This is a long post and I’m sorry about that! There are links to every soundscape and channel I reference, and I hope that some of it can be of some help to you ♥
I’ve been falling asleep to let’s plays on youtube for almost a decade now. There’s something really wonderful about having a voice that you associate with positive emotions in the background as you fall asleep! Of course, it all comes down to who you like to watch, but personal favourites for me are Vinny Vinesauce and Chuggaaconroy.
Chugga’s positivity in every video is very charming (although if you’re easily awoken by loud noises i would warn that he is excitable and can’t always keep his voice quiet, there are occasions where he yells for joy!); for his playthroughs I recommend Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Pokemon Black/White Version, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Chrono Trigger.
Vinny has a much more chill vibe than Chugga, and his dry humor is equally as charming as Chugga’s enthusiasm. He does have occasions where something catches him off guard and earns a ‘Big What’ from him, but they’re fewer and further between than my other recommendation, I’d say. Playthroughs I recommend from Vinny would be Planet Coaster, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Mario Odyssey, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
If talking in the background isn’t your style, I highly recommend some sort of noisemaker instead. myNoise has a huge selection of different soundscapes that you can customize to your heart’s content. If you donate to the website, you can become a member and use several soundscapes at once, but without donation (which is understandable, we’re all going through a tough time right now), you are limited to playing one at a time.
Personally, I use a combination of a couple noisemakers and music to help myself calm down out of a panic attack or PTSD episode; I’ve never used it to sleep to but I imagine it would work well! My usual go-to is a mix of two of these soundscapes and one music track from this list:
Japanese Garden Soundscape, myNoise
Irish Coast Soundscape, myNoise
Rain Sound Generator, rain.today
2AM Music, Animal Crossing New Horizons (looped; soft drum, piano, guitar)
5AM Music, Animal Crossing New Horizons (looped; soft piano and strings)
Back Hall, Amnesia: The Dark Descent (looped; soft guitar and choral vocals)
Aurora’s Theme, Child of Light (looped; soft piano and strings)
Good luck friend, I really hope that these help you, and even if they don’t, I hope you find something that will ease your anxiety soon ♥
