If you’re having trouble sleeping, I’d like to offer you some unique sleep tips you won’t find in many places.
These tips are especially valuable if you’ve tried the standard recommendations for insomnia and you still can’t sleep.
Keep in mind the following information about my tips for falling asleep:
- They are best attempted by trial and error.
- They can be used at the start of your night’s sleep or to help you go back to sleep.
- They may be especially helpful if your sleeplessness is influenced by anxiety, troubling thoughts or a general difficulty focusing on a calming thought or image with your head already on the pillow.
- They aren’t scientifically proven to work, but I’ve observed them as being helpful for many of my patients who’ve struggled with mild to moderate insomnia.
- They’re oriented toward the strategy of using simple visualizations to relax your mind and take your attention away from bad thoughts or anxiety about what tomorrow will be like if tonight there’s a lack of sleep.
So let’s put your sleeplessness to rest and get you to count z’s like a champion.
Try These 5 Insomnia Tips If You…Just…Can’t…Sleep
1. Picture a place in the world that fascinates you and fly over it like Superman (or Supergirl.)
Use your mind’s eye to fly like Superman over any location in the world. Witness people of another culture doing whatever you think they would do during a normal day or whatever comes to mind. You are totally safe from above. Be fascinated by your power to fly. Observe a familiar place or an exotic location. Just make sure you choose a comforting scene associated with curiosity, simple pleasures or calm. Do you choose to see trees? Towns? Houses? Mountains? Kids playing? Rivers? Stay away from places that remind you of pain or conflict. Keep visualizing until you tire out. Allow yourself to see boring sites as well or witness the everyday humdrum of life. It just might help you to drift off into sleep land.
2. Picture yourself interacting with your favorite characters in a movie, book or TV show.
That’s right. Go ahead and allow yourself to live along side of the larger-than-life characters. You’ve probably become so familiar with them that it’s like visiting old friends, which can have a calming effect. Make up a story in mind and interact with these characters. Act like the scenery is real life. Believe it or not, Game of Thrones characters work for me. Maybe it’s the amazing scenery and the depth of the characters who I’ve grown to care for.
3. Count by 7’s, 8’s, 9’s or any number whose multiples you haven’t memorized.
This exercise is aimed at tiring out your mind. Initially, it might wake you up a bit as you access your brainpower to figure out the multiples. Count to 200 or some number that challenges your mind. Repeat if you want. The goal here is really to take your mind off of anything troubling and make you focus on a menial and boring task. Consider switching to one of the other visual tips once you feel this is tiring you.
4. Pretend to snore.
Please apologize in advance to anyone who may be occupying the bed with you. Make a light snoring noise as you pretend you’re sleeping. This will promote deep breathing. Focus on taking giant breaths, but don’t make the breaths unnatural. Just imagine how you’d be breathing if you were really sleeping. Do this for as long as it takes to reach a greater level of relaxation. If you’re saying to yourself, “I can’t sleep,” trick yourself into thinking the opposite by pretending to be sleepy. Try saying, “Wow, I’m getting so sleepy.” Keep imagining yourself falling asleep. Then snore away.
5. Get out of bed and make a to-do list on paper if you can’t stop thinking about tomorrow’s tasks.
Divide a piece of paper in half (not your phone because that will lead to more time awake) and make two lists: one of urgent tasks and another of important tasks. Number what you believe needs to be done first, second, third, fourth, etc. Designate an easily achievable task as #1 to get your productivity engine up and running. Then move to the more challenging tasks. An optional second step is to visualize yourself doing each of these tasks successfully. Then get back in bed and don’t be surprised if you find yourself ready to fall asleep. Why? Preparing a to-do will make you feel like life is more in your control and you won’t have to worry as much about remembering all that needs to be done tomorrow.
Note: These recommendations are meant to teach you how to fall asleep if you sleeping problems are mild to moderate. They are not meant for battling serious and chronic insomnia. If you experience chronic insomnia, please consider discussing it with your primary care doctor or a sleep specialist who can conduct a formal assessment and make recommendations to eliminate your sleeping problems.
You want also might want to rule out sleep apnea, depression and other conditions that require further attention.
Please comment below and feel free to let me know how you used these tips to fall asleep.
Good luck and sleep tight!
Resources on Sleep
Simple Tips for Sleep
Sleep Disorders
Sleep Problems in Children
Understanding Sleep
