Sleep hygiene in January: last two weeks of this month.

[oak]

I resisted this for a long time, but a coworker convinced me that I should try "sleep stories" since they've helped him with chronic insomnia. I've tried ones on a couple of different meditation apps. The Insight Timer app has a lot of free content. The ones I've found most effective tend to be not really stories, but more guided imagery about being in certain safe environments: a cozy old bookshop in Paris, a cottage in the woods on a rainy night, etc.

This might sound even more silly, but when I was going to a divorce support group it was suggested to sleep with a body pillow or even a stuffed animal on nights when it was difficult to sleep.

Thank you for the recommendations, River Girl. I just got the Insight Timer app, and will report back.

If you have any suggestions for guided meditation apps, please let me know.

Also, I am definitely open to a stuffed animal and/or body pillow.

I hope you are doing well, River Girl! Thank you for standing by me.

[rivergirl]

Hi Oak,

I mentioned Insight Timer because it has a lot of free material. It has guided meditations as well as sleep stories, courses, etc. although I think the courses require a subscription. The philosophies or approaches represented by the material vary widely, so it takes a bit of trial and error to find the ones that will be helpful to you.

I've also used the meditation app 10% Happier (created by Dan Harris who was on MIHH years ago). I think the overall philosophy is Buddhist/secular. I found it to be a good starting app to learn about and practice mediation. I've also used Calm and found it pretty similar to 10% Happier except with more sleep stories and music.

There are many other apps that I haven't tried, but perhaps you'll get some other suggestions.

rg

[rivergirl]

Oh, and I plan to stand by you as long as it is helpful to you! I'm also grateful to you and to everyone else on the forum who has stood by me for many years!

[oak]