Thread: How do you fall asleep?

You know, Your lying in bed and want to fall asleep, but can't. What do you do?

Get fustrated.

Seriously I lie there and do what I've been doing the whole time, trying to relax or let myself get carried away in my thoughts. If I've been lying there a long time and it's obvious I've made no progress I'll get on dvchat until i'm tired enough that I HAVE to fall asleep

Here are some things I do:

-listen to music
-listen to a radio talk show (this especially helps because the voices put you to sleep and you don't even pay attention to what is being said
-listen to morse code (I'm trying to learn it finally)
-listen to a lucid dreaming mp3 (they are meant to soothe and they usually knock me out before the end)
-get up and remake the bed if it isnt comfortable
-day dream about something happy
-count sheep

For me, daydreaming usually does the trick. And if I have a really bad night, and no matter what I try I won't fall asleep, I just get out of bed for a little while. Without turning the lights on, except a few "low" lights.

Usually I go over to the kitchen, get myself a warm glass of milk, light a smoke and try to make peace with everything going through my head at the time. Or I just stay in bed and read a few pages of my dream journal


Here's some more tips: http://www.wikihow.com/Fall-Asleep

I relax my body through meditation while lying in bed with calm music and then turn to my side and fall asleep.

I meditate if I can't get to sleep.

Originally Posted by Jonathan

You know, Your lying in bed and want to fall asleep, but can't. What do you do?

Try to enter the dreaming state - You're in a dream, pretend you're dreaming. You'll soon find you like imaging stuff, then bingo - You'll find yourself lying there with your eyes closed and sleeping like a baby.

That's my sleeping method anyway.

Originally Posted by Pyrofan1

i have sex/masturbate.

That's on and off for me.

Like Scarred for life said, I usually say I won't open my eyes until tomorrow. If I get desperate I count. But usually what I do is I try not to think I just tell myself to rest.

Sometimes I've found that certain thoughts will keep me awake, namely related to video games (if I've been playing for a long time, or right before bed). One thing you can try is to let your mind wander, but steer it away from thoughts that might keep you awake, such as worrying about something coming up or about something that's just happened.

Another thing that might help is to get yourself into a bedtime routine. Going to bed at the same time every night, even though it may be difficult, can do wonders for falling asleep/getting up. If you get yourself into a nightly routine (i.e. brushing teeth, reading a book, etc.) your body will learn that at a certain time or when you do these things, it's time to get ready for sleep. It may take a little while to get it down, but it really can work.

Contrary to other people here, if I have trouble getting to sleep I will just blank out my mind. Everytime my mind starts wandering and thinking about things, then I will immediately try to lose that thought. When successful in doing this, then you have more or less entered a meditative state and therefore easier to drift into full sleep.

Much like Boosted, I blank out. First I rid myself of all stress by saying "This is dream time. Don't worry about tomorrow until tomorrow." Basically. Then I relax my muscles, acknowledge and become indifferent to all bodily sensations and everything outside me. After that, I focus on my breath. No internal duologue, no images. I mimic the sound of my breath in my head, and fall asleep in minutes...

I'm surprised people are putting down sex and television. Those lessen the chance of drifting to sleep swiftly and comfortably...

Originally Posted by Jdeadevil

Try to enter the dreaming state - You're in a dream, pretend you're dreaming. You'll soon find you like imaging stuff, then bingo - You'll find yourself lying there with your eyes closed and sleeping like a baby.

That's my sleeping method anyway.



That's on and off for me.

That works very well for me once i have been asleep, but takes alot longer before sleep.

Before slepp i put the t.v on sleep mode for about an hour (on low) and just think about random things and after a while hypnagogic imagery takes over, then i know i am close to sleep.

I fantasize. Works every time. I rarely get very far into my imaginary scene before losing track and then falling asleep, then don't even remember at what point I fell asleep.

As long as I don't think about anything repetitive or regarding certain subjects. ie. Sex, something stressful coming up the next day, worrying about what someone thinks about me, anything related to sex such as girls I like etc. Those kinds of things will keep me awake.

- Take a hot shower
- Listen to Lucid MP3 and try to relax with a blank mind
- Stroke my arm with something soft like a feather, it tickles and it makes me really sleepy

Originally Posted by Velvet

- Stroke my arm with something soft like a feather, it tickles and it makes me really sleepy

Ok that's quite creepy.

i've heard to try reading a boring book, dunno if it really works tho cuz i get bored after reading it for like 30 seconds

I play video games till my sleep cycle contiunes

When I go to bed, I don't do anything. I thought the point of sleep is doing NOTHING? Sometimes (at night) it takes 2 hours before I can sleep, sometimes (usually during the day) it just happens instantly.

My dreams are also MUCH better during the day.

I usually listen to music until I feel like I can fall asleep, then I take out my ear buds and focus on what I want to accomplish that night. (wake up after each rem period, remember to do rcs in dreams etc.) Or else I just lay there and let my mind wander on anything.

I sort of.. fall asleep, you know?
Lol. I get all kinds of things. Like lying down and suddenly it's morning and I'm still tired, lol.
Or lying there and rolling around the bed and my head feels like it'll explode

I lie in bed, getting tired. I get more and more tired, until at one point I feel my head a bit heavy. I lie like this letting my mind wander, maybe thinking about having LDs, and then eventually I just wink out.

if i can't sleep i count my breaths in and out till i have breathed in 50 time and breathed out50 times

Good topic. I was wondering this myself as I tried to Wild a few days ago.

I lie on my back at first until I'm all relaxed and calm (I do this subconsciously, I don't think "Oh I'm relaxed, now let's do the next part.") Then I get into my favourite sleeping postition and just let all muscle tension go. Everything. Then there's a special state of mind I go in. It's hard to descibe, but it's like I compartmentalise my mind and just switch off all the more complex functions. To be honest, it feels like I "move" the conscious part of my brain to kind of near the top-back of my skull. It may sound pretentious and a lie, but it's what works for me. I don't have trouble sleeping. I can get to sleep in about 10-15 mins.

I sleep on my side, which I believe is better for relaxation because you're not fighting gravity to breathe. I also think you should have a fixed sleeping position so your body knows what it's supposed to do next.

Yeah, it's quite hard for me to get to sleep as well but I tried thinking about something else and away I go.

If you have sex in your bed, do it with your head on the opposite side of the bed. Also, if you're lying down in bed, do not lie down the way you would sleep. The way you lie down to sleep should only be associated with sleep. Everything else you do, do it on the opposite side of the bed.