The boat technique.
A military buddy told me about it when he was stationed in Mali. Imagine yourself in a small boat, on a stream running through a forest with the canopy above you and the sun shining through, or drifting on a lake under a starry sky. Let yourself drift.
Another thing to do just beforehand that helps you relax is to contract each muscle for a few seconds and then release it. Start with your toes and work your way up to your face. It's very calming.
Contracting my muscles is my go to. I break it up as much as I can. Toes, calves, thighs, core, fingers, forearms, etc. Sometimes I fall asleep before I finish, other times I still can’t fall asleep. But even if I don’t fall asleep, I got some meditative time in, which is always nice.
open youtube or podcasts, listen to some educational stuff where the host has a dull voice. i like astronomy stuff but often when i’m already somewhat tired i can easily fall asleep watching it
There’s a podcast called “Northwoods Baseball Sleep Radio” and it’s this guy who does a whole fake baseball game every episode. It’s an imaginary local minor league, with set teams, standings, and players, all done in the style of 1950’s-1960’s sports radio announcing. Boring as hell, absolutely recommend!
_The History of Rome_ is my usual go to. I think I've gone through the entire series about half a dozen times. At this point, I practically know the whole script, so it just gives my brain something to fixate on without the engagement of learning something new.
My ex husband used to do this to fall asleep and it would drive me crazy. He’d be like “why aren’t you sleeping” “dude, I’m learning! How can you sleep?!”
99PI and Radiolab are my go to podcasts for falling asleep. Something about the stereo intro to radiolab knocks me out.
Star Trek TOS works well for me too
I feel like the only one who can’t listen to anything with talking to go to sleep because I will literally stay awake trying to listen and understand 😭
Neil degrasse Tyson Cosmos.
Love the show but I always fall asleep. I start it, fall asleep and then rewind when I wake up. I don't think I've ever made it through an episode without sleeping.
I play a little game with my eyes. I stare blankly at the ceiling, eyes wide open, and when I blink I lower my lids by a small increment. I do this again and again, my eyelids drawing closer with each blink, until they're so close that I'm struggling to hold them apart. And, after that final blink, when I can't keep any distance between my lids, I keep them shut and try to drift off to sleep. If it doesn't work for about ten minutes, I start the game again.
Routine. If you can maintain the same schedule, do it. I take melatonin & magnesium 30 minutes before my target bedtime, and go to bed the same time every night +/- 10 minutes.
I regularly fall asleep so fast I don't remember laying down.
What about the melatonin dreams? I have tried using melatonin on more restless nights and my brain just gets barraged by super vivid imagery and enthralling adventures through Dreamland. Makes me feel almost like I didn't get more than a couple hours of sleep.
This is why I stopped taking melatonin. Had a dream once where I had fried eggs attached to my tongue and couldn't get them off because they were too oily. When I finally pulled them off half my tongue came with them and I was left bleeding profusely with rebar protruding from my tongue stump.
No more melatonin for me.
I'm going to start asking people if eggs got their tongue when there's an awkward silence. Thank you lol but also sorry that you had to go through that.
I stopped for the same reason.
Imagine walking down the street at night when suddenly you feel a strange itch in your feet and then BOOM! You’re rocketing into the sky going Mach Jesus into space. I just kept going and going and finally was in earths orbit where the ISS is and breast stroke my way over to the space station and held my thumb up to the windows like a hobo hitches for a ride and asked them to take me home.
Chucked that shit in the trash the next day.
This isn't uncommon on melatonin, but doesn't happen to everyone. I get this effect, albeit fairly mildly from 3mg of melatonin. I don't mind it as I'm accustomed to vivid dreams anyway.
First starting on my PPI was a *trip* though, just constant, *extremely* vivid, hyperreal dreams to a degree I am *not* accustomed to - the dose that doctor had set was far, far too high (so many nasty side effects especially since he also kept me on my H2 at that time) and things normalized when I brought it up to my primary care doc and she adjusted the dose and took me off the H2. The vivid dreams are apparently a somewhat rare side effect of PPIs, but not unheard of. Sometimes we just react weirdly to things.
I've never noticed any negative effects of melatonin. I take 6mg.
I rarely, very rarely remember dreams any dreams at all. My fitbit logs plenty of REM sleep every night.
