Songs To Saw Logs To

Last weekend my boyfriend and I went on a mini-road trip to our old stomping grounds, Echo Park, Los Angeles--a little neighborhood wedged in between DTLA and uber hip(ster) Silverlake. Since moving to Phoenix 6 months ago, we have been itching to get back to the city of angels to visit our handful of good friends as well as escape from the desert's oppressive heat.

One of those good friends kindly let us crash on his large, surprisingly comfortable, sectional sofa both of the nights we were there.  The first night, I didn't have any trouble falling asleep whatsoever. Whether it was the Double IPAs I had from Sunset Beer, the 6 hour drive, or the much cooler temperature, I drifted easily into slumber. At 8:00a, however, I was jolted awake by the sound of someone's bass blaring from their vehicle down below and a pack of angry-sounding dogs yipping at each other from across their respective turfs.  

Needless to say, as much as I despise the heat and the fact that everything in Phoenix is a dull beige color, I have grown rather accustomed to my serene neighborhood. Unable to fall back asleep, I grabbed my phone and hastily opened my Spotify app hoping to find a station that would drown out the "big city" noises. After finding a "Sleep" radio station, I slipped in my ear buds and felt my breathing begin to soften as I got reacquainted with my old chum, Sleep.  

For me, sleep is much more than just something I do when I'm bored, lonely, or tired. It's a rite of passage that only comes after following a very particular, very annoying routine. I need the conditions of my slumber to be just right or I'll lie awake pondering insomnia and the mere absurdity of it. Give me white noise (any fan will do but a box fan is preferred), an eye mask, two pillows, a light blanket, and a pair of socks. I know what you are thinking, she must be a real peach to share a bed with. The truth is, you're right! My sleeping habits have been a point of much contention throughout my relationships.

The fact that I found this radio station has given me a new lease on life. If you also experience insomnia when away from your routine--consider creating a sleeping playlist before your trip (or just download the Spotify app and find the Sleep station like I did.) The song below should help you get started on your "Songs to Saw Logs to" playlist. Sweet dreams!

Nicole Paulus, Nico New Media

Photo credit: Jeff Hill via Flickr

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Like what you read? There's more where that came from...

Boys Bedtime Music - 8 minutes 8 seconds

First piece of music2work2 from 2001 - Piano lullaby to get small children to sleep.[audio:bosbt2.5.mp3| titles=Boys Bedtime Music|artists=music2work2]

Getting two energetic children calmed down for bedtime is a challenge that most parents would recognize. Like many things that help, we stumbled upon the calming effect by accident;  I had been working on this particular piece and had it playing in the background while we were reading a bedtime story. When the story finished and we were kissing the boys goodnight, we heard a little voice asking us to keep the music on because "...the music helps me sleep".

So we did, and not only did it help them sleep, it also helped them recognize when it was time to sleep. We ended up putting a small CD player in their room and when it came close to bedtime, we would play the music in the background and it would have an instant calming effect. With the volume down low, it actually became quite fun to read a story with the background music; it made it sound like a film score! Sometimes the kids would be asleep by the end of the story, sometimes they'd be still awake, so long as the music continued to play, they wouldn't ask for another story, they'd just drift off listening to it. I ended up making a number of CD's with about 45 minutes of music. If we put them on say 5 minutes before bedtime, the kids were generally asleep before the CD stopped. Of course, when it comes to kids nothing works all the time, but on most nights, it was perfect.

Download: Boys Bedtime Music

Vincent - 10 minutes 45 seconds

Simple piano music written to calm a newborn baby to sleep.

This session was created for new arrival Vincent and his Mum and Dad Schirin and Steve.

I was thinking simple lullabies, the kind of thing a mother or father might whistle or hum to their baby while rocking them back to sleep. We learned early on with our own children that repetition is good for the child but less so for the adult. Children are often happy to listen to something or repeat the same behavior many times over before they get bored with it, great when they're on their own, but.....

---------------- Now playing: music2work2 - Vincent via music2work2