The Poor Man's Travel Sound Machine- The Radio

I can't sleep without a sound machine (or some form of soothing noise) at home, and even more so while traveling. Staying in motels with all the ambient sounds- paper thin walls with noisy neighbors going to bed late and waking up early- doesn't make for a very restful night's sleep, so having a travel sound machine is of the utmost importance. One that doesn't take up a huge chunk of your suitcase. Unfortunately, it's hard to find travel sized ones anymore unless you shop online.

I remember flying to Los Angeles for a visit a while back, and the one I brought with me stopped working. Well, it sort of worked with batteries, but then it would just shut off in the middle of the night, which of course would wake me up. While in L.A., I needed to take a 2-night trip up to the Sacramento area and none of the shops in L.A. had any travel sized ones. I had purchased mine many, many moons ago at a Brookstone's when they were still located in your local mall. I started to fret big time until I remembered that before I invested in sound machines I used a fan to mask noise, but A/C units in motels usually shut on and off, so that was not an option. I then remembered a friend telling me eons ago to set the TV to an off station for the white sound, but televisions these days don't allow for that. Then I recalled the time I forgot my machine, and in a moment of inspiration decided to use the motel's radio as a substitute. I set it between stations and voila... something that sounds a little like "white sound" which happens to be my sound of choice. So that's it. The poor man's sound machine. Useful in a pinch.

I also use my iPad to listen to solfeggio, binaural or isochronic videos on YouTube to help me fall and stay asleep, but you need an Internet connection for that, and depending on where you are traveling, the connection can be a major issue. On my latest trip to Spain, I was so glad that I also brought my travel sound machine with batteries. Remember, if you bring something like a sound machine abroad you will need a travel voltage converter. Learned that lesson the hard way when my sound machine blew after I plugged it into a hotel In Ireland.