When you're having a hard time going to sleep, what trick do you use?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

I pretend I'm being interviewed by Barbara Walters or Oprah. As soon as I start talking about myself, I zonk out...

[wildhorses]

1. drugs, i am insomniac--specifically ambien

or flexaril if it is due to sore muscles :hi:

[Redstone]

2. Ambien and a drink.

Redstone

[I Have A Dream]

3. As I breathe in, I say to myself "I am", and as I breathe out, I say "sleepy".

After 5 or 6 of these, I go right out.

(Should be certain not to be breathing shallowly while doing this.)

It really works!

[WhollyHeretic]

4. It's usually because mind is racing

I have to try and blank my mind so I try and pretend I'm a Libertarian.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

7. OMG...

:rofl:

[Dude_CalmDown]

5. Spliff

:smoke:

[peacefreak]

6. alphabetize

movies, books, song titles, artists, cities I want to visit, etc. Usually conk out by M is for Joni Mitchell, N for Willie Nelson, O is for......I know, sounds dumb, but it works for me.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

9. Doesn't sound dumb at all.

I think the whole point is to get your mind away from your own worries and problems. Thanks for the...:boring:

[WindRavenX]

8. pot

:smoke:

[tinfoilinfor2005]

11. yes, but then I awake ten minutes later searching for the cookies

that I baked two years ago...

[VespertineIconoclast]

10. Play online games, surf the web

Post on various online boards ....

[tinfoilinfor2005]

13. Yes, works great. And then I get up and turn everything off

and go downstairs to bed, and then I'm wide awake. :argh:

[Haole Girl]

12. I usually don't go to bed until I'm very sleepy...

...I guess that's not really a trick, is it?

Seriously, if I find myself unable to go to sleep while lying in bed, I'll think about pleasant thoughts...that helps.

[Left Is Write]

18. With insomnia, it can be very difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep...

even when very sleepy. It's frustrating.

[Haole Girl]

22. Yeah, I know...I've had bouts of it myself.

I stay away from drugs as much as I can, though. When I was in my 20's, I worked with a 40-something who took sleeping pills to go to sleep every night---and she was a complete idiot. She had to put a post-it note on her telephone to remind herself to say "Good Morning" instead of "Good Afternoon" (and vice-versa). When I saw how deteriorated her mind was, I made a vow to never, ever (ever), become dependent on sleeping pills.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

19. The window in your cartoon is the actual view from the port hole

of my boat in the Florida Keys. And most nights I do sleep like that, give or take a hurricane, which tends to strip all the fronds off of that cute little palm tree.

But thanks for the animation...can I steal it from you???

[Haole Girl]

26. Oh yes...please do!

Anybody can use any of the smilies I find! I'm honored! (I'm also very envious that you get to live by the beach ;-))

:hi:

[BarenakedLady]

14. Well

my anti-anxiety meds knock me out and coupled with booze, I'm toast. Otherwise I stare at the digital clock and watch it slowly click away deciding the best way to take over the world.

Oh and I have a relaxation tape that I always forget about.

[pokerfan]

15. Count backwards by three from some big number

If I can't get to sleep within a half hour, then I'll read.

[femmocrat]

16. I try to stay awake....

seriously! It works!

[tinfoilinfor2005]

24. I read once where a very famous English actress on the live stage

had to give a fairly long performance, while in bed and pretending to try to stay awake, yawning and stretching in bed with the lights turned down low...and according to her, she actually fell asleep almost every night during the performance and had to be nudged awake by the man playing her husband!

[Left Is Write]

17. An Ambien.

If you prefer a drug-free method, I also favor warm milk, a warm bath, and a dry educational TV show.

[Swede]

20. I think of gentle rain on a tent roof.

I yawn just thinking of it.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

25. Sorry, wouldn't work for...

:boring: :boring: :boring:

[LostInAnomie]

21. That depends...

... if my girlfriend is there or not. If she is, there are a few activities we do that help make me sleepy. If she isn't, I have a big book of social theory sitting next to my bed. After about 20-25 pages of reading that incredibly dense 700 page text my eyes and arms are both exhausted and I drift off to sleepy town.

[nytemare]

23. I read a Bill O'Reilly book.

:boring:

[tinfoilinfor2005]

29. Nope. That would just make me violently ill.

But whatever works for you, God Bless You!

[nytemare]

33. I couldn't actually do that.

I think I would be ill as well.

:D

[AlCzervik]

27. my husband gets the most boring trade mags, "Manufacturing today"

usually puts me right out although i'm now thinking about buying a dandy new Komatsu Forklift, sure i don't need a new one or have any place place to store but it sure looks shiny.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

30. Oh Man, I would Kill for a new Komatsu Forklift...

...now I'll be up ALL night thinking of a good place I could tie it up to my boat...

[AlCzervik]

31. i'll send you the centerfold of the next issue.

:D

[WritingIsMyReligion]

28. I read until I fall asleep with the light on.

Drives the madre absolutely bonkers, but oh well. If I try to lay there in the dark and go to sleep, I start to think of all sorts of unsavory things, and then I really can't sleep.

[tigereye]

32. count backward from 100

and then start again. Usually works.

[leftofthedial]

34. six vicodin

and half a bottle of wine

[tinfoilinfor2005]

35. Hey LOTD!

Glad to hear that you lead a healthy lifestyle much the same as me! I however prefer three vicodin and the whole wine bottle. (BTW, don't forget to bring a dish to pass at the next AA Thanksgiving get-together. I'm doing the green beans and mushroom soup, FYI...)

[leftofthedial]

36. cream corn okay?

[SPKrazy]

38. Five 10 mg Valium

and a bottle of wine

oh yeah

I'm bringing the dessert, damned

[VelmaD]

37. I read from The Silmarillion

Seriously. I'm normally ok with Tolkien, but that particular book just knocks me right out. Which is what I'm gonna go do now. Night all.

[Skittles]

39. I skip sleeping

happens about three times a month...on normal nights I still have to take over the counter sleeping pills but usually just half of one

[Kali]

40. I rarely have trouble going to sleep but reading something half boring usually does the trick

[BlueIris]

41. I try to stay awake. Cheap psychological trick I learned last year.

Works about 50% of the time.

[Hand]

42. One of these sometimes helps...

[Oeditpus Rex]

43. I go out and kill all the people

about whom thoughts of killing have kept me awake. Then I can sleep with a clear conscience, knowing I've made life better for all the Good People.



:popcorn: