Sleep

In prepping the body for sleep I am aware that it is wise to stay away from computers, tv, etc... and avoid reading hard material before bed. What I would like to know if anyone has any things that require little mental exertion and if possible get you into the lucid mindset. I read about lucid dreaming in books I have but I wonder if anyone has any suggestions that they've discovered for themselves?

If this is a little confusing let me know, I know how awkwardly worded this is.

Try a Mnemonic (mantra) induced lucid dream (MILD) which is simply restating a phrase over and over as you fall asleep. Something related to lucid dreaming like, "I will have a lucid dream" or, "I will preform reality checks." This requires little brain power and allows your body/mind to fall asleep while keeping lucid dreaming in your mind. You don't want to say it out loud though, just repeat it in your head. This has a high success rate if lucid dreaming is the last thought in your head before you fall asleep.

I would just like to point out that saying "I will have a lucid dream" wont necessarily work..your not stating when..next week, next month, 5 years time..make sure you state when , so say a mantra like "tonight I will lucid dream" this way your subconcious knows its tonight and not any other time or you could be in for a very long wait lol :)

I actually use mantras and the like as i fall asleep. What i am asking is what are things you can do before you even hit the bed? Activities that calm the mind and body down in preparation for fast sleep and lucid dreams (Reading my dream journal, reading about them, visualizing my intended goal, etc...)

Try meditating. I've heard that helps some people but I've never tried it myself. Just spend 5-20 minutes sitting down and, well, meditating. About what, I'm not really sure, sorry. I think it's just soothing things, or LDs themselves.