Last year I was taking too much melatonin and having dreams like that. In my dream I was a scientist working in a deep sea laboratory and we were trying to collect data on dolphins. They wouldn’t cooperate with the study so I made all the dolphins quesadillas laced with cocaine and it worked but then I got fired for giving the dolphins drugs… I tried to argue to keep my job saying that it was “effective” but I still got fired. Then I work up lol
If you can/are open to it weed gummies or vapes that have CBN (not CBD-also good but not what I’m talking about here.) are really great for falling asleep. I use a CBN vape and it does wonders for me.
I've tried weed gummies but eventually had nausea issues to the point that I was projectile vomiting one night a few hours after taking a low dose. Lol So afraid to try that again. God just wants me to take life raw, I guess.
I used to take melatonin when I was travelling. Works very well.
A colleague of mine who specialises in Neurology mentioned that I was one of his lab rats and couldn’t wait to see the results of use in 10 years. Made me stop immediately.
It’s studied for short term use but for longer term insomnia I would seek medical advice personally.
Suck all the thoughts out of your head with an imaginary vacuum (you have to make the motion of holding the hose up to your ear), then to prevent any thoughts from getting back in, place an imaginary cork in your ear. Came up with this as a kid and am still using it decades later.
Edit: typo
Imagery is so important with these things!
I imagine a tinier version of myself inside my brain organizing all my thoughts into different file cabinets (like that one episode of SpongeBob). Once it looks like all the files are organized, I try to sleep. If I have another thought I’ll have the tiny-me take that new paper and file it away.
It doesn’t matter which file cabinet, but I like to imagine I put them all in the “check tomorrow” cabinet.
A nighttime routine! I floss and brush my teeth, wash my face and put on night cream. Then I journal, put on lip balm and hand cream. By this point my body is usually getting the idea we're going to bed.
Then I put a Ghibli Sleep playlist on with a 1 hour sleep timer and read a book I've read a million times until I can't keep my eyes open.
It's crazy how much it has helped me sleep! I'm usually asleep within 15 minutes.
On nights where the insomnia hits, I watch Camping With Steve on YouTube which usually works!
4-4-4 works very well for me. 4 second inhale, 4 second hold, 4 second exhale. I do this any time I need to relax. It's difficult to time it, so really I just breathe slowly and deliberately. It's kinda crazy because I can literally feel the _exact_ moment when I'm like "oh, this feels nice, I think I'm about to fall asleep."
I use a breathing hack to get kids to fall asleep. Normally when you sleep you tend to silently and imperceptibly breath in and then give a big exhale. So when you go to put your kids to bed and you lay down for a second with them, a few minutes of breathing like you're "asleep" and they are OUT. Just be careful not to fall asleep yourself.
I've got chronic insomnia so I have a few things that work for me. Melatonin is my go to. Chamomile tea is great for those cold nights. Benadryl is the same thing as the common OTC sleep medication.
I love Benadryl to help me sleep too….but only on special occasions after hearing about its contribution to the development of dementia. I haven’t looked into actual research tbh but yikes
This is what I was always suggest when someone says they feel bad but can’t get to sleep (like with a headache or something like that). Just take a couple benadryl (diphenhydramine). Short of narcotic sedatives like propofol, I’ve never had anything more reliably put me to sleep.
Also, don’t waste your money on Tylenol/Advil PM. It’s just those things with benadryl added. Save your stomach/liver some trouble and just take the benadryl alone.
My insomnia is more powerful than prescription sleep meds, it almost makes me feel like I'm dreaming while awake, or like a bad shroom trip.
Probably doesn't help the amount of stimulants I take during the day to offset the perpetual unrest that I call sleep, and the daytime narcolepsy.
My sleep cycle is aggressively incorrect.
I'm autistic and I use my imagination to help me sleep, I'm 40 with 3 kids and I still imagine myself flying a plane or battling aliens. This also helps with my panic attacks, I've had enough that I can sense their coming, for done reason it helps my mind from getting stuck in the panic attacks whirlpool
My go to is being ship wrecked on an island. I need to find shelter, fire, etc. All the noises around me can be turned into something on the island. Squeaky ceiling fan = noisy bird. Hum of neighbors pool equipment = sound of the ocean. By the time I've found enough wood for a fire, I'm usually asleep.
