You really gotta train yourself to fall asleep. I managed to figure it out when I was pretty young. I don't know if my method would work for everyone, but...
What is your method?
Sleeping pills have always kind of scared me - I've never taken one, ever.
Beer doesn't work - that just makes me more active. I know what would work, but it isn't legal. :lmao:
In the place I work, attendance is the most important thing. Attendance is pretty much the only thing that will get you fired.
I KNOW that if I went on night shift, all of my sleep problems would be solved - but I don't want to go on night shift, lol.
heh, ok...
So...
1. I always start in the exact same position, and it is never a position that is how I ultimately wind up asleep. Years ago I used to start on my back, though for some reason in a recent time of serious stress, I switched to my side. Couldn't tell you why.
2. I force myself to not think about anything. This is generally the hardest thing to learn how to do. Most people I know who have sleep problems generally have their minds going a mile a minute... and after particular rough days, this is the major challenge even for me, but the key is you must NOT think about things. You have to clear your mind. One thing I do sometimes is I try to focus very hard on the blackness I see behind my eyelids. Do nothing but stare at the backs of 'em and think about nothing but the blackness. It takes practice, but you can do it.
3. After a couple minutes, when I feel I'm starting to drift (I usually know it's happening because I stop thinking about nothing and start having REALLY bizarre thoughts that I can only assume are the precursors to dreams), I flip over onto whatever position I usually sleep best in (for me, my stomach, one leg hitched up, one arm under the pillow, one arm over it, head turned to the left), and pass out.
4. On ANY occasion where I am not able to fall asleep in 30 minutes or less, I get up and go watch some mindless TV for an hour and try again. TRYING to sleep is pretty much pointless. The harder you try, the less likely you are to zonk out, IMO. Better to go do something low-energy and low-attention.
I'm not sure, but I think a part of this is that I have a very specific and VERY consistent routine each night.
And again, I think all of this takes practice. It's not necessarily going to work on the first night.
A friend of mine actually learned to clear his mind through meditation, and once he had that down he could fall asleep in minutes where it used to take him a couple hours.
Frankly, I don't get how anyone puts up with it taking multiple hours to fall asleep. I'd rather get up and use the time and be tired the next day. Better odds of falling asleep when you're tired anyway.
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