Falling Asleep: How Do You Do It?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Things that help me sleep:

An adult beverage.
Making my bedroom nice and cool.
Make my bedroom as dark as possible.
Ceiling fan helps keep things cool and makes white noise.
I'll read a book, comic, browse the web, or watch tv in bed until I feel like curling up.
Don't let my mind wander. If I start overthinking painful experiences, regrets, fears, I just focus on the darkness instead.
Rub one out if necessary.
I'm also in the market for a humidifier, since I get stuffy and this Winter is wreaking havoc with my sinuses.

 

[courier006]

Aside from the usual "have a good wank" advice, get into the most comfortable position you can manage, close your eyes and count backwards from 300 by multiples of 3 (300, 297, 294, etc). This usually takes your mind off things and helps you relax.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Typically I just stay up until I can barely keep my eyes open, however long that takes without even trying to have a set schedule. Trying to force myself to go to sleep before then just causes me to waste an hour or so lying there and then staying awake even longer than I would have if I didn't.

My usual routine when I go to bed is to read something for a while until I struggle to keep my eyes open, usually something like books full of newspaper comics and stuff along those lines and then turn on the fan I have next to my bed and right in my face before turning off the light. I'm actually pretty much incapable of sleeping at all without doing these things.

 

[bliebblob]

Hmmm my insomnia probably has a different cause (stress) than yours, but as long as you're asking...

I distract my brain long enough from my worries by watching/listening to stuff on my laptop, mostly on youtube and twitch. It can be anything as long as it's long (at least 45 minutes) and interesting enough to make me listen, but not so interesting that I get excited. Why? Because if you're not interested you won't listen. But if you get excited you stil won't fall asleep. Not to mention that, if all goes well, you'll fall asleep in the middle of the video and/or not remember most of it. Which is an inefficient way to watch something you're genuinely interested in, to say the least.
Personally I achieve all that by watching people I like, playing games I have no interest in. Those people are usually Totalbiscuit, Dodger, Jesse Cox and the escapist streamers. As for the games: luckily for me I'm pretty picky in my games so about 90% of the ones said people end up playing will do just fine.

Mind you, this may not be the best solution. The stess tends to come back like a cannonball to the gut as soon as I wake up. But hey, at least I got a proper night's rest. :S

Another, less terrible, side effect is sometimes ending up liking the game they show after all. That's easily remedied of course: just save that video for when you're not trying to fall asleep and skip to the next one.

 

[rodneyy]

also I don't know how much difference it will make but if you're on the computer you might want to look into this thing called "f.lux" its an application that adjusts the lighting on your monitor in line with when the sun goes down...it turns it kind of sepia tone (although after a while you hardly notice unless it changes in front of you)

basically the idea is that the light from screens in VERY bad for your sleep (this is true as I'm aware) and changing the brightness/frequency/whatever helps

even so its better to cut down on screen time and when you actually go to sleep make sure things are ***** black as possible...no lights, not even little ones

i found f.lux surprisingly helpful when i first started using it. before i would never drop off to sleep fast and when i did i think i tossed and turned during the night as my bedding often seemed very jumbled in the morning.

after i started using this almost straight away i found myself falling asleep a lot sooner and when i woke in the morning i found myself feeling more refreshed. i assume not only does it help me fall asleep faster but also when i am asleep i get a better quality of sleep.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I try a few things-
Get into a nice body position (for some reason the recovery position work on me most of the time).
Think of NOTHING at all althought trying to get yourself to feel like you're falling help.

 

[zumbledum]

Thankfully i am not afflicted by this horrbile thing, me i fall asleep anywhere, sitting at my desk ( i can actually sleep sitting upright), watching tv or if i lay down that's it ill be unconscious in seconds, literally second breathe will be a snore its quite impressive.

when i was younger and had some problems getting to sleep i always found getting up and doing something just for 10-15 minutes , do the washing up make a hot chocolate go read a chapter in a different room anything like that then re go to bed worked pretty well.

 

[Fijiman]

I toss and turn until I can find a relatively comfortable position to sleep in. If I'm still tossing around after an hour or two it's time for Zzzquil.

 

[happyninja42]

I find laying on my side, watching video clips, or webcomics on my tablet make me pass out. I'm not sure why that particular posture seems to have such a strong effect, but it does. If I'm sitting up and reading/watching stuff on my tablet, it doesn't phase me at all. But laying on my side, head on the pillow, with the tablet turned so I can see it at a slight angle, makes my eyes start to get heavy within just a few minutes.

Might try that.

 

[SckizoBoy]

With extreme difficulty some of the time is the answer I'd most like to give, since I have tinnitus...

But having lived with it for most of my life, I've been able to deal with it, to the extent that I've got a breathing technique down pat so I'm alright most nights. So yeah... I breathe myself to sleep, however that works... -.-

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

booze (doesn't work)

booze actually disrupts your sleep...makes you wake up early

wait what...I drink maybe once a week tops, usually twice a month, but man, if I am drunk I fall asleep in 5-10 minutes flat, my brain can't seem to focus on one thing enough (probably helps I'm a pretty happy drunk) so falling asleep is inevitable, and I tend to wake up (not early) feeling great/well rested usually clocking in 7-8 hours.