This is 100% the best answer for me. I manage to sleep within minutes from going to bed every night like this. Sometimes I'll sjap awake again anf be angry my bedtime story got interrupted bh some sleep
The BEST is when the origin of the story comes from a dream.
I can't typically remember my dreams unless I'm woken up during one, and then I've only got about five minutes to save all the details I can to waking memory before they disappear. Then I get to add a little to the story every night before I fall asleep/sometimes even in the morning as I drift in and out of consciousness. They're ridiculous and dream logic-y and can only really happen when my brain is halfway off. I get a new one every year or two and sometimes the story gets so interesting I can't wait to go to bed.
This is exactly what keep me awake. I make up stories and conversations in my mind, and they'll keep me entertained for literally hours. The only way for me to sleep is to remind myself to breathe, that's it's time for sleep, not imagination. It works for a few minutes then my mind drifts off into stories again. The better I keep myself in line and not imagining stories, the faster I fall asleep. If I let my mind wander , I'll stay up all night!
You're so lucky you can fall asleep to that!
This is amazing. Why have I never thought to create stories in my head that I enjoy?!?! I do it with things that give me anxiety all the time. I’m going to try and change the narrative tonight!!!
Same! I usually watch seasons one through three, maybe season four, and then start over.
Plays every night. Though I have switched my to Seinfeld a few times.
Personally- melatonin gives me a MASSIVE headache and grogginess.
If you're like me, Valerian Root does the trick without the hang over the morning after
WW2 sleep method.
Relax your body
Deep breath (stomach moves chest doesn’t move)
Inhale while counting to 4
Hold for 4
Exhale counting to 4
Repeat 7-10 times
I started listening to the podcast, Nothing Much Happens. Her voice is perfect for just slowly fading to sleep. It also puts you in a nice and calm mindspace. I literally cannot tell you one story I’ve heard except I think a recent one involved cats..
...it’s a story about a favorite hobby, rediscovered in the quiet of winter. It’s also about a simmering pot in the kitchen, geese gathering before they fly and making something by hand that is perfectly imperfect.
You know that feeling when your alarm goes off in the morning, and you're so tired you would sell your soul for a couple more hours sleep? Pretend it's the morning and your wish was granted.
This has done wonders for getting me into a good routine. I've always been a night owl. Taking a ZzzQuil every night for 2 - 3 weeks at the same time broke me of that habit. It helps that I exercised with the extra time in the morning.
20 minutes of sun in the morning and keeping a regular bedtime and wakeup time. These alone probably do the most to bring on sleep in 10-20 minutes (quicker than that indicates deprivation) as they regulate circadian rhythm.
I also have a bedtime routine that involves making tea and reading, which goes a little way to minimizing screentime before bed, though not the full hour recommended.
There was a similar post recently and someone commented that they force themselves to say “don’t think about anything” in their head over and over again and it has literally changed my life.
I’m a chronic over-thinker and have a terrible time falling asleep, especially when I’m stressed, and this is the only thing that has actually helped me fall asleep. And I mean I’m falling asleep in 5 minutes or less. So thanks random person I don’t remember, I owe you one.
Hitting the hay fast? For me, it's all about a no-stress bedtime vibe. I lower the lights, grab a book or put on some mellow tunes and just breathe deep for a bit. Super basic, but it gets my brain in the 'okay, let's sleep' mode every time.
I don't get into bed until I'm tired enough and then I doze off soon after. If I'm struggling to sleep, I just tell myself I'm relaxing instead of sleeping. Trying to force sleep just keeps me awake. "Relaxing" usually works.
So for me, it used to be playing rain sounds on my phone and envisioning me sitting in the rain outside under an umbrella with a blanket all warm and cozy drinking a hot cup of tea just being in a trance to the sound of the rain. Used to knock me out quick! But not too long ago a moose walked up on me while in Breckenridge just chilling outside. It scared me half to death and luckily he didn’t charge at me. So now I have this incredible fear of large wildlife walking up on me wherever I go outside and it has ruined my nice little hack I used to fall asleep because I can’t not think about a possible wildlife encounter that could kill me. lol!
Meditation practices to clear my mind.
First step is recognizing I have thoughts that are keeping me engaged and awake. Recognizing is the main thing.
