I can trace the sounds I have slept too as I look back over my life and they tie in so much with what I was experiencing then.

My mum use to tell me as a little child I liked to fall asleep to her singing Hush Little Baby. I like the security of her being there I suppose and her soothing  words and tone.

When I was in my teens I used to tape the top 40 off the radio and every night I would fall asleep listening to my tape. I was desperate to learn all the lyrics.  The following Sunday I would make a new tape and spend the following week falling to sleep to that too.

When I went to university I was dreadfully homesick for my family and old friends. We had kitted out my tiny room with a comfy cheap mattress posters of the Cure and a colourful rug but  much as I adored it it wasn’t home. I made myself a mix tape with some Elvis on to remind me of my mum and some Nat King Cole to remind me of my dad. I also included the Waterboys, James and Inspiral Carpets to remind me of my old friends and the songs we loved. I listened to that and cried at night a fair few times.

Fast forward to my 20’s and the world of work and I just need to sleep, sleep, sleep and I began to need to sleep with no sound at all.

Then along came the kids and oh my goodness I wouldn’t even let my husband have the TV on in our bedroom in case I missed a murmur from one of my babies.

Over the past couple of years due to a health condition I have had to sleep on a ventilator which makes a really comforting whooshing noise. This lulls me to sleep and makes me feel safe as I know the machine is doing it’s job.

It’s funny how your sleep habits reflect your life so closely isn’t it and so interesting to look back at the patterns in your life.

 

 

collaborative post