{"id":8693,"date":"2023-11-09T05:19:53","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T22:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=8693"},"modified":"2023-11-09T05:19:53","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T22:19:53","slug":"why-some-people-use-space-videos-to-fall-asleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=8693","title":{"rendered":"Why Some People Use Space Videos To Fall Asleep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p> <span class=\"drop-cap__first text-dropcap \">A<\/span>s I\u2019m getting ready for sleep, the distant murmur of London traffic is a permanent part of the soundscape in my bedroom. Equally omnipresent is talk of subatomic particles and how the sun will swallow the Earth one day; my partner Luke likes to drift off to sleep amid the sounds of \u201cblack hole videos,\u201d or videos about space and science. I found it odd at first, but I\u2019ve come to appreciate the roster of pensive astrophysicists who accompany us to bed. Their engaging narratives and cool graphics transport us to the far reaches of the universe and of human understanding, as we shift into unconsciousness\u2014but above all, says Luke: \u201cThey soothe me.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"\">\n<hr\/>\n<div class=\"experts-in-article noskim py-[24px] px-[40px]\">\n<p>Experts In This Article<\/p>\n<ul class=\"!ml-[18px]\">\n<li> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.astro.columbia.edu\/content\/david-kipping\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.astro.columbia.edu\/content\/david-kipping\">David Kipping, PhD<\/a>, assistant professor of astronomy at Columbia University, head of the Cool Worlds lab, and host of the Cool Worlds YouTube channel <\/li>\n<li> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/uep\/faculty_basner.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/uep\/faculty_basner.html\">Mathias Basner, MD, PHD, MSc<\/a>, professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and director of the Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology <\/li>\n<li> <a href=\"https:\/\/lotustherapy.ca\/nilou\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/lotustherapy.ca\/nilou\/\">Nilou Esmaeilpour, MSc, RCC<\/a>, registered clinical counsellor with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors and founder of Lotus Therapy <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<hr\/><\/div>\n<p>These black hole videos are from the science channels of YouTube, here to educate and entertain. Luke\u2019s favorite is <a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/@pbsspacetime\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/@pbsspacetime\">PBS Space Time<\/a>, hosted by astrophysicist and king of the jokey science T-shirts Matt O&#8217;Dowd (\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbsspacetime.com\/product-page\/heat-death-of-the-universe-tee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.pbsspacetime.com\/product-page\/heat-death-of-the-universe-tee\">Heat Death is Coming<\/a>\u201d). Luke also enjoys <a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/@HistoryoftheUniverse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/@HistoryoftheUniverse\">History of the Universe<\/a> (\u201cbest for sleeping\u201d), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@QuantaScienceChannel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@QuantaScienceChannel\">Quanta<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@sea_space\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@sea_space\">Sea Space<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/@CoolWorldsLab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/@CoolWorldsLab\">Cool Worlds<\/a> (\u201cthe best voice\u201d) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@astrumspace\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@astrumspace\">Astrum<\/a>, which recently launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL2gLpWRK0QlDLSz1KpaCqiEPSZML_MTlv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL2gLpWRK0QlDLSz1KpaCqiEPSZML_MTlv\">Sleep Space<\/a>, a podcast sharing intel about space in a \u201crelaxing way,\u201d geared specifically to all the people who, like Luke, use space videos to fall asleep.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIntellectually, the universe is an escape\u2014a respite from the constant noise and din of our lives,\u201d says astrophysicist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.astro.columbia.edu\/content\/david-kipping\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.astro.columbia.edu\/content\/david-kipping\">David Kipping, PhD<\/a>, assistant professor of astronomy at Columbia University, <a href=\"https:\/\/davidkipping.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/davidkipping.co.uk\/\">head of the Cool Worlds lab<\/a>, and host of the aforementioned Cool Worlds YouTube channel. Our lives here on Earth are full of stress\u2014work problems, niggling relationship worries, money troubles, sadness about the state of the world\u2014and it can all come to a head in the form of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-anxiety\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-anxiety\/\">anxiety as we\u2019re trying to go to sleep<\/a>. But with a nighttime trip to extrasolar worlds by way of a space video, these Earthly worries can feel less significant.