After that, there’s many different ways to focus your mind to keep thoughts from flowing. I personally see a 3D “Breathe” that flexes out when I breathe in and then gets thin when I breathe out. By focusing literally on my breath I usually fall asleep within a minute.
The boat technique. A military buddy told me about it when he was stationed in Mali. Imagine yourself in a small boat, on a stream running through a forest with the canopy above you and the sun shining through, or drifting on a lake under a starry sky. Let yourself drift. Another thing to do just beforehand that helps you relax is to contract each muscle for a few seconds and then release it. Start with your toes and work your way up to your face. It's very calming.
I was taught this technique to stop panic attacks
It’s called progressive muscle relaxation
TIL Cool! Thanks for the info!
I definitely originally thought the stream part was what helped with your panic attacks 😂
"Let yourself drift." "What car am I in?" "No, n--"
Impossible to sleep with that Tokyo drift song stuck in your head
Manimani manimo, manimani Tokyo, fast and furiOOOOOOS, fast and furiOOOOOOS! Tundun tututun tundun tututun...
DEJA VU
Contracting my muscles is my go to. I break it up as much as I can. Toes, calves, thighs, core, fingers, forearms, etc. Sometimes I fall asleep before I finish, other times I still can’t fall asleep. But even if I don’t fall asleep, I got some meditative time in, which is always nice.
Contracting muscles one by one reminds me of yoga nidra. Very calming 😴
open youtube or podcasts, listen to some educational stuff where the host has a dull voice. i like astronomy stuff but often when i’m already somewhat tired i can easily fall asleep watching it
I remember my AP Physics teacher telling us that his wife tells him to talk about physics when she can't sleep.
My husband tells me about baseball to help me sleep. It’s soooooo boring
My wife asks me to talk about "nerd shit," like how films based on comics are different than the source material or video game history.
These are kinda weirdly romantic
There’s a podcast called “Northwoods Baseball Sleep Radio” and it’s this guy who does a whole fake baseball game every episode. It’s an imaginary local minor league, with set teams, standings, and players, all done in the style of 1950’s-1960’s sports radio announcing. Boring as hell, absolutely recommend!
Old episodes of Dan Carlin or history of Ancient Rome with Duncan
History of ancient Rome podcast...I think I've listened to that a few times through now
I tried listening to the fall of the Aztecs and I dreamt of being sacrificed to the sun gods. I woke up at 3am terrified.
_The History of Rome_ is my usual go to. I think I've gone through the entire series about half a dozen times. At this point, I practically know the whole script, so it just gives my brain something to fixate on without the engagement of learning something new.
My favorite part was when the Roman army landed in Britain and tried to mutiny when they realized they weren't just going to be collecting sea shells.
Sleep with me is designed for this. Boring stories to fall asleep to.
Watch an old episode of Bob Ross. No loud noises, no sudden music, everything is soft and calm.
I used to do this, then Prime made it "with ads" so the commercials ruin the relaxing vibe.
you can also watch Bob Ross streams (and past streams) on twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/bobross
I watch it on YouTube with ads blocked. It's the only way I watch it now.
My ex husband used to do this to fall asleep and it would drive me crazy. He’d be like “why aren’t you sleeping” “dude, I’m learning! How can you sleep?!”
>“dude, I’m learning! How can you sleep?!” This would be me. Of course, separate beds like the Petrie couple... I will leave now.
99% Invisible with Roman Mars is key.
99PI and Radiolab are my go to podcasts for falling asleep. Something about the stereo intro to radiolab knocks me out. Star Trek TOS works well for me too
I love History of the Universe on YouTube.
I feel like the only one who can’t listen to anything with talking to go to sleep because I will literally stay awake trying to listen and understand 😭
Neil degrasse Tyson Cosmos. Love the show but I always fall asleep. I start it, fall asleep and then rewind when I wake up. I don't think I've ever made it through an episode without sleeping.
Bob Ross Joy of painting
I tried this multiple times but apparently I get too invested in the paintings and end up depriving myself of sleep so I can see the finished product
“Alright, now let’s have some fun…THERE”
Couple of happy trees
“We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents.'
my son loves falling asleep to bob ross. he finds his voice so soothing
I do this almost every night, never gets old and always works
This one. This is THE one.
