Going to Sleep

There are times when it is very hard for me to go to sleep at night. There’s so much going on in my mind that I can't seem to get it to stop. I sometimes take Diphenhydramine, which, not only takes care of my allergic rhinitis, but also helps me doze off. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.

Not being able to fall asleep is a problem that we all face from time to time. I went through some suggestions and the following article seems to be the most complete.

Here are their simple home solutions to help us fall asleep at night.

1. Pray or meditate. Whatever is on your mind is probably there for a reason. When you pray, talk to God about what is racing through your mind, and give the situation over to Him. If meditating, visualize yourself addressing your thoughts and resolving them. Or, meditate on a calming word or phrase. As you do so, it helps you to lower your heart rate and relax your muscles, making it easier for you to lie down and fall asleep. Many times this will work because you no longer have that burden on your mind and you can relax enough to fall asleep.
2. Think of Impossible Things Think of the strangest impossible things as fast as you can and don’t stop. Just think of the weirdest and strangest thing you can and let the thoughts keep getting more and more strange and make less and less sense. You are guaranteed to fall asleep fast!! This works, try it.
3. Practice good "sleep hygiene". Get yourself ready for sleep by relaxing a few hours before bedtime -- take a warm bath, drink some warm milk or herbal tea (decaf only). Drink a glass of warm milk, with a teaspoon of honey stirred through if you like. Do this just before bed but be sure to brush your teeth before bed-- the sugar in milk and honey can cause tooth decay, especially if your mouth dries out at night. Try a two-week regimen to get your body into this habit. Make notes if you discover patterns of sleep or going to bed that work. For some people, sleep can be highly ritualistic...cultivate the rituals that produce your best sleep experiences. (If you don't like the taste of plain warm milk, try it by making hot chocolate with warm milk instead of water)
4. Make sure you have a comfortable bed in which you can get a good night's sleep. Buy a decent mattress. A mattress is worth more than you think, considering you use it every night, so don't hold back! If you're too hot or cold, add or remove blankets until comfortable. Adjust the temperature of your AC’s if you have so it is cooler than usual, but not too cold. Make sure to stock up on blankets if you do this. If you have time, consider cleaning your room before trying to get to bed. Having a clean room can be calming when trying to fall asleep. A messy room will distract most people, and it can make you feel uncomfortable.
5. Soundproof your room. If you have noisy neighbors, consider buying a white noise machine, or leaving the fan on in the bathroom to drown out the irregular beats of their music, televisions, late night arguments, etc. If that doesn't work, don't underestimate the power of earplugs... Just make sure you can still hear your alarm! Calming music, such as soft classical music can also help drown out noise and help you fall asleep.
6. Read. Reading will help the mind focus on only one thing, instead of racing about the day's activities. Read something calming rather than an exciting thriller novel. Fairy tales or nonfiction would be good choices. If you do read, it is recommended that you read with a low light on. This way your eyes will get used to the darkness, which makes it easier to fall asleep.
7. Adjust the lights to a level you are comfortable with. For optimal results, a pitch-black room with no lights helps you sleep better through the night. If you have an alarm clock that is lighting up half the room as you try to sleep, turn it around or turn it off. Most cell phones have an alarm on them, so you can use that instead of a bright, bulky alarm clock. If you must have mild illumination in your bedroom (e.g. glowing face of digital clock, night light), remember that red wavelengths of light generally are not as disruptive to sleep cycles as blue or green wavelengths. If you need to sleep during the day, use eye covers.
8. Get into a comfortable position, loosen any tight restrictive clothing. Position yourself comfortably on your back in bed, with your arms by your side. If you are uncomfortable with any way your body feels on the bed, correct it immediately, e.g., your body's weight on your arm is too strong, or your hip feels awkward--change position quickly until you're completely comfortable. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes like pajamas or a nightgown rather than tight or constricting "day clothes."
9. Practice deep breathing. If you're having trouble trying to sleep, try a deep breathing exercise. For example, lie on your back in bed and breathe in deeply for three counts, watching your stomach rise, and then breathe out for three counts. Do this for about ten minutes and then switch so you're lying on your right, and repeat the breathing process. Another way to go about doing it is this:
• Take a deep breath using one nostril closed,
• Now exhale with the nostril that is closed, during this exhalation, close the other.
