Quote Originally Posted by Chevaughn View Post
I am still not getting your point. Should I put all my focus on the anchor? When I do this, I find that I can't fall asleep.
Basically (if I understand this correctly) the anchor should be something that will be at the back of your brain; you know it's there but you're not immensely focused on it. The goal should be to daydream, let your mind wander like it does every night but don't lose thought of the anchor. To be more specific using an example: You're on the computer focused on whatever it is you're doing (maybe you're posting here or watching youtube ) and you can hear the T.V. in the background (for this sake, it's in the same room). You don't actually know what's being broadcasted right now, you can't make out any dialog, but you can hear it. In fact for those of you who have a TV in your room, try putting the volume to a low setting, I do that a lot when I go for power naps - that inevitably turn into outright sleep sessions.

So the goal here is to keep the prefrontal cortex just barely functioning as you drift into the dream state. The pain idea is a great one and I'm certainly going to try it, but there are others too. Some of my family members snore and because our house has paper thin walls, I can hear them from across the hall. The problem I find is when I get to that drifting state, my hearing tends to shut off or I zone out completely (can't really tell which it is) And I find myself having a mini jolt back to a more conscious state or I'll pass out like a brick.

Just remember: "a light touch"; don't focus too hard, but just enough that you know it's there.....