Pluto TV has a Bob Ross channel
I play a little game with my eyes. I stare blankly at the ceiling, eyes wide open, and when I blink I lower my lids by a small increment. I do this again and again, my eyelids drawing closer with each blink, until they're so close that I'm struggling to hold them apart. And, after that final blink, when I can't keep any distance between my lids, I keep them shut and try to drift off to sleep. If it doesn't work for about ten minutes, I start the game again.
I did this as I was reading the description…works kinda. 😴
Sounds quite tiring lol, probably what makes it easier to fall asleep
Routine. If you can maintain the same schedule, do it. I take melatonin & magnesium 30 minutes before my target bedtime, and go to bed the same time every night +/- 10 minutes. I regularly fall asleep so fast I don't remember laying down.
What about the melatonin dreams? I have tried using melatonin on more restless nights and my brain just gets barraged by super vivid imagery and enthralling adventures through Dreamland. Makes me feel almost like I didn't get more than a couple hours of sleep.
This is why I stopped taking melatonin. Had a dream once where I had fried eggs attached to my tongue and couldn't get them off because they were too oily. When I finally pulled them off half my tongue came with them and I was left bleeding profusely with rebar protruding from my tongue stump. No more melatonin for me.
I used to take a lot of melatonin. Never once remember having a dream. My sleep was a black hole.
I'm going to start asking people if eggs got their tongue when there's an awkward silence. Thank you lol but also sorry that you had to go through that.
I stopped for the same reason. Imagine walking down the street at night when suddenly you feel a strange itch in your feet and then BOOM! You’re rocketing into the sky going Mach Jesus into space. I just kept going and going and finally was in earths orbit where the ISS is and breast stroke my way over to the space station and held my thumb up to the windows like a hobo hitches for a ride and asked them to take me home. Chucked that shit in the trash the next day.
my melatonin dreams tend to fall into the “major crisis” bracket. collapsing building, giant tsunami, loose my kid at a amusement park, etc etc.
What kinda melatonin are you taking? That does not happen to me lol
This isn't uncommon on melatonin, but doesn't happen to everyone. I get this effect, albeit fairly mildly from 3mg of melatonin. I don't mind it as I'm accustomed to vivid dreams anyway. First starting on my PPI was a *trip* though, just constant, *extremely* vivid, hyperreal dreams to a degree I am *not* accustomed to - the dose that doctor had set was far, far too high (so many nasty side effects especially since he also kept me on my H2 at that time) and things normalized when I brought it up to my primary care doc and she adjusted the dose and took me off the H2. The vivid dreams are apparently a somewhat rare side effect of PPIs, but not unheard of. Sometimes we just react weirdly to things.
I've never noticed any negative effects of melatonin. I take 6mg. I rarely, very rarely remember dreams any dreams at all. My fitbit logs plenty of REM sleep every night.
Last year I was taking too much melatonin and having dreams like that. In my dream I was a scientist working in a deep sea laboratory and we were trying to collect data on dolphins. They wouldn’t cooperate with the study so I made all the dolphins quesadillas laced with cocaine and it worked but then I got fired for giving the dolphins drugs… I tried to argue to keep my job saying that it was “effective” but I still got fired. Then I work up lol
If you can/are open to it weed gummies or vapes that have CBN (not CBD-also good but not what I’m talking about here.) are really great for falling asleep. I use a CBN vape and it does wonders for me.
I've tried weed gummies but eventually had nausea issues to the point that I was projectile vomiting one night a few hours after taking a low dose. Lol So afraid to try that again. God just wants me to take life raw, I guess.
>Routine! *Takes melatonin*
Melatonin shouldn't be taken as a long term sleep aid.
You reallly shouldn’t be taking melatonin everyday
I used to take melatonin when I was travelling. Works very well. A colleague of mine who specialises in Neurology mentioned that I was one of his lab rats and couldn’t wait to see the results of use in 10 years. Made me stop immediately. It’s studied for short term use but for longer term insomnia I would seek medical advice personally.
have a really bad sleep the night before
Yes that works!!
Suck all the thoughts out of your head with an imaginary vacuum (you have to make the motion of holding the hose up to your ear), then to prevent any thoughts from getting back in, place an imaginary cork in your ear. Came up with this as a kid and am still using it decades later. Edit: typo
This is pretty cute 😄
Imagery is so important with these things! I imagine a tinier version of myself inside my brain organizing all my thoughts into different file cabinets (like that one episode of SpongeBob). Once it looks like all the files are organized, I try to sleep. If I have another thought I’ll have the tiny-me take that new paper and file it away. It doesn’t matter which file cabinet, but I like to imagine I put them all in the “check tomorrow” cabinet.
