What Blu-rays do you watch when having trouble sleeping?

[glennstl]

I'm talking as someone who struggles with insomnia pretty badly but also anxiety ( which affects my sleep).

Was curious as to a few titles you may like to throw in and watch to relax you before sleep.

This isn't to say you are picking a movie because it is boring...rather, you pick it because it relaxes your mind.

A few off hand for me that I frequently will throw in:

1) Halloween ( 1978)- love the atmosphere of the holiday and just how it's shot with the neighborhood and time of year in the fall.

2) 12 Angry Men- it's a "calming" movie with great characters and is relaxing to me due to this and the fact it almost totally takes place in one room.

3) Rear Window - love Jimmy Stewart and any Alfred Hitchcock. But love this one due to the atmosphere throughout the movie that is calming to me.

How about you? And if you struggle with insomnia or anxiety, I feel your pain. Hopefully Blu-ray can help

[glennstl]

4) Meet Me In St. Louis - love the atmosphere of the neighborhood, the characters are great and like how it goes through the different seasons. ( meant to add this to my list above too).

[mja345]

I've never tried it, but things like "Baraka", "Samsara", or the Qatsi Trilogy would be good candidates. Also, Jim Jarmusch films like "Stranger than Paradise" or "Dead Man" because of their slow, hypnotic quality.

[glennstl]

aaahhhh I keep coming up with some more titles:

5) Key Largo- love Bogart, the Florida Keys atmosphere and the storm that moves in as they're trapped in the hotel.

6) Shadow of a Doubt- Alfred Hitchcock and Joseph Cotton, perfect together. Really like the small town, Main Street type atmosphere. A great mystery with a great family group of characters.

[DJR662]

Unfortunately for me, it's the other way around.

I'm having trouble staying awake during movies the last couple of years, even with 3D glasses on or in the theater I sometimes close my eyes for a little while.

Those years of watching three to four movies in a row in a single night are long gone I'm afraid.

Btw I can't imagine how watching Halloween could relax your mind before going to sleep.

[Doombear]

2001: A Space Odyssey
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Legend
Fantasia
Eyes Wide Shut
Hook
The Muppet Movie
Superman: The Movie
TRON

[UltraMario9]

Tree Of Life
The Master
Finding Nemo
To The Wonder
Knight of Cups

[The Great Owl]

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Reverse psychology. I'm always at my sleepiest when I'm trying hard not to go to sleep.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Watching movies when you are having trouble sleeping only exacerbates the situation. It's been scientifically studied and the lighting used in television/electronic screens confuses the brain into believing that it is daytime, and thusly keeps you awake on a subconscious level.

Reading a book would be far more effective to help relax you to help you get to bed.

[Show spoiler]That being said, I usually play video games up until about 15 minutes before I go to sleep.

[DanTheMan]

The Twilight Zone Complete Series

Love the entire series to death, but it's undeniable how quickly a few Oreos/milk and Twilight Zone can put me to bed. Doesn't even have to be the weaker episodes, although it certainly helps.

[Akibiyori]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Watching movies when you are having trouble sleeping only exacerbates the situation. It's been scientifically studied and the lighting used in television/electronic screens confuses the brain into believing that it is daytime, and thusly keeps you awake on a subconscious level.

Reading a book would be far more effective to help relax you to help you get to bed.

I disagree about books. Reading only increases brain activity; you want to shut your mind off and stop thinking when trying to sleep. Putting on a familiar film or show that you can half pay attention to/zone out to works far better. As for the bright TV light, counter it with low warm light from a lamp.

I use stuff like Curb Your Enthusiasm or documentaries about old movie stars/directors/animators/etc. to fall asleep to.

[Monterey Jack]

The last I want to do when I have trouble sleeping is watch a movie. I find it hard to sleep in general because I often have a backlog of images and music from various recent films I've seen swirling around in my head at pretty much all times, so no matter how tired I may be, I'll frequently toss and turn for up to and exceeding an hour before actually falling asleep.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by DJR662

I'm having trouble staying awake during movies the last couple of years, even with 3D glasses on or in the theater I sometimes close my eyes for a little while.

Same here. And it has little to do with the films themselves as my collection is an almost perfect representation of titles I find very thrilling (save for a few blind buy stinkers). I avoid going to a theater at night at all costs since there's a 90% chance I'll fall asleep at some point. Maybe it's some kind of illness.

To answer the OP's question - try some nature videos or underwater documentaries. I bought a BD of something called Environmental moods. It's basically a loop of different weather scenarios in exotic locations. There's like 6 different "moods" to choose from. Since there's no narration or dialogue/music (other than nature sounds), these should work fine for putting you to sleep

[James_Younger_Gang]

Tales from the crypt tv show or movies, behind the mask rise of leslie vernon, twilight zone, universal monsters, z nation, the walking dead. If nothing works I read the ec comics

[bigdaddyhorse]

I used to do this with dvd, and found long talky epics worked best for me. So stuff like JFK, Nixon or even Godfather were go to's for my after-work naps on the couch. Just be sure not to really start watching, or else they pull you in and the nap/sleep is over before begininng.

[Monterey Jack]

Plus, who want to fall asleep with the TV and/or subwoofer still on? I can't imagine the electric bill...

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Plus, who want to fall asleep with the TV and/or subwoofer still on? I can't imagine the electric bill...

Mine turn themselves off after a while of inactivity.

I'm bad about pausing movies "just for a few minutes" so that I can close my eyes and doze off, and then waking up four hours later with the television and Blu-ray player powered off.

[PrestigeWorldwide]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Plus, who want to fall asleep with the TV and/or subwoofer still on? I can't imagine the electric bill...

No issues with the electric bill here. I don't use the subwoofer at night since I'm extra sensitive to noise when I sleep. I set the sleep timer on the receiver for a little longer than the movie and then when the TV loses the connection with the receiver, it'll shut off after about 5 or 10 minutes. The blu-ray player shuts down after a short time of inactivity. I generally set the volume low - to the point where I can just barely understand the dialog.

My go to sleep movies are Star Trek: TMP, 2001, and THX 1138. It's funny how the more cerebal sci-fi movies are sleep inducing.

[Arch Stanton]

Rogue One would send me to sleep

[meremortal]

Anything. I can stay up 24/7 in front of the computer but a movie after like 10pm will do the trick every time. Often times at night now I'll sacrifice PQ in order to stay awake by keeping some lights on in the room.