How do you get to sleep at night?

[Contenteo]

I honestly thought everyone did the same thing, until I was talking to my friend. And he said he just lays on his back, clears his mind and waits.

I on the other hand, when I want sleep, turn on my side and start visualization about beautiful environments, etc. I don't even notice when I go out.

So what's your way of passin' out(not projecting)? Think about those times when you gotta pass out quick and you can't afford to lose sleep waitin'. What's your strategy?

-Contenteo

[Astral316]

On my side or on my stomach in a comfortable position, and I just let my mind wander off.

[manwesulimo2004]

Same here. I can't fall asleep lying on my back. I think I used to but I would often get nightmares in that position.

[tickleberries]

I have a terrible time trying to sleep. I usually try not to think about the day. I find I sleep better on my right side. Not sure why. Sometimes, I will try to visualize a bit just before.

[Boom]

I usually play some kind of story out in my head.  Then mind starts wondering off.
Actually I dont do it so much now, but a few years ago this story id play out in my head would be quite of a negative nature of something bad thats happened to me.. like im in a hospital. or trapped under a building collapsed... Strange I know!  Never got bad dreams from it.

[Jilt]

Esther Hicks recommends entering sleep in a higher vibrational state and the easiest way to do this is think of things you're grateful for - it shifts your energy very quickly.

When you can't get your mind to shut up is think of a positive word starting with "A" and go through the alphabet. By actively searching for a positive word it shifts your mindset and I'm usually happily zonked about before I get to Z.

Lastly, taking a deep breath for 3 counts in and out for 5 counts relaxes you physically which is often part of the problem.

[Stookie_]

I yawn and roll on my side and conk out. When I have trouble sleeping I have a visualization that puts me to sleep in no time, every time. I successfully used it last night. TV puts me to sleep too.

Think about those times when you gotta pass out quick and you can't afford to lose sleep waitin'.

I don't stress it. The way I see it, if I'm not tired, I'm not tired. I'll get up and turn on the xbox or read or something. The worst that can happen is I'll be kinda tired the next day and sleep real good the next night.

[djed]

If I cant get to sleep I try to remember all the states of the USofA, starting at the top left hand corner.
When I wake up I can usually remember the last state I had got to. If I finish the states and still not asleep I recite the International phonetic alphabet for Airway , A for Alpha, B for Bravo, C for charlie etc
If this fails I get up and make tea and toast, this never fails!
cheers djed 

[Jarrod]

I just lay down and let go.  Usually I don't have any problem sleeping.  Sometimes it takes 5-10 minutes for me to completely lose consciousness while quiet random thoughts play out in my head which I'm not very focused on.  If I've had a stressful day it can take longer but only on very rare occasions do I actually have to force myself to go to sleep.  I can hold my mind blank and just allow myself to fade away.  It's rather uncomfortable to be exerting that effort when I just want to sleep but it works pretty quickly if I can't sleep otherwise.

[urshebear]

I usually go into a meditation like state. I just lay on my back and focus on my breathing..everytime I catch my mind wondering I bring it back to my breathe....It works a treat for me, the only thing that is guaranteed to put me to sleep...usually I wake up on my side not my back tho.

I really like the sound of Jilts method though and might try that tonight

[Lizelle]

I would often wake up in the middle of the night, or early morning, and then couldn't go back to sleep. Stress was a big factor (at the time) so I began to train my mind. If I caught myself thinking about "stuff" (problems) I would identify three things to do the next day -just three - that seemed to help clear the mind.

I was also reading a book a few years ago that was exceptionally well-written and I found myself remembering sentences, then whole paragraphs, and eventually whole pages. I've got at least ten pages more or less memorized. If I couldn't get back to sleep, I'd mentally recite a favorite passage, until I couldn't remember what came next. Usually by that point I'd have fallen asleep.

I used to think memorization was pointless but it means so much more when you internalize something. My stepfather could recite many poems by heart. Anyway, that's my trick. And now of course, I'll meditate and work on my focus and phasing.

[Lexy]

if I am having trouble getting to sleep, I do self-hypnosis & I pass right out 

[personalreality]

I read.

[Xanth]

I close my eyes and stop thinking.

[SomeRandom]

I lay on my back and constantly think till I pass out.

[astralnaut1]

Its hard to me to sleep by laying on my back, but it is easier if i put my arm over my head.

[G.Blaze]

I punch a couple of lions,shows them who's boss and gets me to sleep like a baby

[eflynn]

I'm probably the worst guy to ask. 

Firstly, I have to make sure I don't drink too much caffeine during the day.  My coffee in the morning is usually 8 ounces of regular, the rest decaf if I feel like drinking more. Anything more than that and I can have problems later at night falling asleep. 

Secondly, there is NO position I can lay down in anymore in bed that doesn't eventually lead to a lower back ache.  I slept on my front for many years but my back just couldn't take it anymore.  I had to learn a couple years ago to sleep on my back and sides.  I used to be able to sleep on my back okay but now I have to be on my side.  Right or left doesn't really matter.  Problem is, I lay my head on my arm and almost always wake up with a sore shoulder or a COMPLETELY asleep arm (which is scary at first but kinda' cool once you get used to it). 

I bought a new mattress last summer thinking my old one was the source of my backaches but it hasn't changed anything, even though it is a bit more comfortable.  To make matters worse, I almost always have one or both of my little ones climb in bed with me at some point during the night and they like to move around in their sleep. 

Add it all up, and I have a terrible environment for AP practice.  Doesn't stop me from trying though.  What's going on in my mind when I fall asleep is interesting.  These days, I usually fall asleep watching TV on the couch, crawl upstairs after I wake up, and just crash without anything really going on in my head.  If I don't do that, however, what I like to do (and used to do very well) is just get comfortable in bed (however hard it may be) and let my mind wander.  It can be about anything but what's happening is that I am imagining myself somewhere doing something, always in first person.  When I AP, the scene in my head become real and I find myself there, usually after the fact without having ever noticed any AP symptoms.  I'm just there.  What happens 99.999 percent of the time nowadays, however, is that I just black out and wake up early in the morning, half the time not being able to remember what I was dreaming about.  Kinda' sucks.

Any advice on the backache thing?  I've tried just about everything.  Foam covers, pillow under my knees and between my legs.  Some positions are better than other but I still get the backaches.  Try to AP with a backache.  It doesn't work.   

[Jilt]

I used to have chronic back problems until I did a combination of all of the following: deep tissue massages 2x/month, yoga 5x week, 4 mile walk daily, memory foam mattress (not just a topper), sleep with pillow under or between my knees and occasional chiropractor visits. Now I'm pretty much pain free. Don't despair, it took me 20 years to figure this out!

[eflynn]

I used to have chronic back problems until I did a combination of all of the following: deep tissue massages 2x/month, yoga 5x week, 4 mile walk daily, memory foam mattress (not just a topper), sleep with pillow under or between my knees and occasional chiropractor visits. Now I'm pretty much pain free. Don't despair, it took me 20 years to figure this out!

I'd rather drink myself into a coma every night or just stay awake. 

You had back problems for 20 years?