White noise, the distinct hum from the fan, or maybe the faint, soothing sounds of your favorite show: all can ease you to sleep every night. Falling to sleep with a background noise isn’t uncommon, but for comedian Jim Gaffigan, he didn’t expect his jokes would be getting kids to sleep.
“Now recently, I’ve noticed a trend that is, well, I think, odd. On more than one occasion I’ve been told, often by a stranger, ‘My 10-year-old son listens to you to fall asleep.’ ‘My kids listen to you as a nighttime ritual.’ ‘Your stand-up helps my teenager at bedtime,'” Gaffigan told CBS News.
Gaffigan described to CBS how he used to stay up late hoping The Tonight Show had a comedian on the show or, if you were lucky, someone’s parents owned comedy albums you could listen to. Comedy was something people had to seek out, with effort; however (and thankfully), comedy is much more accessible now with social media and the internet. Funnily enough for Gaffigan, this has led to his jokes getting a few snores instead of laughs.
“I’m never sure how to respond to being used as a sleep aid. It doesn’t feel flattering to be told you’re the human equivalent of warm milk,” Gaffigan told CBS News.
Gaffigan isn’t the only celebrity that can help your kids fall asleep. The Calm App has sleep stories and songs from multiple celebrities varying from Harry Styles and Shawn Mendes to LeBron James and Idris Elba, to name a few. There have also been studies done to understand what helps kids sleep and one study found that Billie Ellish is pop music’s most sleep-inducing artist.
Parents, if you’ve tried everything and can’t get your kids to bed, try Gaffigan’s comedy. He even approved it, telling CBS, “Anyway, next time you can’t sleep, don’t count sheep. Just say, ‘Hey, play Jim Gaffigan.'”