I am always trying to find new and innovative ways for me and my family to learn Spanish. People spend a lot of time sleeping, so I wanted to see if there are ways to help learn Spanish while you sleep. I researched the topic and wrote a helpful blog post.
Take a look below on how you can learn Spanish while you sleep and the resources that are available to you.
Can You Actually Learn Spanish While You Sleep?
The short answer is . . . yes, you can learn Spanish while you sleep. The long answer with a more nuanced explanation follows.
Yes, sleep-learning is possible, but we must understand what we are able to learn and not learn. Studies have shown that people are not able to learn new information simply by listening to audio recordings while they sleep. So, if you thought that you could simply listen to something while you sleep and know it the next day . . . well, that is not the case.
The way that sleep-learning does work for people is by learning new information while they are awake. Once they have acquired that information, listening to that information while they sleep helps to consolidate and reinforce what they learned. Studies have shown that this has drastically improved people’s ability to recall information.
So, when you think about how you want to learn this information, you should first learn it when you are awake and do your best to put it to memory. Then, have an audio recording that reviews the same information you previously learned to help reinforce it. This should do wonders for helping you and your kids learn Spanish!
Resources for How To Learn Spanish in Your Sleep
The best resources I found for how to learn Spanish in your sleep are YouTube videos, apps on your smartphone and tablet, and CDs or compact discs. I have researched and reviewed some of the best options available for you so that you don’t have to waste your time doing it yourself. Enjoy!
YouTube Channels
I absolutely love YouTube! I find it addicting at times. I can find myself several hours down the rabbit hole if I am not careful. What I love about YouTube is that there is loads of content, it’s free, and you can watch it on your phone, tablet or television. The only downsides are the intermittent advertisements (no ads with the paid premium version) and sometimes the content is not as high of quality.
When it comes to sleep-learning for languages, all of the things I mentioned above come into play. The sleep-learning videos are designed with calm and soothing noises that help you sleep, such as white noise, rainfall, and ocean waves. These videos are mostly designed for you to listen to them, instead of being awake to actually watch them. Further, what also comes with these calm and soothing noises is the language learning aspect.
The language learning on these videos goes over words and phrases that are commonly needed when using a new language. Therefore, the content is on-point and helpful.
Take a look at these YouTube Channels below and click on the links to each one for a more in-depth look.
Sleep Learning Spanish
The Sleep Learning YouTube Channel was created in 2011 with a focus on providing mostly language learning content while you sleep. The languages you are able to learn from this channel are English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.
The creators of the channel know that scientists have varying opinions on sleep-learning, however, they are on the side that it is possible due to the fact that your brain is very receptive to new information at the beginning stages of falling asleep.
We are only focusing on Spanish for this website, so I have researched the respective videos available for Spanish language learning. Here is a link to the playlist available on this channel. There are four videos available with over 19 hours of content.
Eko Languages – Learn Spanish
This is another great YouTube resource that allows you to learn several languages. The languages available for learning on the YouTube Channel are English, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. My website is focused on Spanish, so I am posting a link to the YouTube Channel playlist for only learning Spanish here. It contains 13 hours of audio that you can listen to while you sleep.
Eko Languages is affiliated with italki.com, which is a language learning community connecting students and teachers for 1-on-1 online language lessons. Talking with a native speaker 1-on-1 is a fantastic way to help you learn a language, so I encourage you to check it out, as well.
SpanishPod101.com YouTube Channel
This site has five great sleeping videos that are each 8 hours long, however, the YouTube Channel does not list them under a separate Playlist. I have asked the YouTube creators for this channel to set up a Playlist for these specific videos, and I will update that here once the playlist is created.
Below is a list of the five different 8-hour videos with links to each one and a basic description of what you will be listening to.
- Basic Phrases – Here is the link to the Basic Phrases video, which introduces you to 25 useful Spanish phrases.
- Phrases For Your Daily Life – Here is the link to the Phrases For Your Daily Life video.
- Home Interior Phrases – Here is the link to the Home Interior Phrases video.
- Workplace Phrases – Here is the link to the Workplace Phrases video. These are phrases that you would mostly use in business or the workplace.
- Classroom Phrases – Here is the link Classroom Phrases video, which contains phrases for school and the classroom.
Before I fail to mention it, SpanishPod101.com is another great resource for learning Spanish. It is an incredible resource for learning that provides podcasts, lessons, videos, flashcards, live discussion, and many more.
Real World Spanish Lessons
This is probably the largest collection of sleep-learning YouTube videos that you can find for learning Spanish while you sleep. Thankfully, this channel has a separate playlist for the sleep-learning videos. At the time of writing, this YouTube Channel had 21 videos that were each 6 to 8 hours in length.
Here is a link to the Real World Spanish Lessons YouTube Channel playlist titled Learn Spanish While Sleeping.
What I like about this Channel is that they have such a large collection of videos that are each 6 to 8 hours long. The videos cover beginner lessons, basic phrases, vocabulary, words and phrases for food, and many more.
Learn Spanish World
Here is another YouTube Channel that has a playlist of 5 videos that are each 6 to 10 hours in length. Here is a link to the playlist they created titled Learn Spanish While You Sleep.
