Sonic Salvation

 Dear Diary:

I moved a couple of months ago.  After multiple rounds of decluttering, I sold my home of 24 years to move into something smaller, without stairs to navigate.  I found a nice ground floor apartment with a generous patio and just the right amount of space for me and my small dog.

Unfortunately, the building is not well insulated between upstairs floor and lower level ceiling and any structural noise is at times very, very loud.  I don't hear conversations thankfully, just foot traffic and furniture.  This isn't a problem with the neighbors on either side of me.  I rarely hear anything from them.  But the upstairs apartment has no carpeting and I know exactly where everyone is at any given time.  When it gets to be bedtime for me, I think my upstairs neighbors are just starting their after work activities.

Chairs are moved in the dining room and dragged across the living room floor.  Their little one runs back and forth across the apartment, the bathroom door squeaks, a flushing toilet cascades through the wall at the head of my bed and laundry is started.  I'm in bed.  It's 9:30.... PM.

I've pulled out the heavy artillery over the past few weeks.  At the forefront is a device I received as a Christmas gift that produces calming lights and sounds that can be set up on an app.  I was already using an Alexa routine at bedtime but this new device is a bit of an upgrade.  The light feature functions as an alarm, gradually brightening in the morning.

Then comes my Spotify account, where I have diligently added the albums of artists who perform quiet, soothing music.  When things get raucous upstairs I create an oasis of favorites I can listen to.  

Sleep.  Is.  Imperative.  I cannot function without a good night's sleep.  End of story.

Speaking of stories, I have also found wonderful sleep stories on the Calm app.  My favorites are called "Extreme Sleeps," written by a woman adventurer named Phoebe Smith.  Each story is about her travels to an extreme location where she has camped, hence the name "Extreme Sleeps."    

My MS burdened CNS is totally dependent on getting enough sleep and if it becomes deficient it can take days to recover.  Most human beings are this way.  For me, clumsiness increases, spasticity is worse, cognitive deficits run amok and fatigue is persistent. I don't have the luxury of having someone else around to pick up the slack, so I have to manage my daily routine and be mindful of how I spend my energy.

Sound therapy is becoming my new weapon of choice to address the needs of my central nervous system.  I confess to having been a skeptic.  I'm already balancing delicately on the edges of adopting all the new technologies I need just to pay for a visit to my dogs' vet and you're asking me to take a leap of faith into what now ... a sound bath?  

Am I just showing my age?

Kidding aside, I am becoming a believer in the power of sound to realign my mood into a more positive direction.  Yes, that's me you see with mop in hand "dancing" through the task of cleaning my compact living space while my Spotify account rolls through my "Liked" song list.  

But it's not just music that can settle my nerves.  There are other sounds that I find soothing and when used at the right moment, really help me to slow down and relax.  

So there you have it.