Drew Ackerman, creator of the “Sleep With Me” podcast, has an unusual mission: to bore you to sleep.
Ackerman, or “Scooter” as he refers to himself on the show, has suffered from insomnia for years. Like many insomniacs, he found that being stressed about not being able to fall asleep was part of the problem. He looked to podcasts for a solution — a screen-free way to calm down before bed. The problem? Many of them were just too interesting.
So he decided to make his own podcast designed to be so un-stimulating that listeners can’t help but drift off. A recent episode “starts with a trip to Trader Joe’s. Then we make two Super Bowl sandwiches,” Ackerman told The Washington Post for a story about the podcast. The topics vary, and as the Post wrote, what Ackerman is talking about “barely matters.” It’s the style that leaves listeners sleepy — the stories are meandering and purposely told in as dull a fashion as possible.
The podcast had 2.3 million monthly downloads as of January 2017. Ackerman attributes this to the many adult insomniacs who have found support in the growing community — knowing other people can’t sleep either is an important reminder that you’re not alone.
Remember though that having smartphones in the bedroom, whether you’re looking at them or listening to them, can encourage unhealthy screen habits before bed. So if you want to listen to Sleep with Me, consider listening to it early in your pre-bed routine (outside of your bedroom) or better yet, setting it up to play through a device like the Amazon Echo in your room.
Read more on The Washington Post.
Originally published at journal.thriveglobal.com