I listen to an audiobook in the dark for about half an hour and I feel the sleep coming so I turn it off and I’m out. I also use a brown noise machine, they’re quite cheap on Amazon or you can just find the audio on YouTube
Have a quiet mind when awake.
Practice being mindful and slowing your thoughts down for a few hours before going to bed.
Allow any stressful thoughts and emotions to rise to the surface so you have time to process them, rather than burying them until you’re trying to sleep.
I give myself about an hour to mentally wind down before going into bed. I’m also not allowed to think about life with things I have to do or what not. I force my mind to think about the book I’m reading, the show I’m watching, the game I’m playing or whatever it is that I use to relax before bed and get my thoughts lost in that world.
Also if Im struggleing to fall asleep because I’m really stressed or something then I’ll get back up after about 20 minutes of trying and go back to my relaxing activity till I’m more tired. This way I’m at least getting some mental rest as opposed to getting frustrated trying to fall asleep.
I’ve been using this trick I read here and have been falling asleep much faster: Think of a word. For every letter in the word think of a word beginning with that letter. The last word is now your seed word. Repeat. Eg. Train: Tractor, Race, Action, Insect, Name. Name: Night, Ambient, Mermaid, Elf… etzzzzetera
Be more active, both physically and mental. I used to have HORRIBLE insomnia, but once I started working longer and longer hours I can sleep no problem. Running also seemed to help. Tbh I’d rather run more and work less, but it’s not up to me.
Not sure if I would say this is instant but with practice I’ve gotten it pretty close.
I count my breaths on the inhale and exhale for 20 breaths, making sure to pay attention and be mindful of every breath. If I catch my mind drifting off to something else while counting them, I start over at one. Sometimes I fall asleep during the counting phase.
Once I get through 20 consecutive breaths, I do a full body scan and try to relax every muscle starting at my head and working my way down. I usually fall asleep at my arms lol.
I wake up and go to sleep the same time every day, so my body is used to the routine. I take magnesium at night which seems to help calm me. I have found that since I’ve started being more active (trying to hit at least 10,000 steps every day), my sleep is even better than it was. I fall asleep easier and don’t wake up multiple times like I used to.
Reading before bed helps me a lot, I do it a lot on my phone with the blue light filter. Though it’s usually something easy for my brain to digest like a fluffy romcom. Gets me really sleepy and I can fall asleep like 30 seconds after
Honestly, they seem like wizards or something meanwhile the rest of us are lying there replaying every awkward thing we’ve ever said since 2007. I’m convinced it’s either a superpower or some elite level of inner peace.
I’d also like to know and if you just lay they and aren’t medicated by pills or anything really… how you make your mind not race through every thought and action and anything you’ve ever experienced ever ?
“Revenge bedtime procrastination” I used to work graveyard shift and asked the doctor for anything to help me sleep. People mentioned routine but what the doctor told me is to associate bed with sleeping. And sex. If you’re not tired go sit in a chair or couch. The minute you lay down you should already be in the sleep(or sex) mindset. Barely struggled since. Except my wife who stresses me out to no end she can keep me up all night.
No idea. When I was a child I would often be waiting 20 – 30 minutes to fall asleep. But now it happens in about 5. I didn’t change anything intentionally.
It’s probably a whole bunch of factors from your environment and genetics that influence each other in very confusing ways. I guess I just got lucky.
I use a meditative technique to manage my ADHD and anxiety. It guides my mind into a relaxed state, replacing the normal stream of consciousness with something I choose, and it keeps my thoughts off my worries.
Wake up early. Especially when you feel too tired to get out of bed. Best way to fall asleep well the same night.
People always think the most important part of falling asleep is what to do at bedtime instead of deciding when and how to get up.
Sleep hygiene is still really important, but it’s not overlooked like wake hygiene is.
I “pre-dream”. When I get into bed, I lie down and get as comfortable as possible, then I imagine the stupidest things I can think of (usually based on a TV show I just watched). Elvis picking me up in a flying Cadillac to go play cricket. John Lennon asking me to go on tour with him as a piano player and I have 2 days to learn how to play the piano. Just dumb dream like scenarios, nothing complex and always silly but slightly believable and “dream-like”. Out like a light, every night.
No trick, I just decide to sleep and it happens. I once took a nap standing in line for a ride at six flags. The line was super slow moving and it was a hot day. I happened to have a pole to lean on, so decide to go to sleep.
