The Ultimate Sound Machine
Maine's surf may be the key to a good night's sleep
To hear the related 5-minute audio file that I uploaded today as my Morning Journal flash briefing for Alexa devices, please click on the play button:
Counting Lobsters?
I hesitate to claim that I have finally figured out the secret to a good night’s sleep, but here goes:
Since we returned to Ocean Park, Maine, Friday evening, I have logged two pretty good scores from my Oura Ring because of decent sleep data.
The cottage here is close enough to the beach that I can hear the waves at night, especially if I crack the bedroom window even as the temp falls to the 40s.
Et voilà!
I woke up each morning before sunrise, refreshed and optimistic about the day ahead. I moved quietly in order not to wake Darlene up. I headed out to the beach to wait for dawn.
Yesterday I took my Kindle Scribe to the beach and sat on a fat log which had fetched up near the dunes during the winter. It was Mom’s birthday—she would have been 96 yesterday—so she was on my mind.
I wrote a poem titled “A Consequential Life” in her honor. It’s not ready to share yet, but writing it brought her closer to me, which was pretty much the point. She loved Ocean Park and worked her magic restoring and decorating the cottages shared by the family here.
This morning I recorded the Morning Journal starting in the kitchen and continuing on my walk across the cold lawn, onto the boardwalk, and across the cool sand to frigid sea. The recording includes some pure surf sounds in case you are in need of a refreshing, wordless break.
So this soporific effect of the waves pleases me to consider. I don’t think it’s just the sound itself. Playing a recording of the surf somewhere else wouldn’t do it.
The sound is just one part of going to sleep next to that endless expanse of sea and sky. Maybe it’s like being in the womb, though I wonder if I was a good sleeper even there. Sorry, Mom!
I am grateful to feel rested today as we prepare to begin our stay tonight with grandsons Jake and Ryan at their house while Mike and Roo take a long-planned trip with friends for five days.
They use sound machines of white noise to fall asleep by. I will bring memories of the big one with me.
The waves there sound wonderful. I use Alexa playing ocean wave sounds, but it doesn't play all night. Alexa has been trying to get me to buy a premium subscripton. Isn't Amazon Music enough?
Well you have the Morocco solution right there! I see and hear the waves from my rental flat in Morocco and have indeed been mostly sleeping better.