Restoring sleep requires a peaceful mind and a calm body, but getting there can seem hopeless.

Compounded daily stress and post-traumatic stress disorder cause hyperarousal. This means your brain is constantly on edge, convinced it’s unsafe. As a result, your nervous system stays in fight or flight mode, never decreasing stress hormones like cortisol racing in your blood.

This stress is detrimental because high levels of cortisol at night ruin sleep. Elevated stress hormones suppress melatonin levels and cripple sound sleep. As a result, your performance and mood suffer, and chronic conditions can skyrocket.

Sound therapy, like guided meditation, ASMR, and nature sounds, are often recommended by sleep coaches to ease stress.

A deep body of research shows that meditation reduces stress and anxiety, improves sleep, uplifts your mood, and boosts brain power. These benefits double when you pair Aura’s guided meditation with our Glow light. Using both, you enter a special type of contemplation, called mantra meditation, that rests your brain and calms your nervous system.

Studies show that Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) also supports sleep. By triggering tingling sensations originating from the brain, ASMR helps you feel relaxed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34916914/), comforted, and optimistic.

Nature sounds are another potent relaxer. A 2020 study (https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2013097118) found that natural sounds in U.S. national parks lower stress, boost mood, reduce pain, and enhance brain performance.