The creator of the Channel is a Spanish school teacher who enjoys teaching Spanish to adults, teenagers, and children. The YouTube Channel contains beginner, intermediate, and advanced topics. The material covers the Spanish language, music, delicious food, literature, art, dance, history, and its people. And there are over 200 videos for you to watch and learn!
Education World
We have one sleep-learning YouTube video available to us from Education World. Here is a link to the video that has 5 hours of content and over 1,000 words and phrases.
Education World provides educational resources, language learning, and other fun videos. The About Page on the YouTube Channel sends you to ILoveLanguages.org where you can find several languages that you can learn, such as Arabic, Basque, Bengali, and Cantonese to name a few. The website also has Spanish lessons that contain a lot of vocabulary, phrases, grammar, and other types of lessons. All of these are free on the website.
Lingo Jump Channel
Lingo Jump Channel is also on YouTube and it boasts that it is the Best Channel to Learn a New Language. This channel is brought to you by the great people at lingojump.com. Please note that if you search for Lingo Jump on YouTube, you will want to be sure that you search for Lingo Jump Channel so make sure that you find the videos instead of Lingo Jump TV.
Also, LingoJump.com is a great place to find audiobooks and ebooks that you can purchase for several different languages. If you are interested in the audiobooks or ebooks, here is a link to the Learn Spanish part of the website. Feel free to look at the items you can purchase.
Now for the freebies. Here is a link to the free video playlist on the Lingo Jump YouTube Channel. There are three videos that have over 25 hours of content so that you can learn Spanish while you sleep. These videos were added in June 2019, so I would not be surprised if more content was added to the YouTube Channel later.
Apps for Your Smartphone or Tablet
Now that we have plowed through the resources available from YouTube, we can also look to the apps available for our smartphones and tablets.
Apps are a great tool to use because of the functions available in a lot of apps. Some apps download new episodes to your phone after you have listened to a certain number of episodes. Other apps are able to begin playing audio at a certain time each day. And, of course, the best part is that a lot of these apps are free.
Let’s take a look at the apps available for you to download.
Spanish Head Start
This app is an audio coursebook and vocabulary dialogue reference to learn Spanish. You can listen to it when you are awake or asleep. Also, you are able to select different playback times for when the audio recordings will automatically play. Basically, you can set it and forget it (in terms of remembering to turn it on!).
You can download the app for free on Google Play by clicking on this link. Unfortunately, this app is not available in the Apple Store.
Learn Spanish With SpeakTribe
This is a highly recommended app that has been used by thousands of people. It is an interactive Spanish learning app that focuses on listening and speaking. Reviews have shown that people like how quickly they are able to start speaking Spanish and better understand what native speakers are saying.
If you want to use this app while you are sleeping, I recommend that you concentrate on only the listening sections. Or take short naps with the audio on.
Here are links to the app in Google Play and the Apple Store. Please note that the introductory level of this app is free, but there are in-app purchases for things such as intermediate and advanced levels.
Learn Spanish – Español by Wlingua
This app has received several thousand reviews and is well-liked. The app provides lots of vocabulary, words, phrases, and grammar. Best of all . . . it’s free!
Click on the link to download the free app in Google Play. Unfortunately, this app is not available in the Apple Store.
CDs (Compact Disks)
Remember the old days when we used cassette tapes or CDs? They were great! The technology is not extinct yet, so you can purchase CDs to play audio and learn Spanish on-the-go or while you sleep.
Let’s take a look at some of the CDs available today.
Living Language Spanish
Living Language Spanish CDs are another great way to listen to Spanish while you sleep. Living Language Spanish wants you to build a language foundation, progress in language acquisition with confidence, retain what you have learned, and achieve your goals. Its goal is to have you speaking conversational Spanish as soon as possible.
Living Language Spanish CD is available for purchase on Amazon by clicking here. The CDs contain vocabulary, dialogue, and audio exercises. Further, with the purchase of these CDs, you are also able to download other lessons from their website by clicking here. There are also flashcards, games, and interactive quizzes available by clicking here.
Pimsleur Spanish Basic Course
The Pimsleur Spanish Basic Course is a CD set with over 5 hours of audio. The audio covers basic Spanish words and phrases that you can listen to in your car or while you sleep.
The CD set is available for purchase on Amazon by clicking here.
Spanish For Dummies Audio Set
If you have read any “How To” books before, then you have probably seen the Dummies collection for how to start that project or begin learning a subject. Spanish For Dummies is no different. This time they have created an audio set for easy listening.
This audio set contains three CDs that contain 3 hours of audio. After listening to these CDs, you will be able to do the following:
- Handle greetings and introductions
- Ask questions and understand answers
- Build your vocabulary
- Talk about numbers, time, and the calendar
- Ask for directions
- Get help at a hotel, the bank, or a store
To purchase the Spanish For Dummies Audio Set on Amazon, click the link here.
Related Questions
How does sleep help you learn a new language? Learning involves the acquisition, consolidation, and recall of thoughts and ideas. Sleep is very important to this process and allows your brain to maneuver those three steps. If you are sleep deprived, you will find it harder to learn and poorer results in learning a new language.
How to get a better night’s sleep? A good night’s sleep can be affected by many things you do during the day and as you prepare to sleep. To get a better night’s sleep you should reduce light exposure at night, not consume caffeine late in the day, avoid long naps, have a consistent sleep schedule, and take melatonin before bed.
