Using Water Fountains as a Natural Sleep Aid

We all have trouble sleeping sometimes, whether it's a battle to calm our minds and fall asleep in the first place or problems with frequent waking in the night. Stress from the day, upcoming events, anxiety and irritating background noise can keep people from getting a good night's sleep. While many people turn to bulky, expensive white noise machines or CDs of nature sounds, there's a more effective, attractive option - water fountains.

People are naturally soothed and restored by the sound of flowing water. As water travels down the surface of a fountain and drips into the basin below, the sounds that are produced mimic the restful sounds that a baby hears while in the mother's womb. The repetitive, musical sounds of the water droplets help lull you to sleep. Put a fountain in your baby or child's room to help comfort them as they drift off.

The sound of flowing water not only helps you calm down - it's also a great way to drown out background noise that would otherwise keep you awake. A television in the apartment next door, traffic noise, people talking and other distracting sounds can make it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. Throughout the night, noises made by appliances, the house settling, or pets could wake you up after you've finally fallen asleep. Water fountains provide a continuous relaxing sound that will fill the room and prevent other noises from bothering you.

When selecting a water fountain to use as a natural sleep aid, choose one that has a highly audible water sound for the size of the fountain. Look for designs that feature one large stream (like the Grape Bowl Wall Fountain pictured top) or multiple small streams (like the Moonshadow Tabletop Fountain, 2nd image down) of water which pour or drip into a basin below for optimal water sound. Also, the further the distance that the water has to fall freely before hitting the basin, the louder the sound. Fountains which feature a stream of water gurgling up among stones or other objects will usually be much quieter.

Some additional fountains that are great choices for use as natural sleep aids in the home include the Envirascape Siena Illuminated Relaxation Fountain, Whispering Creek Pewter Slate Wall Fountain, Nature Bowl 601 Tabletop Fountain and the Envirascape Garden Leaves Relaxation Fountain. For a full selection of water fountains for the home and garden, see KineticFountains.com.