I know I’m blessed with this skill, my wife is supremely annoyed by it.
Dark room. Cold room. I have a few standby podcasts. Hidden Brain, Ologies, The Moth are a few. I put the volume on just enough so I can hear the voices, I don’t really retain anything they say because I’m lulled in 3-5 minutes. The other standby is the Oak app…I listen to the 20 minute “loving kindness” meditation and I’m asleep even faster.
I run through the same daydreams I have at work to get through the day. Works pretty well. Only ish I have is that my brain won’t let me sleep in anymore…
I suspect it is sleep deprivation. So many of my coworkers fall asleep instantly when the lights dim in the conference room. They deny being sleep-deprived, just that the content is boring so of course they will sleep.
I’ve sat through some horribly boring meetings, but with no urge to sleep.
Some of these guys talk about watching TV until 11 pm or midnight, then getting up at 5 a.m.
If they do that every day, I think they probably also fall asleep within minutes after turning the TV off.
Those military guys who boast that they’ve learned to sleep anywhere? They’re just so tired that they don’t need to be comfortable to fall asleep.
Close my eyes, look toward third eye(up and in). Deep breath in, watch the pictures in my head, deep breath out blowing as many pictures away as possible. Deep breath in, look for a dark spot among all the images left, breathe out trying to push away everything but area near the darkness. Last breath in, pulling the darkness closer, breathe out feeling like floating in a blanket of….asleep.
I visualize a candle flickering, take a deep breath in, hold, slowly release. Whenever my mind wanders from the flickering candle image, I bring it back. I have struggled a lot with getting my brain to shut off even when I’m exhausted. This has worked for me.
Other tips are taking a bite of nut butter/protein and drinking Calm (magnesium). I don’t know why, but the protein really helps.
I literally just close my eyes, and I’m out cold in about 2 mins. One thing I do, though, is once I’m in my comfy spot, I relax all my muscles. For whatever reason, I tend to tense my muscles, especially in my neck and shoulders, and don’t realize that I am. I mentally go through each part of my body and relax my muscles and boom – OUT
I don’t, but I have a tip to, there’s this meditation style, where you breathe, and while you breathe, light up a triangle inside of your head. So when you breathe in, one side lights up, out, another side and repeat until you’re asleep
I clear my mind and concentrate and on my breathing, counting each breath backwards from 20. If my mind starts to wander, I bring it back to my breathing, and restart from 20. Usually I’m gone before I reach 15.
People who stay awake forever, what’s your secret? There is no secret. Some of us just have a healthier set of circumstances that allow us to fall asleep relatively quickly. I am personally in horrible shape, and likely diabetic, but can fall asleep pretty quickly, because my mind and my body are very willing to fall asleep.
I’m so sorry, fellow insomniacs. When I was in my 20s I was dealing with serious insomnia and a stressful job. One night my body rebelled. I felt what I can only describe as sensory hallucinations: water running over the surface of my skin, as if bursting from a cluster of pores; bugs crawling on me and disappearing; heat as if a hairdryer were uncomfortably focused on my back and legs. I had to quit my job and find out what was going on. After spending thousands on alternative treatments, I found a doctor of internal medicine who prescribed me anti anxiety meds. I got better, thanks to medication and reduced stress. Some of the symptoms persist, especially the burning skin sensations, but they are under control with a small dose of benzodiazepines. I wish I had dealt with it sooner because now it seems like I’ll never be completely free of it. But I’m grateful that I can deal with the symptoms with the right combination of meds. My mind wanders too, but eventually I discovered Calm Sleep Stories on You Tube. I think the app is worth it— the guided meditations for sleep are great. I also like the soundscapes. Does it work all the time? No. But it does most of the time, and I figure that I’m retraining my brain to welcome sleep. The only problem is that so,times my husband snores so I have to wear bulky, uncomfortable noise-canceling headphones. Anyway, I highly recommend the Calm app or something similar.
I use a little method I call “fragmenting.” I have no scientific basis for this, but basically, I actively work my mind while I’m trying to sleep. I think about one thing, then quickly think about another, and another and so on. Eventually, my mind can’t keep up because as it gets more sleepy, it starts to “fragment” and break apart. (I know that’s a weird way to describe it, but that’s what it feels like). I know I’m getting to this stage when I can’t remember what I was thinking of 3 seconds ago. It’s all blurring together and not making any sense. Every night I’ve done this, I’m asleep within seconds of “fragmenting.”
