I have a hard time falling asleep.

This is not a new problem for me at all, but I often have difficulty falling asleep. This is very annoying, especially now that I'm trying my hand at lucid dreaming. Is there anything that can help me?

Last night, in fact, I think I recognized a dream just as it was beginning (I try to maintain lucidity into dreaming every night, but I've never been successful at it). I immediately snapped out of it and I had a terrible time getting back to sleep. My heart was beating very fast, actually (I don't understand that. The dream was very boring. I heard a man's voice talking to me and right off I realized it was a dream, and that was it). That's a problem I've had before, too...

for getting to sleep i've heard that dairy products help when you eat them before bed. If you feel yourself waking up after you realize you're dreaming, you might want to try the spinning technique. "One method that works really well with both controlling your dreams and preventing waking is dream spinning (I have had success with this technique.) If the world around you suddenly begins to fade, or you see other signs of the dream ending, stop and just start spinning as you would have done as a child. When you stop you'll find the dream clarity has returned, and your surroundings will likely have changed as well. If you focus your intent on a particular situation while spinning, you will likely find yourself there when you stop spinning. You may need to do a reality test after spinning to remind yourself you are still dreaming. You can also try using verbal commands to both change your dream and stay within the dream." - from the 'staying lucid' section of this site.
i hope this helps, good luck!

Sometimes spinning doesn't work... If that's the case for you try wringing your hands or doing some other thing that keeps your mind focused on the dream world and your dream body stimulated.