OT:

as mentioned by many, a good shlick/wank helps, but usually I have to run myself to death playing sports that night if I'm gonna have a chance at falling asleep in less than an hour of laying at bed. Also whenever the AC unit kicks on with that perfect "hum" to match my fan...the sound is glorious and makes my mind feel at ease.

 

[Sonicron]

Most of the time it's an issue of my brain not catching up to my body's level of sleepiness - I'm wide awake even though my body demands rest. What usually helps me catch some Zs is reading. Used to weird me out, since even interesting books managed to ship me off to dreamland, but it makes sense when you think about it... reading tasks your brain and slows down your internal clock somewhat, so your mind begins to tire and catches on to the fact that the entire organism is in need of recuperation.

 

[omega 616]

Just long slow breaths, roll over and repeat. If that doesn't work, get up go tinkle, get a drink and then back to the long slow breaths.

Just concentratin on the the breathing and I seem to drift off 99% of the time.

Never took a slip aid and I don't drink.

I think for a lot of insomniacs it's the frustration, going to bed expecting not to sleep, means you don't. Then again, I've done zero research or reading up on it ... so what the fuck do I know? It's just a little theory of mine.

 

[gsilver]

Booze *helps* some people sleep?
For me, my sleep pattern will be trashed for about a week when I have a drink, so I've basically resigned myself to not doing it again (maybe once or twice a year, then be semi-angry with myself when I do)


But I get to sleep pretty quickly, on average, and I listen to podcasts. No light, and nothing too interesting, but it seems to work.

It's getting back to sleep that's the problem. I got woken up by my noisy neighbors last Friday, and it took 5 hours to get back to sleep. It freaking sucks, and I don't know what to do about it. Even when I didn't have noisy neighbors, it could be a problem... I'd just wake up on my own... Still, that was worlds better than being jolted awake and feeling absolutely trashed as I dragged myself out of bed and tried to convince them, that shouting and banging on doors at 1:00 AM is a bad idea.


...**** apartment buildings.

 

[cleric of the order]

I have always had a problem getting to sleep.
My own ocd like tendencies and sleep patterns leave me up rather later then i like.
So to try and slow my mind i use that time and imagine shit.
I either finish a idea, argument, thought, conversation that i feel is unresolved Or just make up a story for myself.
When you are just about the doze off you end up producing the best stuff.
As for your issue it might be symbolic, anything eating you.

 

[Catfood220]

booze (doesn't work)

booze actually disrupts your sleep...makes you wake up early

wait what...I drink maybe once a week tops, usually twice a month, but man, if I am drunk I fall asleep in 5-10 minutes flat, my brain can't seem to focus on one thing enough (probably helps I'm a pretty happy drunk) so falling asleep is inevitable, and I tend to wake up (not early) feeling great/well rested usually clocking in 7-8 hours.

Alcohol may make you fall asleep faster than usual, but it takes you longer to go into REM sleep, which is the sleep that you really need. So you get less of that so you are actually less rested than if you had fallen asleep naturally. Or so the theory goes. I know that when I drink, I don't dream so much and feel more tired the next day.

 

[Trude]

My memory's bad enough I can't tell how long I was lying awake by the next morning.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

booze (doesn't work)

booze actually disrupts your sleep...makes you wake up early

wait what...I drink maybe once a week tops, usually twice a month, but man, if I am drunk I fall asleep in 5-10 minutes flat, my brain can't seem to focus on one thing enough (probably helps I'm a pretty happy drunk) so falling asleep is inevitable, and I tend to wake up (not early) feeling great/well rested usually clocking in 7-8 hours.

Alcohol may make you fall asleep faster than usual, but it takes you longer to go into REM sleep, which is the sleep that you really need. So you get less of that so you are actually less rested than if you had fallen asleep naturally. Or so the theory goes. I know that when I drink, I don't dream so much and feel more tired the next day.

ohh gotcha, thought vault just meant sleep as in falling asleep.

Curious though, seeing as how it usually takes me well over an hour to fall asleep (I almost always wake up at 7 or 8 a.m., my internal clock doesn't give a shit if I slept for 2 hours or 8), would I actually lose REM sleep from drunk sleeping (since I'm falling asleep quicker) rather than having a shorter sleep period? (5-6 hours instead of 7-8 hours)

 

[KenAri]

I go through phases of sleeping for maybe 3 hours per day for a month and then switching to 12 hours per day. Very rarely does sleep come easily. When I'm fed up of being awake, I put my headset on (get a comfy one!), lay in bed and put a bunch of ASMR videos from Youtube on autoplay. I'll usually wake up several hours later with my headset somewhere on the floor. =) Quick enough to turn the PC off after that, and you're good to go.

Hot chocolate/cocoa with warm milk is also good for it.

 

[Jux]

Lay on my side, pillow between my knees, and close my eyes. I can be asleep in about 5-10 minutes usually.

If you're having trouble sleeping, you might want to consult a doctor if it's reaching insomniac levels. I would advise not watching tv or using the internet close to bedtime though. I find those activities usually amp me up rather than calm me down. If you're feeling energetic, examine sugar and caffine intake.

Once you fall asleep, is the sleep good quality, or do you wake up throughout the night or wake up not refreshed? Because those might be seperate issues.