I have to want to go to sleep, 2) I count my heart beat inhaling for 3 counts exhale for 3 counts. By the 4th time I’m asleep. If I’m super stressed it won’t work.
Been doing it for years, drives my wife nuts I can go to sleep so fast.
Comments
I retired. No lie. Could never fall asleep quickly but now? Sometimes I barely remember even closing my eyes come next morning.
My phone isn’t in my face.
i have ten bodies in my garden
Raising a small child who doesn’t sleep
Routine
I listen to an audiobook in the dark for about half an hour and I feel the sleep coming so I turn it off and I’m out. I also use a brown noise machine, they’re quite cheap on Amazon or you can just find the audio on YouTube
I wake up early and intentionally give myself an hour to wind down before my bedtime so I’m rather sleepy by the time I get in bed
I go to bed tired and close my eyes and I’m asleep.
open hrs long family guy on youtube…. you’ll sleep very fast
Have a quiet mind when awake.
Practice being mindful and slowing your thoughts down for a few hours before going to bed.
Allow any stressful thoughts and emotions to rise to the surface so you have time to process them, rather than burying them until you’re trying to sleep.
Clear conscience and tired from work.
Magnesium glycinate or camomile tea
I’m so so fucking tried
Age and getting old 😂
I give myself about an hour to mentally wind down before going into bed. I’m also not allowed to think about life with things I have to do or what not. I force my mind to think about the book I’m reading, the show I’m watching, the game I’m playing or whatever it is that I use to relax before bed and get my thoughts lost in that world.
Also if Im struggleing to fall asleep because I’m really stressed or something then I’ll get back up after about 20 minutes of trying and go back to my relaxing activity till I’m more tired. This way I’m at least getting some mental rest as opposed to getting frustrated trying to fall asleep.
Trazodone.
Moist critical 10h long talking. Put it on 20m sleep timer then just listen without taking the info in and it gets me asleep in less than those 20m
I’ve been using this trick I read here and have been falling asleep much faster: Think of a word. For every letter in the word think of a word beginning with that letter. The last word is now your seed word. Repeat. Eg. Train: Tractor, Race, Action, Insect, Name. Name: Night, Ambient, Mermaid, Elf… etzzzzetera
10mg of melatonin!
Be more active, both physically and mental. I used to have HORRIBLE insomnia, but once I started working longer and longer hours I can sleep no problem. Running also seemed to help. Tbh I’d rather run more and work less, but it’s not up to me.
If I can’t sleep… there’s always melatonin.
Not sure if I would say this is instant but with practice I’ve gotten it pretty close.
I count my breaths on the inhale and exhale for 20 breaths, making sure to pay attention and be mindful of every breath. If I catch my mind drifting off to something else while counting them, I start over at one. Sometimes I fall asleep during the counting phase.
Once I get through 20 consecutive breaths, I do a full body scan and try to relax every muscle starting at my head and working my way down. I usually fall asleep at my arms lol.
I wake up and go to sleep the same time every day, so my body is used to the routine. I take magnesium at night which seems to help calm me. I have found that since I’ve started being more active (trying to hit at least 10,000 steps every day), my sleep is even better than it was. I fall asleep easier and don’t wake up multiple times like I used to.
Reading before bed helps me a lot, I do it a lot on my phone with the blue light filter. Though it’s usually something easy for my brain to digest like a fluffy romcom. Gets me really sleepy and I can fall asleep like 30 seconds after
Honestly, they seem like wizards or something meanwhile the rest of us are lying there replaying every awkward thing we’ve ever said since 2007. I’m convinced it’s either a superpower or some elite level of inner peace.
Working with kids. Some nights I cannot keep myself awake after work.
Me tired af from exercise
Seroquel
I’d also like to know and if you just lay they and aren’t medicated by pills or anything really… how you make your mind not race through every thought and action and anything you’ve ever experienced ever ?
Stay awake for way too long and just pass out
Workout every day, no phone 30 mins before bed, sleep mask, red light night light, ginormous cat curled up 3 inches from my face
Completely blacked out room. I can’t see my hand in front of my face.
No screens. If I need to view my phone for something, it’s set extremely dim with full blue light blocking enabled.
Routine bedtime, routine wake time.
No caffeine ever. I also don’t consume alcohol or use cannabis.
That’s about it. I always fall asleep in a couple minutes.
