A huge number of Americans report having chronic sleep problems these days. I don’t know why. Everything’s going so great! There’s certainly nothing to keep us up at night and there never has been.
But if for some reason you’re still having trouble anyway, you might want to check out some of the advice on this Ask Reddit page:
What do you do when you can’t fall asleep?
byu/DrRiffs inAskReddit
Gather your sheep. Let’s find some new ways to count ’em.
1. Count to 100
I count from hundred to one.
If that doesn’t work, I think of a verb, noun and an adjective for every alphabet. And if that doesn’t work I just give up and stay awake until the ripe hour of 4 am.
– uwuttaja
2. Find your cold
Usually I sweat in bed in the summer (like now in North america) I usually roll to the very edge of my bed where nothing touches and most of the time, it’s cold.
I wait there until my base point on the bed has the same cool feeling
– Disastrous_Land_9345
3. Create a scenario
A tactic I use is to close my eyes and imagine a scenario or fantasy that I have.
Most of the time it’s shit like what I would do if I had the power to control time and who I’d f**k over with it. Or I’d think up other scenarios like how I’d rob a bank n shit. Once you get into it you end up falling asleep.
– Kingforaday42
4. Read
Somehow, reading is both really effective at quieting my mind, and making me feel semi-rested.
I’ve read until like 3 and woke up at 9 feeling better than if I got a solid 7-8 hours of sleep.
– LotusFlare
5. Wear yourself out
Usually when I can’t sleep it’s because I’m not exhausted enough and my anxiety is acting up.
I usually up doing, sit ups and push ups until I’m tired enough to sleep
– COP_-_Morty
6. The alphabet game
Go down the alphabet and for every letter, think of 3 words, any words, that begin with that letter.
1 word per breath. I’ve never gotten to the end.
– ducksarepeople2
7. The hand trick
I might have a technic that can help you out without taking any medication.
when having a hard time sleeping, I place my hand on top of my forehead with my hand facing the ceiling.
This sounds weird but it works for me and I don’t know why.
– TechnicallyAFool
8. Have a nice listen
Listen to an Audiobook or podcast.
Not the best thing to do, but i find that it makes good use of my time while simultaneously letting me rest my eyes.
When i read a book at night, my eyes are still straining and the light source does not let me sleep for longer. But audiobooks let me turn off the light and close my eyes, i usually fall asleep within half an hour. just remember to set the sleep timer on the audiobook app though!
– nithya_moorthy
9. Pick a spot
Keep your eyes fixed (in the dark) on one spot, don’t blind for as long as you can and don’t move for as long as you can.
If you blink start over. Eventually it will be so hard to keep them open and boom your out!
– kelsobjammin
10. Pretend you’re already asleep
Well you generally can’t sleep without pretending to be asleep so I usually slow my breathing (which slows heart rate) to they same sort of rhythm when you’re half asleep or just waking up.
Or if I’m overthinking life I put on some music so I’m focusing on that rather than whatever thoughts are keeping me awake.
– dudeftm
11. Imagine a rock
I lay in bed and imagine a rock. Like a boulder. And i completely remove any form of movement from my thought.
Just a rock. Nothing else. And bam. Out like a light. Learners this trick from a friend I have in the army. Said he could sleep anywhere in mere minutes.
Works for me everytime.
– cshelly2
12. Find relaxing noises
I put on my AirPods on and play “relaxing rain sounds for deep sleep” on Spotify.
Basically sounds of rain pouring and gentle thunders in between. Does the job
– rad00
13. Do some math
Do multiplication in my head- sounds insane but that’s what I always was told to do as a kid.
My parents are math people and told us that doing double-digit multiplication would bore us to sleep. Surprisingly it works!
– fatedobelisk
14. A nice cuppa tea
I usually have a cup of chamomile tea an hour or two before sleeping.
I also turn down the brightness on my phone and have night light at night. Then i meditate for 10 or 15 mins before sleeping , works like a charm every night.
I also don’t drink caffeine at all
– pancakeneo
15. Just breathe
Concentrate on breath. When ever I start to think about something else I think NO and go back to just concentrating about breathing.
I used to have fantasies about all kinds off stuff but that would keep me awake.
– EinartheF
Now get out there and catch some Z’s.
Do you have any other good sleep tips?
Let us know in the comments.