How do you shut your brain off when trying to sleep?

I use to have terrible insomnia from my overactive mind, but now usually fall asleep in 10 minutes or less. (sounds like a late-night infomercial lol). I find a movie or TV show to listen to on my computer. I put in an earbud, turn off the screen and give my brain some intake so my mind can relax. If it's a movie, I use one I've seen before so that I don't find my mind involving itself in the plot, or my eyes wanting to see what's going on. If it's a TV show, I use one with a lot of filler to give me time to fall asleep in between interesting parts. Ancient Aliens is a actually a pretty decent show for this.

Video based programs work much better than audiobooks or podcasts because they rely more heavily on visuals. When you take that away, you get small doses of information to keep your mind occupied but not so interesting that you become interested and stay awake. It's just the right amount for me to fall asleep.

And the benefit of watching on a computer is that as soon as the movie or show is over, the audio stops and doesn't wake you up later (or I'll roll over in my sleep and the earbud will fall out). As long as I'm a bit tired, this works for me every time.

"Meditation is concentrating the front of the mind with a mundane task so the rest of the mind can find peace."
-Layer Cake

I have found a couple of things very helpful.

One a consistant bed time. I learned this from a nurse who had terrible insomnia. An Aruvedic Doctor recommend going to bed before 10 pm every night - regardless of her schedule for the next day.

It works really well after a couple of day. It has to do with natural circadian rhythms.

Then I learned a trick from (or rather modified a waking exercise) from the Christian author Emmett Fox and that is I list all the attributes of 'god' (I'm an atheist - but quite spiritual) and I do it through the alphabet - A is for all-powerful, B is for Bounty, C is for Compassion, etc. If I get lost or side-tracked it's back to the beginning. This I find works like a champ.

And finally - turning off all the 'screens' in the house an hour before bed including TV, computer, ipad, kindle - really anything technological and doing simple things - washing the dishes, laying out clothes for tommorrow, making your lunch, knitting or other rythymic crafts, writing in a journal, yoga or gentle exercise. Nothing to vigorous or exciting - just putter.

I don't always choose to do these things - but I notice a huge improvement in my sleeping quality and quanity when I do.

I'm with you, OP. Ever since I can remember, I've always had trouble falling to sleep and getting back to sleep once I wake up in the middle of the night (my "witching hour") because my mind reels. I can't seem to ever quite my mind. God forbid I pop awake because of something I suddenly remembered I forgot to do at work. It's all over with at that point.

The best I've been able to do is to read in bed. I stopped falling asleep to the TV in the living room because once I got up to move to my bed, I basically had to fall asleep all over again. But I generally will read until my eyes are heavy and I start nodding off. The only other method that has worked for me is watching a something on TV or Netflix that is something I've either already seen or have no real interest in plot-wise, e.g. X Files, Futurama. If I watch other shows, I get to invested in the plot to simply doze off.

Lately, I've been reading the sub-Reddit r/nosleep, but I also like a good scare.

It's kind of weird thought, it seems that, unlike watching interesting TV, reading something interesting somehow makes me fall asleep faster. Weird...

The best thing to do is turn off your tech at least an hour before you want to sleep. This is because backlit devices can affect the production of melatonin, thus affecting your chance of sleep. It's exactly the same reason kids don't sleep when you want them to.

a reply to: RickinVa

Here's a couple that I do.

1. Put some of your favorite music on a low level (low enough that you know it's there, but not so low that you cannot hear it). On average, if I'm listening to a full hour of music, I will fall into a semi-sleepy state about halfway through.

2. Rest on your bed for about 2 hours before "bedtime" with your eyes closed. Only do this for about an hour, and then get up and do something for the last hour before bed.

3. Turn off any "Electronics" (IE: TV, phone, laptop), and do something like drawing, reading, meditating. Do the activity until your eyes start to go in/out of focus, or start to blur.

4. Not sure what kind of an area you live in, but if I couldn't sleep, I would actually go out and take a late-night walk. There were nights where I'd only go a mile, but I never had a problem sleeping after one. Latest I was on one of these was 3:00am.

5. Instead of trying not to think about the problems, focus on a couple of them. Although it's kind of cheating, if you focus on thinking about something, you're putting less focus on your body, which means that you are allowing your body to relax (which means it'll lead to sleep).

-fossilera

a reply to: RickinVa

I suffer from RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) that keeps me awake many hours while trying to fall asleep.

I go to bed around 10 p.m. and read then typically get heavy eyelids after 30 minutes ready for some blissful repose when in kicks the RLS. Typically I squirm around till midnight or one before I slip into darkness.

Hella sucks.

a reply to: dezertdog

I have the same, but have been using Bach rescue remedy for 6 months and it works great.

The effects subdues a bit after some months and you have to take a break from it for about a week, but it works rather well for me and others.

originally posted by: BornAgainAlien
a reply to: dezertdog

I have the same, but have been using Bach rescue remedy for 6 months and it works great.

The effects subdues a bit after some months and you have to take a break from it for about a week, but it works rather well for me and others.

I'll give it a try! Thx for the 411.

a reply to: dezertdog

Personally I use this one (only the spray version), but spray four times in a glass of water and zip it for 30/45 min before going to bed while watch some TV.

Link

You need the sleep version (with White Chestnut).

Random bouts of it, maybe once every couple of months? Every other night when I don't have it, I hit the pillow, turn on my side, and don't remember pressing TV timer off. Don't hate me.

a reply to: dezertdog

Have you tried it already ?

I`m just curious if it helps you too.

When I was a kid I had trouble sleeping because I couldn't stop thinking about somebody breaking into our house and killing us. The only way I could get to sleep was to tell myself a story, silently. I would tell myself the same story every night. Being focused on that one thing always put me to sleep.

A few years ago I was watching a t.v. show called "The Mentalist" where the main character tells a man suffering cancer pain how to get to sleep - it is the same sort of focused thought. It goes like this: breath in, then think the word "one", breath out, then think the word "two"; repeat until you are asleep. I've tried this myself and it works.

So good luck with your insomnia.'

Sal

a reply to: RickinVa