• Repeat these steps using the other nostril. Do this 60 times (at least 15 minutes) and you will feel very relaxed.
10. Imagine yourself sinking into the mattress, starting from the very tips of your toes. In your mind, begin to "acknowledge" everything around you that all your senses are experiencing. For example: Say to yourself (not out loud), "I hear the clock ticking. I smell the lotion I just applied to my hands. I feel my legs' weight on the bed. I hear my spouse/partner breathing. I see different shades of black. I hear the dog barking in the distance. I hear myself in my own mind talking.” etc. This should help to clear your mind by slowly acknowledging everything and subsequently dismissing it. Stay on your back, sunk into the mattress until you feel it is time to roll into your desired position.
11. Give your brain an exercise. Count as high as you can. Get a picture of as many sheep on a field as possible. Try counting all of the sheep in a dim light. This makes your mind focus on one easy thing. Also, try doing mathematical calculations in your mind, for example, thinking of two or three digit numbers and adding them up in your mind.
12. Think of something very calming. Picture a waterfall. It is very calming and you will fall asleep quickly. This makes you calm. This also gets your mind away from distractions of life. You may also have a good dream. Pretend that you are floating on a river. Look up and see the blue sky and feel the water below you. Picture your ideal fantasy and try to play it out in your head. Also, try imagining that you are in a perfect room. What would it look like? What color is it? What's in it? Imagine yourself lying in it. Why is it so relaxing to you? Imagining yourself in this perfect room focuses your mind on relaxation.
13. Start the habit of using your bed only for sleeping. Do not read, play video games, etc. because then your body will be used to doing those things while in bed and make you more awake.
14. Sing a song in your head. Pick a song that you know very well and sing all of the lyrics in your head. If that doesn't work, act like you are typing the lyrics on an imaginary keyboard. Or, if you know sign language, you can sign all of the lyrics. Pick a song that you know every word to and you are familiar with. You can also plan to listen to music while you sleep. Listen to the softer songs of your favorite band. If you have trouble blocking out sounds around you (especially in an apartment building) then wear a set of ear bud headphones to bed with some language tapes running. Listening to the language tapes provides you with a soothing voice that is talking in a very mellow tone and has the bonus of reinforcing your knowledge of the language while you sleep.
15. Think about a story in your head. Make it light and happy like a fairy tale; you can make it up. (Suggested) and what really helps is to picture the story in your mind. This may or may not help but do try it if you are having trouble falling to sleep.
16. Consider over-the-counter drugs.
• Try taking an over-the-counter drug called melatonin that can help. Melatonin may help you fall asleep if you take it at the same time each day before you go to sleep. As we age, melatonin levels decrease so melatonin may be more helpful for age-related insomnia. Some people may find taking melatonin in a "staged" manner helpful: take half a melatonin tablet before going to bed, and the remaining half if you awaken in the middle of the night. (NOTE: Melatonin is a hormone and has a larger role than sleep initiation. A reduction in melatonin levels causes the body to initiate puberty, if melatonin levels stay high, puberty will be delayed. It is not for use by children, teenagers, or pregnant or lactating women. If you have any disorder at all or are on medication consult a physician before taking melatonin.)
• Benadryl is highly effective (and non-addictive); just make sure you have a full eight hours to sleep. However, while Benadryl isn't addictive, it can slow you down the next morning by making you feel groggy-headed. Look for natural sleep aids sold in health-food stores before trying Benadryl.
• Many people find tryptophan (available in health food stores) to be a safe and reasonably effective sleep aid, probably due to its ability to increase brain levels of serotonin and/or melatonin
• Start relaxing and stop thinking about falling asleep. Relax your mind and think about what you want to do tomorrow. Do not think about falling asleep, this will stop you from doing so. Try chilling your pillow for two minutes in the fridge. Even on a cold day, it will relax your head and the rest of the body will follow.
17. Have a three-hour famine If you want to sleep easily and soundly, the time for dinner is 3 hours before bedtime.
18. Practice solitaire. The card game solitaire was designed to send you to sleep. Undemanding, repetitive, requiring concentration but little mental effort, it will soon lull you into a numbed state. If you can resist the urge to believe your next hand will be the complete one, you will find this pastime both relaxing and tiring.
19. Train your bed. You can train yourself to associate your bed with restfulness rather than wakefulness by the practice you adopt. All other activities -jumping, talking, schoolwork etc - should not be done on bed.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