Men can do this, women cannot IMHO
“Revenge bedtime procrastination” I used to work graveyard shift and asked the doctor for anything to help me sleep. People mentioned routine but what the doctor told me is to associate bed with sleeping. And sex. If you’re not tired go sit in a chair or couch. The minute you lay down you should already be in the sleep(or sex) mindset. Barely struggled since. Except my wife who stresses me out to no end she can keep me up all night.
No idea. When I was a child I would often be waiting 20 – 30 minutes to fall asleep. But now it happens in about 5. I didn’t change anything intentionally.
It’s probably a whole bunch of factors from your environment and genetics that influence each other in very confusing ways. I guess I just got lucky.
I use a meditative technique to manage my ADHD and anxiety. It guides my mind into a relaxed state, replacing the normal stream of consciousness with something I choose, and it keeps my thoughts off my worries.
Wake up early. Especially when you feel too tired to get out of bed. Best way to fall asleep well the same night.
People always think the most important part of falling asleep is what to do at bedtime instead of deciding when and how to get up.
Sleep hygiene is still really important, but it’s not overlooked like wake hygiene is.
i just love to sleep. Can sleep upto 18 hrs lol
I stick my feet out of the cover 💡💡
Weed
I “pre-dream”. When I get into bed, I lie down and get as comfortable as possible, then I imagine the stupidest things I can think of (usually based on a TV show I just watched). Elvis picking me up in a flying Cadillac to go play cricket. John Lennon asking me to go on tour with him as a piano player and I have 2 days to learn how to play the piano. Just dumb dream like scenarios, nothing complex and always silly but slightly believable and “dream-like”. Out like a light, every night.
I wake up really early in the morning and I’m exhausted 24/7. If you let me, I can fall asleep at literally any moment anywhere.
I put my phone away about an hour before bed came pretty much fall asleep at 9pm every night no matter what.
Falling asleep—no problem. I just wish I could continue sleeping past 4:00 am.
Drugs
I vape THC and sleep.like a baby
No trick, I just decide to sleep and it happens. I once took a nap standing in line for a ride at six flags. The line was super slow moving and it was a hot day. I happened to have a pole to lean on, so decide to go to sleep.
I know I’m blessed with this skill, my wife is supremely annoyed by it.
Having a child. I’m very much knackered by the time I head to bed haha
Dark room. Cold room. I have a few standby podcasts. Hidden Brain, Ologies, The Moth are a few. I put the volume on just enough so I can hear the voices, I don’t really retain anything they say because I’m lulled in 3-5 minutes. The other standby is the Oak app…I listen to the 20 minute “loving kindness” meditation and I’m asleep even faster.
Cannabis and a cat
Cannabis. That and exercise. Also being exhausted all the time helps.
I jus close my eyes. 15 seconds latter, I’m gone.
Sleep apnea…I’m always tired.
Don’t EVER use my phone in bed
I run through the same daydreams I have at work to get through the day. Works pretty well. Only ish I have is that my brain won’t let me sleep in anymore…
narcolepsy
Be a dude
Ambien
Sleeping pills and exhaustion
melatonin every night!! best investment and its cheap
After an orgasm it seems a little bit easier. I think that goes for males, but I’m female and it works for me as well.
Omg I want to know. My husband’s head hits the pillow and he’s snoring. Makes me contemplate how to smoother him in his sleep.
I suspect it is sleep deprivation. So many of my coworkers fall asleep instantly when the lights dim in the conference room. They deny being sleep-deprived, just that the content is boring so of course they will sleep.
I’ve sat through some horribly boring meetings, but with no urge to sleep.
Some of these guys talk about watching TV until 11 pm or midnight, then getting up at 5 a.m.
If they do that every day, I think they probably also fall asleep within minutes after turning the TV off.
Those military guys who boast that they’ve learned to sleep anywhere? They’re just so tired that they don’t need to be comfortable to fall asleep.
Be a father to two kids under 3
Close my eyes, look toward third eye(up and in). Deep breath in, watch the pictures in my head, deep breath out blowing as many pictures away as possible. Deep breath in, look for a dark spot among all the images left, breathe out trying to push away everything but area near the darkness. Last breath in, pulling the darkness closer, breathe out feeling like floating in a blanket of….asleep.
Wait till youre ACTUALLY tired to lay in bed. Dont lay in bed cause you think “the time is right”
Not wanting to be awake
My husband is like this. He says the army taught them to sleep basically standing up.
I’m stoned and take medicine.
Google “cognitive shuffling”. This helped me tremendously.
