You must log in or # to comment.
To fall asleep?
Think Sa on inhale and Ha on exhale can work, or I count backwards from 100 in Spanish, starting over when I forget where I am. Yin yoga is good too, forward folds calm the nervous system.
To do something else, when it seems sleep is not possible or desirable? Emotional stress? Get out of bed & go for a night walk, or even a run. Exercise. Get physically exhausted if possible.
If it’s a song looping and keeping me awake: I picture myself rising up above the earth to the vacuum of space where there is no sound and drifting off in the silent void.
Otherwise the go to is picturing my mind and consciousness as a submarine on the surface of wakefulness and I let myself slowly sink beneath the waves of sleep.
take a pill
This, apparently.
Yup. It is currently the time for sleep, and yet here I am.
I smoke weed lol works for me
Make up stories in my head.
Rub one out.
Practice meditation.
A good night is when I do all three in order :-)
Make up stories in my head.
This is super effective to help get to sleep. Just waking fantasies of being a superhero, or in a zombie apocalypse or being super rich. Any fictional narrative to keep the mind from wandering to racing thoughts or stresses. Gets me to sleep every time.
Listen to a audiobook for a book I’ve read before. I have a sleepy mask with headphones built in so I don’t bother my partner.
All the most effective stuff you can do to get better sleep is done ahead of time (like daily exercise, not spending time in bed when not sleeping, keeping a sleep schedule, avoiding caffeine/alcohol etc), so if I get to that point there isn’t that much to be done. Getting up and doing something nonstimulating other than lying in bed for ten minutes can help a little bit sometimes. If there’s something in my sleep environment that is abnormal and it’s possible to correct it that will help. Lowering the temperature can help.
Fully agree, that part helped the most with improving falling asleep time and sleep quality.
More melatonin and breathing exercises i referenced in other comment are for those abnormal, one off occasions and usually the cause can be pointed back to some daily activity.
Yeah, tbh I also take .5mg melatonin before bed regularly and add a valerian root tablet on top of that occasionally
Same, 1,9mg of melatonin, but if any of the preparation during the day isn’t on point. That melatonin does absolutely nothing. With the preparations It’s providing a slight push to speed up falling asleep.
Depends on what I want to accomplish when I can’t sleep.
If I don’t have to be up early the next day and/or don’t have anything terribly demanding the next day, I will embrace the insomnia to an extent. Play a game for a bit. Maybe go do some work on the computer. Empty the dishwasher. Just find useful things to do that will help make the next day(s) a bit lighter.
If I do have to get up, have a heavy day, or just would prefer to sleep, then I do fairly standard things. I’ll go grab something to read (sans a screen). I’ll find something relaxing to listen to (no videos, just audio). I’ll try various visualization / relaxation / counting techniques.
And if all else fails, I’ll just find some random movie to watch and sit/lay on the couch or in a recliner to veg out.
For me, not being able to sleep sucks, but lying down with my eyes closed and embracing my thoughts still leaves me feeling better the next day compared to getting up, moving around, etc.
I read many years ago that insomnia is a survival mechanism due to low calories.
I get up and have a light meal. Seems to work for me.
I start planning D&D ideas for campaigns or think about my character in the campaign I’m in is going to react in the next session.
Usually this works to put me to sleep pretty quickly.
My sister is a registered nurse, and she has a pro tip. Electric blanket. I wrap myself, and I am out like a light.
Also, I am a “sleeper” after r/Futurama_Sleepers when I was over there, so I just download episodes of my favourite tv shows, usually American Dad, Family Guy, Venture Brothers and what not, onto this old phone I have, and set the screen to the lowest brightness, sometimes the screen is off, and the volume low and I watch till I fall asleep. I have not made it past 20 minutes yet in the years I have done this.
Electric blanket as in a heated blanket? How would that help you sleep? I sleep on a heated blanket but u only do that because otherwise the bed is too cold for me but I don’t feel the heat does anything to help me sleep.
Well, the cosy warm feeling tends to lead me to sleep. It works like a charm.
Yes, heated blanket. Around me.
Go Team Venture
Go Team Venture.
I used to just do hobbies until physical exhaustion would force me to sleep.
Now i sleep 9 - 14 hours on the regular 🤷♀️ Don’t fuck up your circadian rythm kids
make food, wrap up in soft blankets, talk to strangers on the internet. might as well at least be comfortable if I can’t be unconscious
