around. It's charming and far more effective than any other specific "sleep aid" podcasts I've tried.

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iamthefirebird@reddit

I'm quite fond of the Order of Merlin instructional videos for hunting the fae

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No_Ring_3348@reddit

Henry James audiobooks always put me to sleep, the long pleasant sentences about very little are nice and calming. The Ambassadors is a good one.

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pollypetunia@reddit

it sounds weird, but the Chipping Forecast on BBC sounds. It's golf commentary interspersed with relaxing music

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TulipTatsyrup@reddit

My Mum is terminally ill. She is in her own home and my Sister and I are with her 24/7.

I am still working full time and am hardly sleeping.

Please give me some ideas for podcasts etc where there isn't inane laughter

I'm thinking a nice calm 😌

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marstoncutler@reddit

I've got an app called Calm which has sleep stories on. Some celeb narrators, a lot of professional ones. Really soothing. Lots of travel stories. Usually I'm asleep within five minutes. Have one on every night.

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Brickie78@reddit

I’ve been bang into the boring history for sleep but they are 2 hours long. I like the half hour ones.

They're also AI-generated bollocks that's about as "historical" as Braveheart.

I often listen to audiobooks, but for sleep purposes it's got to be something I've heard/read before otherwise I get too invested in it and/or have to faff about finding where I fell asleep to pick it up again.

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BigMagic88@reddit (OP)

Yes. The same voice on hundreds of channels. But I do like that voice. Out of a lot of them it’s nice for me.

Yeah anything I want to hear I do during the day. I like to nod off to anything random so I won’t be upset when I’ve missed half of it

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Scottish_squirrel@reddit

I used to use an app ( I know, no screens (. It was like adult colouring but told a very calming story about the picture. Worked a treat every night. Now I just get up stupid early for the gym and struggling past 9pm

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Wide-Affect-1616@reddit

I always fall asleep listening to either true crime or history podcasts.

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AutomaticInitiative@reddit

Beef and Dairy Network Podcast, should be right up your street.

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Poseidons-Pond@reddit

What's the macabre channel? I can fall asleep to anything. At one point I really enjoyed long boring history of the anglo saxons and such things, and Augustine's city of God.

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BigMagic88@reddit (OP)

Can’t find it now. I’ve been using brave browser and not logged in to my account. But the one I listened to the other night was 2 sisters who had chained their brother up in the loft cos he had killed the parents. I was quite into that. But I’ve searched macabre and it seems lots of the same thing over and over.

I was watching the kids horrible histories while I was on the treadmill last week

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Noctemme@reddit

MrBallen on YouTube. He does podcasts etc too

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reducedtoashes@reddit

I wondered how many comments it would take before I saw him mentioned when I read the thread title.

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purple_sun_@reddit

Sherlock and co audio play/ podcasts. Science and history podcasts

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Helicreature@reddit

Well, I Never on YT is good.

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Dense_Imagination984@reddit

Dreamy science if it's still going. Some good stuff on neuroscience.

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Sheppitsgal@reddit

Mysteries at midnight. He reads them in a real monotone as well. I usually have the same one for weeks, as I only hear the first few minutes. Perfect.

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BaobhanSithhh@reddit

Bbc sounds has loads of content

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Btd030914@reddit

It’s my favourite Madonna album 😊

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First-Lengthiness-16@reddit

My daughter was really ill one last half of last year into January (she is alright now though!) and I was constantly on edge. Couldn’t sleep

I started listening to things to fall asleep, it really helped

Sleepless historian is a good one.

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Opposite_Funny9958@reddit

Terry Pratchett for the win.

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sevenjoggedmyelbow@reddit

Cautionary Tales, a podcast by Tim Harford (Radio 4 More or Less), is amazing to properly listen to, but also brilliant for falling asleep with when at a nice low volume. Available on Spotify etc but also lots of episodes on BBC Sounds, which has a sleep timer.

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