Sleeping in the Rainforest

 

by Pa Rock

Sleep Appreciator

I have only been to one genuine rainforest, El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, a place of incomparable beauty and magnificent solitude.   On two occasions while visiting that lovely US island territory, I rented a car and drove up into the mountains of El Yunque and lost myself in nature:  the lush greenery, the many beautiful waterfalls, the sudden steep cliffs and just as sudden deep ravines, and the surprise jungle vistas at ever turn in the road.  But perhaps more than anything it was the sounds of the rainforest which brought the whole of the experience together:  the water cascading and splashing down the rocky cliffs, the buzzing and screeching of thousands of different varieties of insects, and the singing and screaming of the multitudes of colorful birds that call the jungle of El Yunque their home.

One item still on my bucket list is to take one more drive up through that lush and verdant paradise.

Occasionally when I climb into bed at night I will have an uneasy feeling that sleep will be evasive - and last night was one of those nights.  Maybe it's a result of too many iced teas during the day, or the wrong choice for dinner that evening, or perhaps it is the vagaries of some parasitic brain worm in my head who is having trouble getting to sleep himself.   I'm not sure.  But I know when it is happening, and last night was one of those nights.

I have a small Alexa smart speaker next to my bed, and sometimes I use soothing instrumental music at a very low volume to induce sleep, with my particular preference being Viennese waltzes, but at other times the Blue Danube is murky and that music just keeps me awake.  I also discovered a few tracks of sounds that were recorded specifically to bring about sweet dreams and have used them occasionally.  One is a version of rainforest sounds of rain showers, storms, wind, and birdcalls that repeats every hour or so.  After a few nights of that I began to learn the rotation of the sounds, and it was somewhat like listening to a record album, anticipating each new selection.

But I was going to try it last night in spite of the fact that it was getting monotonous.

About every third time I listen to that version of rainforest sounds, which comes free with the purchase of the smart speaker, Alexa coughs up a commercial and tries to sell me an enhanced version - and I always say "no" because Jeff Bezos has enough of my money already.  Last night, however, being tired yet wide awake, I decided to pay closer attention to Alexa's product pitch.   She assured me that the new version would play all night with no breaks or repeats and that it was of a better quality than the one I had been using - and I could have it all for just ninety-eight cents a month plus "appropriate" taxes.

Alexa, who had tried to sell me this sleep aid before, had caught me in an extreme moment of weakness and I thought  "What the hell.  You only live once!"   I agreed to give the billionaire ninety-eight more pennies every month, plus appropriate taxes, so that I could pipe his own private rainforest into my bedroom.

And I did.

And last night I slept the sleep of the wise and just.  I did wake up several times during the night just like I always do, but each time the sounds of the rainforest quickly soothed me back to sleep.  There were several rainforest thunderstorms during the night.  Sometimes the thunder claps got fairly loud.  The rains came and went and varied from showers to downpours, and the winds blew in whispers, and gusts, and gales.  Then at 5:15 this morning when Alexa woke me to the quiet melodic tones of her alarm, and I tried to doze for a few more minutes, the jungle birds began waking also.  It was a very pleasant end to the best night of sleep that I have had in a long time.

Rosie's bed is under mine, and she seemed to wake this morning in a more positive mood also.

I don't like spending money with Jeff Bezos, and I do think that taxes are far more appropriate than he is, but this rainforest sleep soundtrack that Amazon is currently pedaling is worth the money.  Just don't tell Bezos or he'll raise the price!