I visualize a candle flickering, take a deep breath in, hold, slowly release. Whenever my mind wanders from the flickering candle image, I bring it back. I have struggled a lot with getting my brain to shut off even when I’m exhausted. This has worked for me.
Other tips are taking a bite of nut butter/protein and drinking Calm (magnesium). I don’t know why, but the protein really helps.
I literally just close my eyes, and I’m out cold in about 2 mins. One thing I do, though, is once I’m in my comfy spot, I relax all my muscles. For whatever reason, I tend to tense my muscles, especially in my neck and shoulders, and don’t realize that I am. I mentally go through each part of my body and relax my muscles and boom – OUT
The military in general helps with being able to sleep anywhere at any time.
Alcohol
I don’t, but I have a tip to, there’s this meditation style, where you breathe, and while you breathe, light up a triangle inside of your head. So when you breathe in, one side lights up, out, another side and repeat until you’re asleep
A deal with the devil that I have to wake up in the middle of the night.
I’ve been asking my girlfriend for years. She doesn’t know. Out 30 seconds after hitting the pillow. Super envious. 😂
I clear my mind and concentrate and on my breathing, counting each breath backwards from 20. If my mind starts to wander, I bring it back to my breathing, and restart from 20. Usually I’m gone before I reach 15.
Seroquel, ear plugs, eye mask & sleep sounds even if I can barely hear them.
2 hours of exercise daily.
Constant sleep deprivation 🫴
People who stay awake forever, what’s your secret? There is no secret. Some of us just have a healthier set of circumstances that allow us to fall asleep relatively quickly. I am personally in horrible shape, and likely diabetic, but can fall asleep pretty quickly, because my mind and my body are very willing to fall asleep.
I imagine myself having superpowers. Easiest way to get sleepy is to close your eyes and use your imagination.
Don’t think about real world stuff. Don’t think about things that will trigger a physical response like sex. Think about “what if”
Stay up til l can’t stay up any longer and l fall asleep quick🤷♀️
I’m so sorry, fellow insomniacs. When I was in my 20s I was dealing with serious insomnia and a stressful job. One night my body rebelled. I felt what I can only describe as sensory hallucinations: water running over the surface of my skin, as if bursting from a cluster of pores; bugs crawling on me and disappearing; heat as if a hairdryer were uncomfortably focused on my back and legs. I had to quit my job and find out what was going on. After spending thousands on alternative treatments, I found a doctor of internal medicine who prescribed me anti anxiety meds. I got better, thanks to medication and reduced stress. Some of the symptoms persist, especially the burning skin sensations, but they are under control with a small dose of benzodiazepines. I wish I had dealt with it sooner because now it seems like I’ll never be completely free of it. But I’m grateful that I can deal with the symptoms with the right combination of meds. My mind wanders too, but eventually I discovered Calm Sleep Stories on You Tube. I think the app is worth it— the guided meditations for sleep are great. I also like the soundscapes. Does it work all the time? No. But it does most of the time, and I figure that I’m retraining my brain to welcome sleep. The only problem is that so,times my husband snores so I have to wear bulky, uncomfortable noise-canceling headphones. Anyway, I highly recommend the Calm app or something similar.
Already being up for 16+ hours, 2-3 beers, jerk off, mattress topper = insta sleep
I’m fucking tired all the time.
Sometimes i get off reddit and I sleep
I use a little method I call “fragmenting.” I have no scientific basis for this, but basically, I actively work my mind while I’m trying to sleep. I think about one thing, then quickly think about another, and another and so on. Eventually, my mind can’t keep up because as it gets more sleepy, it starts to “fragment” and break apart. (I know that’s a weird way to describe it, but that’s what it feels like). I know I’m getting to this stage when I can’t remember what I was thinking of 3 seconds ago. It’s all blurring together and not making any sense. Every night I’ve done this, I’m asleep within seconds of “fragmenting.”
A serious sleep disorder lol
Work hard in very undesirable environments and sleep will come for you
Been doing it for years, drives my wife nuts I can go to sleep so fast.
Their secret is being neurotypical.
Audiobooks on a 30 min timer, only thing that works
Also working enough during the day so you’re actually tired at the end of the day
I take a few real deep breaths and before I know it, it’s the next day
That’s my secret cap, I’m always tired.
No secret they are ALL LIARS
Focus on thinking on what would I do if I won the lottery and was rich and bummm I’m asleep. Works every time.
My secret is I’m poor so I work too much and get tired.