Can't Fall Asleep? Put on This Boring Podcast
Whether you have insomnia, stress, or strange work hours, Sleep With Me will soothe that racing mind and help you fall asleep before the podcast even ends. And no, it's not a sleep relaxation or hypnosis program designed to make you nod off to dreamland; it uses the power of... boredom. Plain, simple boredom, and a monotonous narrative that will send you to sleep no matter how hard you fight to stay awake.
With a long list of 5-star ratings on iTunes, Sleep With Me is an hour-long podcast written and recorded by Drew Ackerman. He's far from the sleep expert you might figure him to be, however; Ackerman has a day job at a library in the East Bay. By night, he produces "bedtimes stories" that could be considered silly stream-of-consciousness, if you really took the time to transcribe them all.
In his characteristic droll tone, Ackerman brings listeners into long-winded tales ranging from recaps of old Game of Thrones episodes to observations of everyday life. He often strays off into other topics and whatever those might be, you'll probably never be awake long enough to find out.
The "napcast" was inspired by Ackerman's own troubles with sleep. As he told Fast Company:
I'm from a family of six kids and I shared a room with my brother. [...] And I remember when we couldn't sleep, we'd just tell these wicked stories. And he would fall asleep. I thought it was going to be reciprocal, but it never was.
Though he had no radio or podcasting experience before his first recording was uploaded in October 2013, Ackerman was intrigued by the idea of a digital sandman tucking the sleepless into bed.
He doesn't know where things will lead as his popularity grows, but ironically, he's thinking about doing a separate podcast ... about sleep (though hopefully it won't be the outcome).
According to one 5-star review on iTunes, "The stories are rambling, the voice is strangely soothing, and it's just...offbeat and increasingly boring. I don't think I've ever given something five stars for being boring before. Kudos to this podcast for that."