How many of us fall asleep while

I, too fall asleep when listening late at night. Usually it's after a couple of Bombays on the rocks after a long day at work. My wife usually has retired to bed and I've got the volume set on the low side so as not to wake her. I can really get into the music, it's so relaxing that I fall to sleep like a baby. The only unfortunate thing is that I seem to be missing the best parts of the music I was so interested in listening to when I first sat down. As they say, "the night time is the right time".

And I thought I was the only one with this problem. I've fallen asleep in that "sweet spot" before the first track is done! I've finally traded my recliner for a wood rocking chair and I've heard a lot more of the music since. Hard to fall asleep in something you can fall out of! It's a trade-off between extreme comfort and staying awake to hear some music.

Yeah, falling asleep while listening in the sweet spot is great, but for a sure-fire, fast and efficient method to drift into a deep slumber nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats listening to "Uncle Lou" Ruykeyser on "Wall Street Week" (even in mono)! His soothing monotone, combined with the utterly predictable format of his show, and the oh-so familiar panelists, lulls you into the reassuring belief that all is well with the world, no matter what the ups and down of the stock market. After a hard week at work, I appreciate this to no end. I wake up once the show is over, ready to go to bed.

I use my late night listening sessions in combination with biofeedback training that I received for chronic pain. If it is a good session I always doze off before the CD is done playing. I usually wake up when the last track ends and then transport myself to bed for at least three to four hours of uninterrupted sleep. These sessions are far more successful than any painkiller (and we are talking real drool material here - right SF) that I have tried and make me a much easier person to live with (per my wife). The clinical psychologist was concerned about me substituting music for the standard biofeedback talkfest/instruction tapes until they hooked me up to their measurement machines and discovered that I was their star patient. I was able to drop the stress measurement from the mid 20's to a 2 or a 3 in a twenty minute session. Mid twenties on their scale is in the "psycho killer" range and 2 or 3 is considered normal. The director of the clinic informed me that I was not their only patient that used music for biofeedback and asked that I give him a list of titles that were effective. I discovered that the type of music whether it be The Pretenders or Dvorak did not seem to effect the results as much as did my total involvement in the music. Cowboy Junkies (for popular music) however are at the top of my list due to the continuity of their song writing, which to me means a clean flow to the music and my total involvement. Don't mean to stretch the thread but I have been listening 15 degrees off axis with my old Castle speakers. My new speakers once they are broken in should allow a better on axis sound.

Ahhhhhh... I absolutely do fall asleep, day or night, depending on how I feel, whilst listening to music. No, I don't wake up when it's over. I really should remember to put the player on repeat if that's the source. And it doesn't matter how high the volume is. The problem with that, of course, is my neighbors complaining to security folks in my building, but those guys are used to it. I should also mention that I too have chronic pain as DK, my buddy, does. As a clinical pharmacologist (disabled/retired) and one who takes very potent opioids (DK gave that away, heh heh), the pleasure and joy of listening to great music under these circumstances is it's pain relieving and soothing effects. DK alluded to that. One thing I should make really clear is that I think sleep itself is a great pain reliever, if not the best. In fact, I wouldn't even contemplate trying to sleep in my recliner without music playing. Thanks to either great FM (Fanfare tuner) or the multidisc DVD player, I get to achieve my goals; i.e., getting sleep at all. I can count on one hand just how many times I've slept in my bed in any given month, including zero. Since I can only sleep 2-3 hours at a time, I have the chance to change the source and do serious listening! It's been a long time since I've used headphones, but I'm sure I'd have the same effects with them. Perhaps the pleasure of listening to music induces endorphin secretion. I wonder if that's even documented? For those of us with years of experience in biofeedback or meditation and being able to reach deep levels the endorphin effect, if existant, may be increased. I'll tell you one thing, it's therapeutic abilities justifies buying good equipment! I wonder if I can take a medical expense tax deduction on what I paid for my new system this year??? DK, what do you think of that one? ;)