Happy & Healthy

Sleepless in Amsterdam: the new storytelling

I was tossing and turning in bed again last night. Who is a worse father: Jeremy Bieber or Donald Trump? Senior Bieber, who is so proud of junior's penis that he sends Justin photos via Instagram of large phallic structures like the CN Tower in Toronto. Or Trump, who has repeatedly said that daughter Ivanka is such a hot girl that he would have sex with her if she weren't family.

That's what keeps me awake at night. Or no, I'm saying that wrong, I'm not awake over these issues, but because I'm awake, I start thinking about these kinds of things. And you don't want those in your head.

My name is Ilonka and I suffer from insomnia. Now, everyone has an occasional restless night, but I really go for the Olympic Games of sleeplessness. The first three years of my life, I hardly slept (poor parents). The first night I finally slept through was when my little brother was born, and I was really pissed off the next morning that they hadn't woken me up for that. Next time, my parents promised. Well, I'm still waiting. It was already there at a young age and it has never gotten better. I've even been treated at a sleep clinic, and they threw in the towel after six months too. Or a sleeping pill, whatever you want.

Okay, so that's a big problem, sleeping. Or rather, not sleeping. So I have an arsenal of tools, and I'm not talking about warm milk or eating a banana, that's more for amateurs. Occasionally a sleeping pill from the doctor is my salvation, but you don't want to get used to that because then you have nothing left to fall back on. So for anyone who also tosses and turns at night, I've come up with a miniseries with tips on how to seduce your mind into calmness, or how to best get through the night when nothing else works.

Today part 1: the new bedtime stories. And by that, I mean podcasts. I discovered podcasts about two years ago when I followed the super exciting Serial, but kept falling asleep due to the soothing voice of the creator, Sarah Koenig. At first, I was annoyed, damn now I have to listen again, but then it clicked: I slept! It's like being read to by your parents again as a toddler. Here are my favorite podcasts:

Serial

Where it all started for me. A kind of spoken documentary in 12 episodes about the murder of Hae Min Lee, who disappears one day after school and whose body is found a month later. Her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed is arrested and ultimately convicted, but did he really do it? Sarah discovers that evidence has been withheld and goes on an investigation. Captivating! But not so thrilling that you can't sleep.

You Must Remember This

A series about the forgotten stories and secrets of old Hollywood, written and narrated by Karina Longworth. Stars are highlighted, from Joan Crawford to Elizabeth Taylor and from Charlie Chaplin to Frank Sinatra, but I find the episodes about Charles Manson and his followers the most fascinating. Although that one where the murders of, among others, a heavily pregnant Sharon Tate are discussed might be just a bit too scary for bedtime.

The West Wing Weekly

The West Wing, about America's dream president and his staff, was the first series I ever binge-watched, old-school on DVD box sets, and is still one of my all-time favorite series. In this podcast, Joshua Malina (who played Will Bailey in WW and David Rosen in Scandal) discusses every episode that has ever aired. Sometimes with special guests! Like Donna! Toby! A solid knowledge of the series is, of course, necessary (immediately an excuse to binge) and a long breath too: with one episode per week, it won't be until 2019 before they finish.

Who actually wants to sleep this way? Sleeping is for losers!

Geschreven door Ilonka Leenheer