Well cannabis is an awesome way to relax and sleep very well, especially hashish.
But since that is out of the picture, I'd probably recommend:
Get
physically exhausted. Either work out very hard or just spend hours outdoors. In fact, I think a lot of people's insomnia is due to them not being outdoors enough. Personally, I fish quite a lot. And everytime I do, I sleep like a baby when I get home. Don't ask me why, but there's something about the wind and the sun light that's highly effective.
Exercise helps because it makes your body relaxed so you don't twist around as much. Pre-tension of muscles it's called in Swedish, don't know the English word
Also, don't drink coffee or eat lots of sugary stuff before you sleep - obviously.
Milk contains substances (melatonin and tryptophan) that help falling asleep. Some people argue that these substances don't make up for activating the digestive system, but I think it works pretty well. Could be placebo, but does that really matter? Despite the long-lived myth, I haven't noticed any difference if it's warm or not.
If you play video games, don't do it right before you sleep. Trust me on this one, it's horrible. You wind up your brain and can't relax properly. Instead,
read, listen to
music or watch some
movie instead. More passive activities so to speak
Personally, I think nature documentaries or reading fiction works wonders. It helps you clear your mind, and that's very useful because often the reason for insomnia is thinking too much about specific matters in your life. Listening to music is also great. It doesn't have to be whale song or new age music, even thrash metal has put me to sleep at times. Trippy music is especially good though in my opinion, Pink Floyd or ambient electronica for example. My own theory is that steady rhythms and repetitive patterns are the best, but I can't really prove that to you
Now for the most important advice:
Catch the
sleep train!
Don't ever go to bed because you "have to". Instead, get ready for bed some time earlier. When you feel that you're getting tired, be prepared to just shut the light and lie down. This is essential because if you just go to bed out of routine
You Might end up lying awake for an hour, and that in turn will make the insomnia even worse. A bad circle.
Also, having a nice
temperature of choice,
comfortable bed and
fresh air helps a lot too. Especially if you have problems falling asleep.
If despite all of this you still have problems sleeping, maybe it's stress I don't know really. But worst case scenario, just grab a
sleeping pill. I've used it many times when I felt that I just had to sleep (work or travel), and they work very well. Just make sure you don't dose them too high or take them too often. But for getting into the right cycle they're unmatched.
Alternatively,
stay awake an entire night and you will no doubt be tired the next night. That way you fall into the right hours naturally, and going to bed in the darkest hour can be quite important (especially if you live in a light area.)
To sum things up:
make sure you're both physically and mentally tired, don't work up your brain with too much philosophing and don't stress having to sleep too much, wait for it to happen.
Cheers
