I must have noise to go along with going to sleep. Usually thats an audio book or long-form video essay type YouTube videos. I wear one earbud to bed if I’m sleeping at night with my girlfriend or just blare it from the TV if I’m sleeping alone during the day (rotating shift). I feel like when I don’t have engaging audio and I’m trying to sleep I can’t quiet my mind enough to sleep. A fan or random ambient noise isn’t enough for me.
I started sleeping with rain sounds years ago because I would always hyperfixate on every little noise. The wobbling tone of the ceiling fan was enough to keep me awake some nights. I’ve played my usual setup for people and it’s always too quiet for them to near, but it’s louder than every creak and pop of the house. The track I picked was based on what actual rain sounds like outside my window.