What background sounds or sights motivate or relax you?
you’re in the kitchen cooking and the TV is on, but you are not watching it. you are in the garage working on your car, listening to talk radio, but you are not really listening. you are trying to fall asleep, but you can’t unless you have the ceiling fan on.
primarily, something has to be going in the background that sets the mood for you and you cannot function without it.
what is that thing? why do you need it? what background sound helps you do what you do, whatever it is? even though you are not paying attention to it?
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To quote Milo Oblong, “White noise. White noise. White noise. White noise.”
Music…gots to have music.
I can always fall asleep to my favorite song by the Shins.
White noise, too.
i need music on in the background. i need a fan on to go to sleep no matter how cold outside. i need something to hum to put me to sleep. i need TV on while i cook, but only occasionally watch.
The sound of moving water. Ocean is best.
@boots hey, explain white noise, please. i’ve heard that before…
I don’t really require any noise for any activity. I like listening to Springsteen when I’m driving. I like Loreena McKennett for pure relaxation and deep meditation. When I go to sleep, I like no noise and no light. No night light, just dark & ear ringing silence.
I do find the sounds of water soothing. I love the beach and ocean waves crashing. My sister’s house had a massive waterfall that I loved to listen to so much, I would open windows in middle winter to hear it.
I can’t sleep unless I have a fan running. I even have one running during the winter.
@VS i agree! lights out! pitch dark with the ceiling fan running. no TV on please. the infomercials in the middle of the night blare and beckon and end up in my dreams. i have a wife that needs to have TV blaring to go to sleep and it can make bedtime so lopsided! i go to another room where it is quiet and dark.
@VS Great point on the music. The car is the one place I must have music when I am alone. What kind depends on my mood. Could be classical, jazz or oldies rock.
@Marina I have a wide range of musical tastes, too. I quoted Bruce because he is my favorite, but my tastes range from Bruce to Outkast, from Amy Winehouse to Vivaldi. I am a bit schizophrenic in my music!
@charliecompany34 – white noise is basically the sound of nothing, although it has a little hum to it, not unlike the ceiling fan. White noise machines were all the rage a few years back, but people found white noise can be found without gadgets.
A bright sunny day motivates me
Music in any form. A huge disagreement between jonsblond and I.
not in a “divorce” way but in a “we’ve-been-together-quite-awhile-these-are-the-things-we-will-always-disagree-about” kind of way
@Blondesjon uh, is that austin powers in your pic/avatar? smashing baby!
I like the fish tank, rain and the ocean…sense a theme? I also can’t sleep without the ceiling fan on. Not to cool things down, just for the noise. white noise!
I have to have a fan to sleep, too, and in the winter. Every night. When we travel, my little fan goes with us. I can’t sleep without it. I can’t stand quiet.
@jbfletcherfan – me too! I also have my little fan, ready for a trip. When it’s too quiet. I’m just lay there, wide awake. Then it’s like I have super hearing. I hear every single noise a house and my cat can possibly make.
@cak yes! I hear clocks ticking & my ears ring. I can’t stand it!
@jbfletcherfan
@cak I take a portable fan with me during our annual vacations up north. I’m glad I’m not the only one who does this.
@Blondesjon I told you that I wasn’t crazy
chirping crickets, frogs croaking, the wind sighing through pines, and of course, soft classical music.
I also use a fan during the warmer months, because we have the windows open and have noisy inconsiderate neighbors.
The sound of rain on the roof.
I miss it so much living in a basement that I put a tarp over a ladder stored outside so I can hear the rain hit it.
Thunderstorms. My very favorite thing. Wind can work too, but wind now can make my fibromyalgia act up. I love the ocean, the rhythmic sounds are so soothing. Sightwise, autumn leaves, trees, etc, are my favorite.
I don’t need anything except when I’m at work, trying to concentrate on writing code. I need to block out all noise in the office. I prefer music for that, but lyrics are too invasive. I listen to “shred guitar” instrumentals.
I always ran a fan to lull me to sleep, until all the iPhone apps with noise came out. My favorite is the Kitten Purr in Ambiance, because there is a white noise in the background.
I have tinnitus, but also very acute hearing. When the Swatch watches were popular in the 80s, I had to keep them under my socks in the drawer, because they’d keep me awake at night!
I love the sound of gentle rain with a little thunder – ahhhhhhhhh – for sleeping.
I need some kind of sound on during the day… need to break that habit.
Birds singing – ahhhhh – for stress relief.
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