Ask Lemmy

Obviously it's person-dependent. I find what helps me most is turning on audio to something I actually want to listen to. That gets my mind off going to sleep. And I fall asleep instead of listening to the things I want to hear. So I've got a bunch of audiobooks from Audible. I've recently cancelled that, however. I've got so many, and plan to use the phone app Libby in conjunction with my local library. Also, I subscribe to a bunch of podcasts.

When I lie down I just set the timer to 30m or "end of chapter", and I rarely have to extend that.

I went to the doctor and told them I had insomnia. Got diagnosed with depression. So now I take Seroquel and sleep ok. My point is to get a doctor's opinion to rule out a medical condition.

If I cant watch/listen to content I try to “render” a pov trip of like a rollercoaster or some sort of “on rails” vehicle going through some sort of landscape whether its a realistic cityscape, abstract and colorful shapes, a tunnel underground or though an ocean. I let my brain sorta just decide what it wants to do like if the landscape changes I dont try to go back to the previous one or try to “customize” it. Its a bit hard to explain what I mean without me sounding like im talking about my brain as a completely separate entity from myself but it really is like it has a mind of its own and im just letting it do its thing as long as the topic is “strictly” to generate a scene of going through a tube or riding a “pre determined” path. If it starts to get “bored” and even very slightly veer back into normal thoughts or something else I sorta quickly but gently nudge it into another scene or to increase the detail which is hard for maybe the first minute or two but with this method im asleep really quickly. At the start ill probably switch “scenes” a couple times a second.

It feels like im letting the brain sorta tire itself out with a method that can be described as gently guiding a boat downstream

Still awake op?

What I usually do is think about all the time today when I wanted to be left alone. To be uninterrupted. To just get five minutes to myself.

Because now, I have it. I have all the time in the world. I can do nothing. I can let my mind wander. No one will interrupt, no one will dump bullshit on me. Countless times today I just wanted a pause button for five minutes and now I have hours to just do nothing.

Then I wake up and realize "nope, all that time is now gone". Can't catch a fuckin break.

Focus on your breathing, and how the air feels in the back of your throat.

Repeat a mdeditative mantra in your head.

Do the thing where you tense up your whole. Ody and then slowly release it from the fingers and toes inwards. I think this is what US marines use to get to sleep in adverse conditions.

Play an audiobook on speaker quietly under your pillow. The more boring the story, the better. They have non-story podcasts just for this too.

When I close my eyes and see my demons, I engage them in a staring contest and fall contentedly asleep.

1. Daily Exercise
2. Concept Album musics

Consistent daily exercise

Apps that generate soft sounds of rain or waves.

Hammer or perhaps large frying pan

For me, what works is an ADHD medication along with not trying to fall asleep. Trying to fall asleep causes me something in the area of anxiety and guilt, so I end up frustrating myself awake. If I focus on a mindless task like scrolling through Lemmy or reading a book, I get engaged in that and end up accidentally falling asleep. The funny thing is that I have to keep doing my mindless task until I fall asleep, so many times, I wake up looking like I passed out in the middle of something with my glasses still on and my phone laying around. I'm actually curiously impressed that my glasses or phone haven't broken yet.

Look up Progressive muscle relaxation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_muscle_relaxation

There are plenty of videos on YouTube, try a few and pick one you like.

Concentrating on breathing also helps.

First your bed is for sleep and sexy times and nothing else. That way your body is conditioned to go to bed whenever you lay down. Doing other actions in your bed reduces this impulse.

Second, monitor your stimulant usage which includes tea, soda or coffee. Caffeine impacts your sleep more than many realize.

Finally stop lolking at screens an hour or so before bed.

Write about the things that worry you the most.

My (probably not very healthy) hack is to watch YouTube. My brain focuses on one thing and all the thoughts keeping me up just stay quiet.

If you have persistent sleep problems even after applying all the advice, if you can afford it, consider taking a sleep test/study to learn what's the core issue

Sleeping is my super power - I fall asleep within two or three minutes every night. Here's how I do it.

• No caffeine ever.
• Listen to the same white noise track every night while sleeping. Your brain will recognize that the track equals time to sleep.
• Go to bed at the same time every day, even on weekends.
• Don't hang out in bed. The bed is only for sleeping or sex. No phone use in bed.

Imagine a place where you are most cozy and visit it every night when you try to sleep. And then maybe sound machines. And finally, deep breathing. Slowing your heart down through this will physically make your body want to go to sleep (so basically meditiation).

I do all of these in tandem, I have the sound machine going and I settle into my cozy part of my brain and then imagine my lungs as a cup filling up with water to the top while inhaling and then draining out as I exhale. The trick with this is to not stress yourself thinking about if you're doing your breathing right, just try and relax and focus.

Also melatonin. But that isn't effective for every situation.

Good luck.

Sleeping hygiene is a good point. No phone in bed.

