Whether you live in a busy city with the sound of sirens and cars going all night, or a quiet town where it’s eerily silent and your thoughts seem incredibly loud, it can be tough to fall asleep and actually stay asleep. As a result, many people look to sleep aids like silky eye masks and lavender pillow sprays—I used to be part of this group, until I realized there was something much better; something that allowed me to get a full night of sleep (deep sleep) and wake up feeling totally refreshed.
The backstory: My husband and I were having trouble sleeping for a while, and figured it was just related to stress or our mattress (relatively new), so we didn’t do too much to fix the situation. But, one thing we did try was bringing an oscillating fan into the bedroom (my husband’s idea, as he liked the sound it made and thought it helped him sleep). However, we already have a ceiling fan and sleep with the AC on, so one more airstream was too much for me, not to mention, I woke up with really dry eyes.
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Then the lightbulb went off: What about a noise machine? Duh! We’d seen them on home shopping networks and the endcaps in Bed Bath and Beyond, but we’d never thought to buy one, but it would give us the noise of a fan without the air. We decided on the Marpac Dohm Original Sound Conditioner, thinking we’d give it a try, and if it didn’t help, we’d return it.
Fast-forward to now, and woah—we’ve never slept better. No more stirring with my thoughts for an hour after hitting the pillow. It’s like my mind hears the noise and knows it’s time to turn off, and come morning, I wake up feeling rested and my eyes aren’t as puffy. I’ve even joked with my husband that we’re going to take it with us when we travel. It’s the simplest thing, and it’s made the most dramatic difference.
