What do you do to fall asleep?

[FadedSunrise]

I'm usually so exhausted after workouts and schoolwork that I just want to knock out at the end of the day...

But sometimes, especially recently as things get even busier I find my mind is too active to let me sleep. Either it takes me time to sleep, or I wake up far too early and tired. Sometimes I'll play music from my cellphone before bed in the dark, its kinda soothing. ^_^

[loveknowsnodistance27]

I usually "say goodnight" to my SO and then sing "Goodnight my Love" to his picture and kiss it lol. I blow a kiss "to him" every night and then try to lay in bed, turning my brain off, breathing slowly and rhythmically and relaxing every muscle in my body. It's tough, but some nights it works. But, of course I have those nights where my brain won't turn off and the thoughts keep racing.

[Dauntedpoet]

My SO has been gone 47 days.. and was only here 18 days..but I still can't bear to go to bed without him. I force myself to go to bed usually after writing him an email. Lack of sleep leaves me with depression, but if I sleep more than 8 hours it also leaves me with depression! So I work hard to keep a routine. I always journal before trying to sleep to empty my head, I leave a comedy show on the television while I write.. and then I lay in bed and play solitaire on my phone until I get sleepy.. If something won't leave my head.. I journal it on my phone.. and then try solitaire again. The only thing that really works is sleeping next to my SO.. never fails.

[Alisz]

These are some really good suggestions! *jots them all down* I've always been a night owl, so I'm used to staying up late except this lack of energy is really getting me down. I'm procrastinating like crazy... I'm sure if my SO was here I wouldn't have trouble. Some of it is a sort of anxious feeling of not being able to talk to him.

I tried drinking some decaffeinated tea (I've got tons of it heh) a bit before heading to sleep. It helped a bit! I'll have to try listening to music too. I forgot I've got a bunch of ambient tracks on my iPod. Maybe it'll help me focus on that instead of planning all the things I need to do.

@Dauntedpoet That's a good idea to write down things that won't leave your head. Usually I have a to-do list in my head and I think about it a lot before bed because I don't want to miss anything. I should try that for things that are really stuck on my brain.

[Sora1101]

also try eating some bananas with your dinner, my parents always used to make me when I had insomnia when I was little apparently there's a vitamin in them that helps make you sleepy, warm milk helps too even if it tastes nasty. xD

[13000km]

My SO has been gone 47 days.. and was only here 18 days..but I still can't bear to go to bed without him. I force myself to go to bed usually after writing him an email. Lack of sleep leaves me with depression, but if I sleep more than 8 hours it also leaves me with depression! So I work hard to keep a routine. I always journal before trying to sleep to empty my head, I leave a comedy show on the television while I write.. and then I lay in bed and play solitaire on my phone until I get sleepy.. If something won't leave my head.. I journal it on my phone.. and then try solitaire again. The only thing that really works is sleeping next to my SO.. never fails.

I'm the opposite. I can usually just lie in the dark for awhile and drift off to sleep, but when I was with my boyfriend I was so excited just to be there I wanted to keep doing something, day or night. What happens is I get so exhausted I crash after 48 hours of no sleep. I do the same thing if I start having trouble sleeping when I'm at home. Spend a night awake and fill the day with so many activities that you're exhausted by the time the next night comes. Sleep just enough hours, not too much, and that usually helps me get back into my regular sleeping pattern. (:

[ErikaH]

I'm someone who needs very little sleep. I usually get around 4 to 6 hours of sleep per night. Last semester I lived off 3-5 hours of sleep, I'm not sure how I survived. My LDR doesn't really affect my sleeping habits. I do take a long time to fall asleep (usually about an hour) and I do find myself thinking of my day/my SO. I usually try and listen to music until I'm about to fall asleep. The nights that I've pulled all-nighters (luckily on weekends) is because of my SO and I talking for hours, but being that kind of tired is worth it. It's more of a happy-exhausting-tired feeling. But pretty much, I think about my SO as I fall asleep but it never affects me too much.

[princessmia]

Sometimes, it does impact my sleeping schedule. I have had difficulties falling asleep a couple times, just thinking and thinking for over half an hour or more. I guess, I'm lucky. Every night however, I have difficulties falling asleep, because he's not there beside me, and I have troubles falling asleep as it is.
I usually read a chapter of the book im reading before I fall asleep most of the time my minds on what I just read, and not the negatives so much. That and when I finish the chapter im like dead so i just close my eyes and after a few minutes and switching positions until I'm comfortable I fall asleep.
I usually just squeeze the bear he gave me which I sleep with every night and close my eyes and imagine what it'd feel like having him beside me or against me while I fall asleep. I do that every night come to think of it, I just want to be in his arms so bad and feel him beside me and feel protected and safe in his embrace. I'm dorky like that.

Ima sleep now. Niiight!

[tomandlissie]

I like to listen to some slow and relaxing music or sounds (softly) to help myself fall asleep. That seems to get me into a relaxing and calming mood. I have also taken Benadryl before bed, and have enjoyed some of Celestial Seasonings' Sleepytime Tea.