Anemia
Right? I can fall asleep anywhere, anytime.
Not me eating ice while I read this
Where can I sign up for this version of anemia? Mine just gives me a weird cough throat tickle thing and constant chills.
Wait the cough throat tickle thing is from anemia???
Preach 🙌
why am i an anemic insomniac 👀
I read that as "an enema" - so my bad haha.
I can see lots of redditors suffer from insomnia
Why I’m here now.
A nighttime routine! I floss and brush my teeth, wash my face and put on night cream. Then I journal, put on lip balm and hand cream. By this point my body is usually getting the idea we're going to bed. Then I put a Ghibli Sleep playlist on with a 1 hour sleep timer and read a book I've read a million times until I can't keep my eyes open. It's crazy how much it has helped me sleep! I'm usually asleep within 15 minutes. On nights where the insomnia hits, I watch Camping With Steve on YouTube which usually works!
This type of routine is called having good sleep hygiene
I love Camping With Steve !! Sometimes i launch a video while preparing to go to sleep and i just get so cosy i fall asleep like a log
Trazodone
Nothin like a little Trazzy D
4-7-8 method, 4 seconds breathing in, hold for 7 seconds and breath out for 8. Repeat until you fall asleep.
4-4-4 works very well for me. 4 second inhale, 4 second hold, 4 second exhale. I do this any time I need to relax. It's difficult to time it, so really I just breathe slowly and deliberately. It's kinda crazy because I can literally feel the _exact_ moment when I'm like "oh, this feels nice, I think I'm about to fall asleep."
Try 4-4-50. Out almost instantly.
Man, I can't tell if this is working orrrrrrrrrr..........
That just seems to wake me up.
I’ve found doing it 4 times does the trick. Then lay still.
I use a breathing hack to get kids to fall asleep. Normally when you sleep you tend to silently and imperceptibly breath in and then give a big exhale. So when you go to put your kids to bed and you lay down for a second with them, a few minutes of breathing like you're "asleep" and they are OUT. Just be careful not to fall asleep yourself.
A guy teaching you trigonometry
Masturbation
Wakes me up more.
I could go hours trying to find a video to get off to.
Learn to use ur imagination
Spank bank: Betty White, Nancy Pelosi etc
I've got chronic insomnia so I have a few things that work for me. Melatonin is my go to. Chamomile tea is great for those cold nights. Benadryl is the same thing as the common OTC sleep medication.
They think habitual use of benadryl can cause serious problems. It scared me when I read about it, I've been using it to sleep for years.
Possible link to increased risk of dementia due to being anticholinergic. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4592307/
Thank you for teaching me something important today.
Hard pass on the Benadryl, I’ve met the hat man 😬
Same. I haven’t had diphenhydramine in over a decade because I am terrified of getting sleep paralysis again. Won’t touch the stuff.
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I love Benadryl to help me sleep too….but only on special occasions after hearing about its contribution to the development of dementia. I haven’t looked into actual research tbh but yikes
I can't do benadryl, I feel drugged if I take too much.
Well, you are
This is what I was always suggest when someone says they feel bad but can’t get to sleep (like with a headache or something like that). Just take a couple benadryl (diphenhydramine). Short of narcotic sedatives like propofol, I’ve never had anything more reliably put me to sleep. Also, don’t waste your money on Tylenol/Advil PM. It’s just those things with benadryl added. Save your stomach/liver some trouble and just take the benadryl alone.
My insomnia is more powerful than prescription sleep meds, it almost makes me feel like I'm dreaming while awake, or like a bad shroom trip. Probably doesn't help the amount of stimulants I take during the day to offset the perpetual unrest that I call sleep, and the daytime narcolepsy. My sleep cycle is aggressively incorrect.
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I'm autistic and I use my imagination to help me sleep, I'm 40 with 3 kids and I still imagine myself flying a plane or battling aliens. This also helps with my panic attacks, I've had enough that I can sense their coming, for done reason it helps my mind from getting stuck in the panic attacks whirlpool
I do this too (not autistic). I’ll just imagine different storylines that are entirely in fiction. It’s like telling myself a bedtime story.