But also try to make it cozy

Have a nice duvet cover, I like cotton. No synthetics. Change it more often.

Temperature in your bed room should be lower, open your window before going to bed.

Have good curtains. But not too dark. Whenever I have a window shutter and I close it completely, I just don’t wake up and sleep over 8-10 h.

Here are my things I do when I can’t sleep

If my feed are cold, wear socks, or cloth but don’t heat the room too much.

Try to sleep in a different room (if you can). When I am just too active I move to my sofa for a change. It really helps me.

Important question. Are you alone or is someone next to you. If your sleeping schedule or preferences don’t mix with your partners, try separate beds. Cuddling sounds cute until you cannot sleep because of a snoring person next to you. And don’t be angry when your partner prefers to be separate.

Drugs hard core prescription sleeping pills. I'm sorry but if you're as desperate as I was and have tried everything then hard sleeping drugs typically with a benzodiazapine in it

I had sleep issues for years, almost failed high school because of it and then I was late to my own graduation. Now I have a routine that serves me well: Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day, no caffeine, no sugar at night, nightlight on my monitors at night, listen to boring audiobooks with a sleep timer, don't lay in bed watching TV.

Do you suffer from hot sleeping? I do. I sleep best with a big pile of blankets on me. I sleep with a weighted blanket among others. But that combined with a prediliction for hot sleeping, and I have trouble waking up in the night in a sweat.

I got so desperate, I actually almost bought one of those expensive cool water circulation systems. But then I realized a low tech solution. It takes a lot of heat to melt water. The amount of energy required to melt two liters of water is of the same magnitude as the amount of body heat given off by a human over the course of a night.

Specifically, I learned that those old timey rubber water bottles for bed use? They works just as well as cold packs as hot packs. So I got a few of those and tried it. And it's helped immensely at improving my sleep.

I have two cheap Amazon special rubber water bottles with felt covers on them. I keep them in the freezer. Each night I grab the bottles, which freeze solid through the day. I simply sleep with them under the covers, and it immensely improved my sleep. The felt covers on the bottle act as insulators to ameliorate the temperature of the bottles. You can sleep with one against you and it just feels mildly cooling. It doesn't feel like sleeping on a block of ice.

I would say this method is about 90% as effective as one of those expensive bed water cooling systems. I researched those, and they cost $500 and up. Plus they required regular maintenance and had all sorts of problems with leaks and mold. This? This system cost me about $20 and requires no more work than taking something in and out of the freezer.

If you have problems with hot sleeping, try the stupid solution first. Buy some big rubber water bottles and freeze them, or try other cold pack solutions or similar total heat capacity.

Work out. It helps reduce stress and just makes you more tired

Previously I used the 4-7-8 method (take a deep breath for a 4-count, hold it for a 7-count, exhale for an 8-count). I did that until I fell asleep.

Recently I started deep breathing/exhaling (no counting) and it works just as well.

Breathing exercises, actuating that vagal nerve

• If you're the kind of person to keep yourself busy all day, then when you're trying to go to sleep might be the first time all day you've allowed your mind to wander! You need to find some other time in the day to allow yourself to daydream. Some tips are to not read anything while in the bathroom or turn the radio off in your car if you have a commute. Maybe even schedule some time to sit and think about things if you can.
• Only use your bed for sleep and sex. Reading, eating, browsing on your phone, watching TV, or any other activity should be done elsewhere. This way you train yourself that it's sleeptime when you're in bed.
• This is probably something that can't be done if you have a rotating shift, but go to sleep on a regular schedule. Go to sleep at the same time every day. Staying up late should a rare occurrence. Your body will become tired at the same time each day and it's much easier to fall asleep when you keep a schedule.

You know.. ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

Cheap version: listen to the sounds of your breathing. Relax all your muscles from head to toe, then just try and isolate the sounds of air coming and going as you breathe. Focus on it long enough and hopefully you pass out.

Expensive version: https://www.moonbird.life/products/moonbird - set it for 4 seconds in, 6 seconds out and just bring it under the covers and get cozy.

People have said to relax your face and jaw. Take it a step further and relax your tongue from the roof of your mouth. It sounds silly, but I found it works for me.

That was a tip from the other site I saw years ago, and now if I'm tired and have 15 minutes I can usually grab a power nap by keeping this in mind.

As someone who is disabled my go too is a nice comfortable bed, my service dog by me, a weighted blanket which never new how amazing it helps my sleep. And my CPAP machine.

These help me sleep, oh also I have sleep as android help me track my sleeping patterns and play thunderstorms every night to drown out everything around me so my brain can relax

For those who like sounds while sleeping, I heartily recommend mynoise.net. It has amazing soundscapes... static noises, rainforest wildlife, medieval library, starship bridge... It is excellent for sleeping, adding some background noise, or enhancing the atmosphere of a DND session.