• Try sleeping with a pet
• As much as you can, try to stay in bed with your eyes closed, even if you are not actually sleeping. You will drift in-and-out of sleep even if you do not realize it. As a result, you will be more relaxed in the long run.
• If you find you are still wide-awake after a half-hour or so, try getting out of bed and doing something relaxing in another room. Just sitting in a comfortable chair with the lights off, or looking out the window for a few minutes, can help you relax and make it easier to fall asleep.
• Relax by imagining a wave of comfort start from your feet and slowly work this 'wave' up your body. The process should take about 10 minutes.
• Eat a banana or two before bed. The magnesium in the banana will help your muscles to relax. Other foods that will help you fall asleep are: Cheese, Mustard, Pickles, and Lettuce, Turkey. They have natural chemicals that work with your brain to send a 'calm' message over your body.
• Some people believe that eating protein-enriched foods as a snack will help slow the mind so it can focus on sleeping. So a small pack of nuts or trail mix would be helpful.
• Exercise during the late afternoon. Go for a jog or to the gym. The aftereffects of the chemicals in your body released during the workout will get you through the evening. It's much easier to fall asleep if you've done something active since it's much easier to go to sleep when you're exhausted or tired than just sitting at home with all your energy from food you ate.
• Sometimes, it's easier to go to sleep with some lights on if you wear a sleeping mask.
• Tense all your leg muscles. Inhale slowly. Relax and exhale slowly. Repeat about seven times.
• Do not watch TV to help you go to sleep. The lights and the noise can make you stay awake for an hour or more.
• Do not exercise before going to bed. This will get your adrenaline going, your heart pumping, and speed up your respiratory system. Those things will make it very hard to fall asleep.
• The most important part of your body that should be relaxed (and the one that almost everyone overlooks) is your tongue. When you notice it, you'll find that it is invariably plastered against the roof of your mouth or up against your front teeth. Make a conscious effort to relax your tongue, jaw, and face along with the rest of your body. You'll be surprised how quickly you fall asleep!
• Sleep is just a lowered state of consciousness. Get to that state faster by not thinking. The easiest way to do this is to focus on the color black you "see" when you close your eyes. Deflect any other thought that arrives, as it will hinder your ability to focus on black. It is a difficult task initially, but if you can stick to it, you'll be asleep within 2-3 minutes.
• Be sure you have closed your eyes. Research has proven that if you don't close your eyes, it would be more difficult for you to fall asleep.
• Cover up the display or turn around an alarm clock, so you lose the perception of time. If you can't sleep and you see the hours going by, it can stress you out by thinking that you have to sleep ASAP. Overall, just try not to think of immediately going to sleep. This causes nervousness and queasiness, making it even harder to fall asleep. Remember, think of something calm instead of worrying about the time going by.
• Try a number of things until you figure out what works.
• Ask a family member to give you a back massage. It will relax you very much and help you fall asleep.
• Consider getting a new mattress if your current one is old.
• Count mentally or gently stare at mundane objects.

Reference: http://www.wikihow.com/Fall-Asleep