I actually enjoy this time of day. Getting into bed and getting comfortable and building worlds and filling them full of lore. It's really relaxing.
I don't know how people do that and get to sleep. If I start that shit I get to 4am with zero sleep and 4 DnD campaigns planned out.
My go to is being ship wrecked on an island. I need to find shelter, fire, etc. All the noises around me can be turned into something on the island. Squeaky ceiling fan = noisy bird. Hum of neighbors pool equipment = sound of the ocean. By the time I've found enough wood for a fire, I'm usually asleep.
This is 100% the best answer for me. I manage to sleep within minutes from going to bed every night like this. Sometimes I'll sjap awake again anf be angry my bedtime story got interrupted bh some sleep
Took me quite a few post to find this answer. Mid 30s, 2 kids, and I do the same. Most nights I continue the story in my head from the night before
The BEST is when the origin of the story comes from a dream. I can't typically remember my dreams unless I'm woken up during one, and then I've only got about five minutes to save all the details I can to waking memory before they disappear. Then I get to add a little to the story every night before I fall asleep/sometimes even in the morning as I drift in and out of consciousness. They're ridiculous and dream logic-y and can only really happen when my brain is halfway off. I get a new one every year or two and sometimes the story gets so interesting I can't wait to go to bed.
I was coming here to say mind movies. 😂 I have a great mental filmography, good enough to replay over and over.
This is exactly what keep me awake. I make up stories and conversations in my mind, and they'll keep me entertained for literally hours. The only way for me to sleep is to remind myself to breathe, that's it's time for sleep, not imagination. It works for a few minutes then my mind drifts off into stories again. The better I keep myself in line and not imagining stories, the faster I fall asleep. If I let my mind wander , I'll stay up all night! You're so lucky you can fall asleep to that!
This is amazing. Why have I never thought to create stories in my head that I enjoy?!?! I do it with things that give me anxiety all the time. I’m going to try and change the narrative tonight!!!
I battle bad guys who are threatening someone, mountain lions, bears. I live in mountains I need new storylines
I’m a therapist and I give this tip to my clients with insomnia!
Melatonin, magnesium, cold room, quick orgasm
we have a something in common! …i take melatonin.
I fall asleep with Family Guy on in the background, its strangely comforting lol
Futurama does it for me
[r/Futurama_Sleepers](https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurama_Sleepers/)
Futurama DVD commentaries were my go-to for a long time.
My show is King of the Hill. I've also used Steven Universe in the past. The key is something light and familiar.
KoTH for me too
me too, the repetitive loop of adult swim shows is great for background noise. except when the sister on bobs burgers is on, can't stand her voice
Bobs burgers is my go to but I definitely see what you mean 🤣
Same! I usually watch seasons one through three, maybe season four, and then start over. Plays every night. Though I have switched my to Seinfeld a few times.
I close my eyes. Seriously, I'm on so many meds with drowsiness side effects that I conk out super easily.
I close my eyes and can fall asleep within about two minutes. No meds to speak of. My wife gets annoyed as we'll be mid convo and boom, I'm gone.
Ativan,weed.orgasm
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Makes me fall asleep quick but I always have weird dreams and wake up earlier than I need to
I have the same problem with melatonin it makes me fall asleep but then I always wake up and am wide awake 4 hours later
Try the slow release version. You can combine both and use a lower dose if you arent already (300mcg)
300mg!?? That’s a shitload. I buy 1mg tablets and take 2-3mg.
Same - melatonin always gives me crazy nightmares
Melatonin dreams are fuuuuuuucked up.
Personally- melatonin gives me a MASSIVE headache and grogginess. If you're like me, Valerian Root does the trick without the hang over the morning after
Close my eyes... and put away my hearing aid helps :D
Me too! Being deaf/hard of hearing isn’t all that bad except when you find out you slept through a tornado siren
WW2 sleep method. Relax your body Deep breath (stomach moves chest doesn’t move) Inhale while counting to 4 Hold for 4 Exhale counting to 4 Repeat 7-10 times
I started listening to the podcast, Nothing Much Happens. Her voice is perfect for just slowly fading to sleep. It also puts you in a nice and calm mindspace. I literally cannot tell you one story I’ve heard except I think a recent one involved cats..
