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In need of a good night's sleep? This sound machine worked wonders for me

I've never slept so well!
sleep machine
Getty/Walmart
/ Source: TODAY

Some people immediately pass out as soon they see a pillow, but the rest of us aren't so lucky. Not only do we toss and turn for hours on end, but we also can be easily woken up by thunder, snores or even a faint sound coming from the kitchen.

I shared a room with my older sister growing up, and I was always envious of the way she fell asleep the moment she got into bed. I often find it hard to shut my brain off at night — whether I'm stressed out or simply excited about something — so falling asleep has never come easily.

I've dealt with bouts of insomnia off and on for years and have tried almost every trick in the book to catch some z's — counting sheep, getting up and walking around, trying melatonin, you name it. None of them have helped me as much as my trusted sound machine.

My mom picked it up for me a few years ago, and even though I’ll admit I was skeptical at first, I figured it was worth a try. The HoMedics sound machine she got me has a built-in radio and features six soothing sounds to lull you into a peaceful slumber.

HoMedics White Noise Sound Machine

I've always found that listening to rain is relaxing. So, I immediately gravitated to that particular sound and initially set the machine’s timer for an hour at a time.

As I focused on the soothing rain noise, I quickly discovered the only thing I was doing was putting pressure on myself to fall asleep before the timer stopped. At my worst, it's taken me over an hour to fall asleep.

That's when I decided to start leaving the sound machine on all night. This way, it would play at a constant stream just in case I woke up in the middle of the night. Since I live on a busy street, the likelihood of something like traffic, construction or snowplows waking me up on any given night is very high.

Walmart

I won’t lie and tell you the only reason I sleep better now is my sound machine, as it's taken a lot of effort to calm my thoughts and relax before bedtime. However, I will say that I couldn’t continue to sleep peacefully without the sound machine as part of my nighttime routine.

There’s something simply soothing about having a light rainfall sound in the background that relaxes me even when I’m stressed out. After years of sleepless nights, getting a good night’s sleep now is priceless.

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