I had to find something to help me sleep

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OK, so I couldnt sleep and I felt angry and frustrated. How many times did I go to bed and twist and turn feeling sickly tired but not able to go to sleep? Pretty well every night actually.

I have found the answer! Something to help me sleep. I seriously hope this helps you.
Its free. No cost and no drugs.

The first clue is when I learned that your brain doesnt know the difference between imagination and the real world! I suppose it is reasonably obvious as we often make use of our 'fantasies'. Perhaps best not to go into too much detail on this ;-) but we have all gained great pleasure from imagining doing something. The mind and body seem to be easily deceived.

OK so what does this have to do with not being able to sleep?

Well....what is it you are doing when you go to bed?
If you are anything like me you are still watching the film in your head, having conversations with people from work, preparing your presentation, worrying about your children, planning your future or re-running that conversation you had with your best friend.

And what does your brain and body think?

THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY THERE! Actually with those people, or in that film!

So do you think it will take you into sleep? Of course not.

The people who find it easy to sleep usually have one thing in common - they want to go to sleep and they welcome it. They go to bed (or sit in the seat on the plane) and say OK sleep, I am ready for you. Here I am sleep, come and take me.

My wife is absolutely one to re-run conversations, go over and over decisions she has made, worry about the future and the past - BUT NOT WHEN SHE GOES TO BED. She loves to sleep and thats all she thinks about at that time. Consequently she can sleep anywhere with no problems.

So what do I do now?

I go to bed to sleep. When I am laying down (or even in a seat on a plane- so glad I can do this now) I make sure I stay in bed in my mind. All the tempations to make conversations or be somewhere else are denied by concentrating on being where I am.
I deliberately sense my toes, my arms, my legs. I hear the sounds around me and register any movement - but never let myself day dream or get lost somewhere else.
If I cant stop thinking the wrong thoughts then I verbalise in my head what I can feel and hear. Quietly and slowly.

This works. It has taken me until I am nearly 50 but I now have something to help me sleep.

A few obvious things

So did I not know about caffeine? Did I not know about watching action films last thing at night? Did I not know about eating late at night? Of course I did.

Did I listen to myself, NO!

Come on now. If we seriously want to sleep then we need to seriously follow some common sense.

Something to help me sleep:

1. Dont drink caffeine in the evening!
I know we want a coffee when we relax after work - but we want to sleep! Drink something else or go de-caf.

2. Dont watch action films last thing at night.
That is not 'something to help me sleep' - its something to keep your mind buzzing.

3. Dont overdo the alcohol. Maybe you are different, but drink makes me dream differently and snore like crazy. And of course we have to keep getting up to go to the toilet. I have had a small whiskey as something to help me sleep - but much more has the opposite effect.

4. Dont eat a lot late at night. This may be a personal thing but I have known all my life that eating a lot makes me very tired but doesnt help with a good nights sleep. (My wife is different - but we cant go by those who sleep well anyway.)
What is it? Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper?

5. Last but not least - go to bed when you are tired! I always worked through my tiredness even if it was just watching a film. I then started waking up again before I went to bed.

Sleep apnea, sleeping disorder, sleep deprived