I need help breaking my bad habit, once and for all.

Try a small goal for only a week...in bed at nine, but NO looking for something else to do (I'm so guilty of this myself - channel surfing or on the net). I did a sleep study once and when he tracked my sleep chart he was like, SHUT OFF THE LIGHTS AND GO TO BED!

Lights off, laying there quietly, until you fall asleep, for 7 days. Even if you lay awake for an hour with the lights off, you're programming your body that you want to go to sleep. I'm thinking that if you do that for a couple of weeks in a row, your body will learn that it's lights out and drift off earlier and earlier.

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

There is a site...

sleepyti.me

You put in the time that you need to wake up and it tells you what times you should fall asleep to coordinate with your REM cycles so you don't wake up in the middle of one. Even if you can't get the full 8 hours at least you will get the most rest possible.

First and foremost, make small goals and go slowly. We are creatures of habit and if you are used to going to bed at 1100 and suddenly start trying to go to bed at 8 you will NEVER fall asleep. Ever so slowly start backing up your bedtime by 15 minutes: go to bed at 1045 for about 5 nights and then when you are feeling like that is getting easy, back it up again to 1030. You've got to go slowly in order for your body to realize what you're doing.
Next, don't crawl into bed until you are ready to go to sleep. No reading, no t.v, no computer, no phone, NOTHING but sleep.
Third, and this goes against what the others have said a bit, if you are lying in bed awake for more than 30-minutes get yourself out of bed and engage in a QUIET activity - this does not mean getting on the computer and playing games or turning on the t.v. Do something dull and boring - read a boring book for example. Do this until you feel tired and try again. If you're still awake 30 minutes later, do it again.


Cleaning up your sleep routine is hard and takes deligent work. And, to be honest, you might feel like crap for awhile. But be patient with yourself and move slowly and you'll get there. Good luck!

You might try listening to a guided meditation or self-hypnosis recording every night while you are lying in bed. It can really help quiet the racing thoughts that are keeping you awake.

I really find that (if it fits into my calories) a glass of wine helps. Or even a beer if it fits. Anything to kind of just calm you down before bed.

I have the same issue with the phone thing. I will sit looking at random crap for an hour or playing games before I can go to bed. It sucks. Try a book and some wine

Try lowering your core temperature also. A cold shower can help or just turning on the AC.

Exactly what the information looking for. Thank you all.

I am going to start charting the exact time I lie down every night. I do suffer from racing thoughts, ideas, and fantasies constantly, so turning those off will be my biggest challenge. I talked to my doctor a while back and she recommended Klonopin. Umm, no. I'm not taking Klonopin to fall asleep.

I've tried melatonin in the past. While it did work, I would oftentimes wake up feeling very groggy. I need to be very disciplined so my body gets the rest it truly needs.

Learn how to meditate.

Do muscle relaxing exercises, because racing thoughts are tied to muscular tension. Lie down on your back, start with your feet, tense them up, raise them above your bed a few inches, hold them there for 10 normal breaths, and let them drop like a bag of cement. Do the same thing for your legs, hips, torso, shoulders and arms, and head -- tense, raise a few inches, hold for 10 breaths, and let them drop. If you bother to go through the whole thing, you should fall asleep.

Couple things that got me through a period of stress-induced insomnia:

1) Remove all distractions from the bedroom. No electronics, no books. Keep a notepad and pen by the bed if you're someone who can't get to sleep because of racing thoughts - writing them down will help get them out of your head.
2) Establish a bedtime routine - it'll help mentally prepare you for sleep
3) Take a hot bath or shower 30min before you get in bed - the increase in temp relaxes your muscles. The subsequent decrease makes you sleepy.
4) If you wake up in the middle of the night, stay in bed with your eyes closed and wait. You will fall back asleep eventually, but you sabotage this if you get up and start doing things. The more you just wait to drift off to sleep, the easier it becomes.
5) Melatonin can help, but it also can give you bizarre and intense dreams that leave you less rested than if you'd gotten poor sleep, which is what happened to me.

Add to this: when trying to get to sleep, begin by "listening" to your body. Think of your head and actually try to feel your head relaxing, then move on to your jaw, work at relaxing your jaw and lips. Next is your eyes, then your neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, etc. Work very hard to relax each body part. I use a lot of pillows, too, to get as comfortable as possible. If you can lie on your back with a pillow under your knees and none under your head, that's the best way to sleep.

Sweet dreams!

I have this problem too sorry OP, no tips for you just here to save the info

Turning your electronics off an hour before bed is HUGE! this includes watching tv, computer montiors, or smart phones. Keeping them on before bed stimulates brain activity that prevents your brain from winding down to a state where it can easily relax in to a deep sleep.

Not only that, but the unnatural light coming from television screens and computer monitors prevents the brain from making the neurotransmitters that encourage healthy sleep.

I committed to this habit about 8 months ago, and can definitely tell you the road to drowsiness is MUCH easier.

The other suggestions you've recieved seem to be great advice as well! Good Luck!