Sound plays a big part of sleep wellness these days. There are white noise machines to tune out external disturbances, and earbuds custom-designed for sleep, but for some, silence can be loud. For those people, these podcasts may be your key to falling asleep quickly.
Nothing Much Happens
This podcast tells bedtime stories where nothing much happens. Stories you can listen to, without any excitement or stimulation. Created as ‘a soft landing spot for your mind’, they are voiced by Kathryn Nicolai, a yoga and meditation teacher who speaks in hush tones. She tells each story twice, slower the second time around, just in case you haven’t quite been lulled into snooze by the first time around.
Verdict: Great premise, but would like a range of narrators.
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
Voice of the Iceberg
There are only four of these but for nature lovers, I could see it being a favorite. With a mix of narration and recorded sound of the icebergs in Antarctica, you can follow the adventure of an artist and eight filmmakers on their journey to discover the secrets of the icebergs. This podcast isn’t narrated by professional voice artists but all of the New Zealand accents are pretty soothing.
Verdict: I love it but it may be too interesting to sleep to.
Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Sleep and Relax ASMR 
This weekly podcast has plenty to choose from, with the goal of creating audio experiences to help you sleep. Some are pure sound, like the Rain at the Koma Temple, and some mix voice in—whether ambient coffee shop noise or whispered storytelling. The sound-focused ones are some of my favorite non-storytelling podcasts.
Verdict: Great sound quality and research-backed with lots of choice.
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
Get Sleepy
This podcast has a combination of meditation, calming stories, and soothing sounds. They are a good length so if you take longer to drift off, this may be a good fit. There’s nothing worse than almost falling asleep and then being rudely brought back to consciousness by an ad at the beginning of a new podcast. One of the great things about this podcast is that they have a wide range of narrators, so if there’s one you don’t find relaxing, you can choose another.
Verdict: Thorough. The mix of meditation, story, and sound hits the trifecta.
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
I Can’t Sleep
This one doesn’t utilize any meditation or ASMR, it’s simply a soothing voice reading you an article on a random topic. The narrator says he aims to bore you to sleep, and if anything is going to do it, reading Wikipedia articles about doors is up there. This podcast is great for people who don’t want to follow an actual story and don’t want to listen to sounds.
Verdict: Not for me, but the narrator is great and the topics are truly dull.
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
The Office ASMR
This one is pretty niche but goes to show there’s really a podcast for everyone. Yes, this is a podcast for fans of The Office, in which the host essentially narrates episodes and provides commentary at the end—all in a soothing, hush tone. If you’re trying to wean yourself off of bedtime screens, this may be a great way to do it, because you’re following The Office, without watching The Office.
Verdict: I loved this maybe even more than watching reruns.
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
There are hundreds of sleep podcasts and it’s a growing sector. I’m confident that if there’s not one you love on this list, you’ll at least enjoy finding one you do love.