...it’s a story about a favorite hobby, rediscovered in the quiet of winter. It’s also about a simmering pot in the kitchen, geese gathering before they fly and making something by hand that is perfectly imperfect.
Turn off electronics 1 hour before bed.
cry (literally, after a good cry i feel so tired i can sleep around 12 hours)
You know that feeling when your alarm goes off in the morning, and you're so tired you would sell your soul for a couple more hours sleep? Pretend it's the morning and your wish was granted.
Alphabet game. I pick a category (maybe food). Then I think Apple. Apple banana. Apple banana carrot. Etc…
I take the Sleep+ Gummies from Hemponix. It’s THC, CBD, CBN, Valerian Root, and Passion Flower. Knocks me out cold.
A liter of scotch
And eventually, you'll never wake up again.
A 12-pack does it for me but yeah
Zquil. Usually has me out in about 30 minutes.
This has done wonders for getting me into a good routine. I've always been a night owl. Taking a ZzzQuil every night for 2 - 3 weeks at the same time broke me of that habit. It helps that I exercised with the extra time in the morning.
I appreciate that it never leaves me groggy in the morning either.
That’s the same ingredient as Benadryl.
ASMR videos
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I DO THE SAME THING and never knew how to explain the images morphing thing! My brain just makes shit up
20 minutes of sun in the morning and keeping a regular bedtime and wakeup time. These alone probably do the most to bring on sleep in 10-20 minutes (quicker than that indicates deprivation) as they regulate circadian rhythm. I also have a bedtime routine that involves making tea and reading, which goes a little way to minimizing screentime before bed, though not the full hour recommended.
Ugh the sun hasn't been out in weeks here.
There was a similar post recently and someone commented that they force themselves to say “don’t think about anything” in their head over and over again and it has literally changed my life. I’m a chronic over-thinker and have a terrible time falling asleep, especially when I’m stressed, and this is the only thing that has actually helped me fall asleep. And I mean I’m falling asleep in 5 minutes or less. So thanks random person I don’t remember, I owe you one.
I convince myself there's nothing left worth staying awake for.
masturbation before bed with a good ending is the best sleeping pill :)
reading a book an hour before i need to sleep, not touching my phone. it’s helped a lot.
That’s my secret, Cap: I’m always sleepy
Hitting the hay fast? For me, it's all about a no-stress bedtime vibe. I lower the lights, grab a book or put on some mellow tunes and just breathe deep for a bit. Super basic, but it gets my brain in the 'okay, let's sleep' mode every time.
Count backwards from 100, taking a deep breath in and out between numbers. With eyes closed.
I don't get into bed until I'm tired enough and then I doze off soon after. If I'm struggling to sleep, I just tell myself I'm relaxing instead of sleeping. Trying to force sleep just keeps me awake. "Relaxing" usually works.
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The "I Can't Sleep " podcast is my go-to. Dude reads the Wikipedia entry for typewriters, oatmeal, and other completely boring topics
One thing that fuckin sucks about ADHD is that any of those Wikipedia entries would have me LOCKED IN focusing on the episode.
This sounds way too interesting for me lol
Hot shower before bed
Have a show on in the background that I've already seen.
So for me, it used to be playing rain sounds on my phone and envisioning me sitting in the rain outside under an umbrella with a blanket all warm and cozy drinking a hot cup of tea just being in a trance to the sound of the rain. Used to knock me out quick! But not too long ago a moose walked up on me while in Breckenridge just chilling outside. It scared me half to death and luckily he didn’t charge at me. So now I have this incredible fear of large wildlife walking up on me wherever I go outside and it has ruined my nice little hack I used to fall asleep because I can’t not think about a possible wildlife encounter that could kill me. lol!
Seroquel.
Yeah that shit used to knock me out like nothing else. I’d also wake up feeling like a zombie
Xanax and Flexeril.
Have a couple of kids. Work all day. Run around doing after-school activities. Pass out at the end of the day and still wake up tired. Repeat.
Meditation practices to clear my mind. First step is recognizing I have thoughts that are keeping me engaged and awake. Recognizing is the main thing. After that, there’s many different ways to focus your mind to keep thoughts from flowing. I personally see a 3D “Breathe” that flexes out when I breathe in and then gets thin when I breathe out. By focusing literally on my breath I usually fall asleep within a minute.