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content \" style=\"\" data-module-init=\"related-content\" data-module-immediate=\"\" v-cloak=\"\">\n<div class=\"related-content__wrapper \" v-cloak=\"\" :class=\"{'is-loaded':isLoaded}\">\n<p> <span class=\"inline pr-6 text-seafoam-dark\">Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n<p> <related-content class=\"related-content__links\" parent-article-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/use-space-videos-fall-asleep\/\" current-title=\"Struggling To Fall Asleep? Watching a Video About Space Could Help You Drift Right Off Into the Dreamy Ether\" current-image=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/WG_Editorial_10-24-Benefits-of-Space-Videos-425x285_418x278_true_70.webp\" v-on:parsely-posts-loaded=\"onPostsLoaded\" start-date=\"2023-05-08\" tag=\"div\" inline-template=\"\" url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/use-space-videos-fall-asleep\/\" secret=\"w5ztterVB03LGZJLfXS0hf3EvQBuFFIWew9hmVQxthU\" apikey=\"wellandgood.com\" limit=\"3\"> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"related-content__card mb-[10px] sm:mb-[20px]\" :class=\"{'related-content__card--full':posts.length === 1}\" v-for=\"(post, key) in posts\"> <a v-on:click.prevent=\"trackLinkGA($event, key)\" :href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/use-space-videos-fall-asleep\/post.url\" data-url-source=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content__link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content__card--image bg-tan\" :style=\"{ backgroundImage: 'url(' + post.image_url + ')' }\"> <img :src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/use-space-videos-fall-asleep\/post.image_url\" :alt=\"post.title\"\/> <\/div>\n<p> <\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Dr. Kipping also thinks that pondering space can spark awe, which can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-doctor-technique-anxious-thoughts\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-doctor-technique-anxious-thoughts\/\">soothe a restless mind<\/a>. As with art, we\u2019re often drawn to questions of philosophy and science without necessarily any \u201cbread-on-the-table functional purpose,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen we lie on the grass and look up at the stars wondering about their stories, there\u2019s no foreseeable return on that investment.\u201d And when so many of our daily actions are done with particular future-oriented goals in mind, this kind of aimless pondering can be an especially wonderful and relaxing thing, he says.<\/p>\n<p>The existential nature of space videos (Dr. Kipping has been known to ask questions like, <em>Why is something something rather than nothing?) <\/em>can further stoke our fascination. \u201cDeep down, I think there\u2019s a sense of wonder within us all about these questions,\u201d says Dr. Kipping. \u201cContemplating the cosmos stirs our imagination, and inspires and elevates our consciousness. It helps give us some context as to what our lives are really all about.\u201d Considering we live in a moment obsessed with productivity and metrics (we\u2019ve even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-is-orthosomnia\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-is-orthosomnia\/\">gamified sleep by wearing trackers<\/a> that tell us if we\u2019ve done a good job sleeping), space videos can provide some much-needed perspective, which can then help us chill out and get some rest.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cContemplating the cosmos stirs our imagination, and inspires and elevates our consciousness. It helps give us some context as to what our lives are really all about.\u201d \u2014David Kipping, PhD, astrophysicist<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThese science shows can really remind us how small we are,\u201d says sleep researcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/uep\/faculty_basner.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/uep\/faculty_basner.html\">Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, MSc<\/a>, director of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine&#8217;s Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology. \u201c[They] basically tell you that the Earth is just a tiny freckle in the universe, and you&#8217;re just a tiny freckle on Earth.\u201d Acknowledging that reality can \u201cshift your focus away from everyday anxieties and onto something more expansive,\u201d says registered clinical counsellor <a href=\"https:\/\/lotustherapy.ca\/nilou\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/lotustherapy.ca\/nilou\/\">Nilou Esmaeilpour, MSc, RCC<\/a>, founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/lotustherapy.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/lotustherapy.ca\/\">Lotus Therapy<\/a>. \u201cCosmic events are beyond our control, and accepting that can ease our worries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is especially relevant for people who\u2019ve experienced trauma and who may struggle to practice typical mindfulness exercises to calm their mind before bed, adds Esmaeilpour. \u201cSome people with trauma can find it really hard to sit down and meditate\u2026It can feel threatening to go inside themselves because sitting in silence can bring up disturbing images or thoughts,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat may be more helpful is to use soothing visuals, which can send a message to their nervous system: \u2018You\u2019re okay, you\u2019re safe, and nothing bad is happening.