Personally, any kind of process that involves a set rhythm keeps me awake for some reason. However, even though you might be kind of scared of falling through the stairs (and I don't blame you), just try going with it. It might just be that your mind wants to go a little bit faster into sleep, so just try it. It can't hurt you.

It may just take some practice, but just relax and see what happens. It's not uncommon that a technique will do different things at different times.

-Amé