Genetics
Don’t even need to hit a pillow

No secret, I’m hammered before bed.

Masturbation

fap cum crash

I only use my bed for sleeping, when I go lie down body knows it’s night night time

I read fiction that requires almost no brain power. Either print or e-ink (no bright screen). Sherlock Holmes type stuff is like a sleeping pill.

Be tired enough. I jave ADHD and my strategy is to stay up until I am literally falling asleep. The next day can be tough sometimes though if I need to get up early. On those nights I just take Melatonin

I avoid screens (with one exception mentioned in a bit)—especially social media (including fediverse)—for like an hour ahead of time, read a book, make sure I’m well fed and hydrated without eating too close to bedtime, wear a sleep mask, and put on some soothing music, podcast or (mostly audio-based) video—with the screen off as soon as I hit play. Sometimes I even resort to my noise-cancelling headphones—or earplugs, if the sounds of my own breathing, swallowing, and bloodflow don’t bother me too much that night. It helps to meditate and/or make sure to exercise/work hard enough to wear myself out each day.

Comfort helps. Finding the right position, having the right sheets, mattress, pillow, getting the ac/fan/heater so the room feels perfect, maybe cracking a window for fresh air. Feeling secure and safe where I’m sleeping, confident that I’ll make it through the night without rude awakenings. Each isn’t very powerful on its own, bit all together make a big difference in how readily I drift off.

Finally, I just try not to worry too much whether I fall asleep or not; if it’s not looking like it’s happening, I’ll try to write a story for myself or draw a masterpiece in my minds eye. If that doesn’t work, I’ll focus on invoking some Wake-Induced Lucid Dreaming instead: forcing myself to lie perfectly still with my eyes closed, not even shifting for comfort nor to scratch itches nor swat flies, letting my mind wander wherever it wants to and just going with the hypnagogic hallucinations (they can get a little uncomfortable at times). This rarely has the intended effect, but I usually do end up waking up later, realizing I fell asleep without knowing it.

Disclaimer: my routine won’t solve insomnia, it won’t fix neurological disorders that affect circadian rhythm, it probably won’t work on the first night even if you don’t have the aforementioned issues. But adding any part of it to your routine (if you can) will make it just that much easier to fall sleep, when you can get around to it, even if you do have underlying conditions.

Also, at the risk of sounding like a boomer, screens are really bad for sleep. I grew up with them: my family had a habit of watching tv until bedtime, I trained myself to fall asleep while staring at my laptop (which I often have on my bed), or I’ll pick up my phone after I put the laptop down. Nowadays I can feel how awake my brain gets when I check lemmy or read news around bedtime. If I have my phone near me, I’ll have this nagging feeling to do “just one more” check of all my socials.

And it always keeps me awake until I will myself to turn it off and close my eyes.

I used to take at least an hour to fall asleep. Then I had two kids. I can now fall asleep within a minute or two.

Worth it.

Some things that help me at least:

• Only use bed for sleeping.
• Don’t use screens at least an hour before bed.
• Keep phone out of arms reach when in bed. Ideally in another room (these devices weigh heavy on our psychology, and the further they are from us, the less distracting they are).
• Leave blinds open at night so you wake up with the sun. Try to sync your body / circadian rhythm with your environment if possible.
• Get lots of walks and outside time during the day. If you have a lot of energy, work out more during the day.
• No coffee / intoxicants in the evening.
• Drink lots of water.
• Don’t try to fix your sleep problems at night. Most of your remedies should be getting on the right foot the next day, and making habits of those.

Hey, I can do it in minutes. Just, like, 90-120 of them.

Ive always had trouble sleeping, too active an imagination I suppose. So for me the trick was drugs, they work a treat… Maybe too much of a treat.

My husband can do that, and honestly I think it’s because he doesn’t sleep deeply enough, and gets up too early. So exhaustion works.

I fall asleep in a reasonable amount of time (satisfied with it) and exercise is the main thing I can tell helps me. Next most important I wait until I am actually sleepy before trying to sleep. Smaller factors but still helpful - progesterone (post menopause) before bed, putting down the phone an hour before bed, and a routine - I take a shower & do skincare.

That’s never particularly been me, except when I’m sleep deprived. But in recent years I’ve been consistent about my sleep and wake times (including not changing them on weekends) and that seems to help a lot. According to my tracker it usually takes me about 10 min to fall asleep.

Parenthood. You reach the point of pure exhaustion somewhere around 6 months. Depending on your child, it can last for years.

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