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the general consensus among sleep scientists is that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sleepfoundation.org\/sleep-news\/watching-tv-before-sleep-most-popular-bedtime-routine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.sleepfoundation.org\/sleep-news\/watching-tv-before-sleep-most-popular-bedtime-routine\">looking at screens in the bedroom before going to sleep is bad<\/a> (the blue light they emit can be arousing), Dr. Basner caveats that for some people, it\u2019s okay to watch a show before bed if it helps with drifting off. For example, people who live in noisy places often report that a soothing show can help mask unwanted noise and allow them to fall asleep, he says. The important thing is to avoid anything loud or exciting, and make sure to use a timer so it turns off after a while, he adds: \u201cJust like the brain needs to recuperate when we&#8217;re sleeping, the auditory system also needs to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Turning off YouTube auto-play, then, is a must for anyone who uses space videos to fall asleep; you want to watch your selected show and drift off\u2014not worry about what your unconscious mind might absorb from an algorithm left to its own devices. Josh Pudlo, who lives in Connecticut, is especially aware of what he\u2019s absorbing in the moments when he\u2019s not quite awake, but not yet asleep. For him, watching space videos just as he\u2019s falling asleep, while he\u2019s straddling the border between conscious and unconscious, is a part of the appeal: \u201cThat\u2019s the moment when your mind seems to be open to the idea of anything and everything being possible; you feel like you&#8217;re a part of the universe, of the unknown,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Josh\u2019s favorite YouTube channel is History of the Universe because of the lengthy, detailed videos. \u201cI\u2019m an extremely vivid dreamer,\u201d says Josh, explaining that watching these videos at bedtime often means he\u2019ll dream about the topics, too. \u201cAll of a sudden, I\u2019m traveling across the universe in a dream where there are no laws of physics, so the possibilities are endless,\u201d he says. \u201cWithout these videos, my dreams wouldn\u2019t be nearly as expansive and immersive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zac Logsdon, who lives in Oklahoma, began to use space videos to fall asleep after being fed one by the algorithm of his TikTok \u201cFor You\u201d page; the app now allows videos to go for as long as 10 minutes, giving physicists like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Brian Cox time to ponder the state of our universe. \u201cI don\u2019t have a long attention span, but I was just so drawn in by it, and now, [TikTok] shows them to me all the time,\u201d says Zac, noting that the accidental discovery has been a boon for his sleep. \u201cI have a difficult time shutting my brain off [at night]\u2026My mind races with all the things I need to be doing or problems I need to solve. But watching videos like these helps me realize the insignificance of everything. It allows me to say to myself, \u2018This is not a big deal. You&#8217;ve got your health, your kids are healthy, you\u2019ve got a roof over your head\u2014go to sleep.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Luke, space videos have become a refuge from a world where people often pretend to have it all figured out. \u201cWe know so little, yet as a species, we walk around with such hubris, [telling each other that] if you follow the rules, life will go well,\u201d he says. But in reality, we have so little control over preventing bad things from happening\u2014a fact we\u2019re often reluctant to acknowledge. \u201cWe all have a relationship with chaos, but most people just pretend the chaos doesn&#8217;t exist,\u201d says Luke. For him, to watch a video about how the Earth will one day be swallowed up by the sun is to place himself in relation to chaos; it\u2019s a way to face the chaos that\u2019s everywhere, but at a safe distance. (After all, we have hundreds of millions of years left.)<\/p>\n<p>Luke\u2019s favorite nighttime YouTube subject is black holes, which reflect the frontier of order and human knowledge\u2014where the laws of physics break down. \u201cMy black hole nighttime video routine lets me approach the horizon of knowability with curiosity, and that is empowering,\u201d he says. Ultimately, we\u2019re at the mercy of everything around us; we matter, yet also, we don\u2019t. \u201cWatching these videos makes me feel in calibration with the universe,\u201d says Luke. And with that, he can relax and fall asleep.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I\u2019m getting ready for sleep, the distant murmur of London traffic is a permanent part of the soundscape in my bedroom. Equally omnipresent is talk of subatomic particles and how the sun will swallow the Earth one day; my partner Luke likes to drift off to sleep amid the sounds of \u201cblack hole videos,\u201d &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}