Helpful Tips to go to Sleep?

[HollytheDolly]

I have a realllllllly hard time getting to sleep at night. I can't sleep unless it's completely dark and quiet, and even then it can take up to 4 or 5 hours to get to sleep on a bad day. Once I tried sleeping at 10:30, and I didn't fall asleep until after 3:30.

Does anyone have any good ideas on how to get to sleep quicker? I've tried the basic "counting sheep", but I just get bored, not tired.

[Silent_Wolf]

Counting backward, from 300. Works like a charm for me, you can add sheep or other things to the countdown as well.

Just wondering, how long has this been happening? If it's something recent, I really recommend picking up a sleep mask and some sleep earplugs; I had to get my roommate to do so because otherwise I was going to drive her crazy with my night owl habits and her me with her early to bed issues. >>;

[ColorPencil]

If you drink a small glass of milk before you go to bed, it knocks you out. xD It doesn't really matter what kind (1%, soy, etc.) everything works.

My sister sometimes takes natural sleeping pills and she falls asleep fast, but I forget what they're called. (:

[HollytheDolly]

No, it's not really recent, it started happening when I started high school, and I graduated this past year. It might have to do then with puberty and the change in sleeping patterns (the typical "sleep in until noon, stay up past midnight" teenager issue), but I can't seem to get my sleeping pattern to return to a more regular pattern, and it sucks because I have to wake up at 6AM for work on the weekends, and my classes start at 8AM some days (it's an hour commute).

Counting anything in regular or reverse order doesn't seem to do it. I either make it to the end it counting backwards from a number or I just give up and stop after a couple hundred. Maybe I am just not persistent enough in my counting. :/

I've also tried sleep masks and earplugs. They bother my face too much when I sleep. The idea seems like a good one, but I don't even like to wear jewellery as I get agitated by it too easily.

I haven't tried drinking milk, but last night I had cereal with milk about half an hour before heading to bed and that didn't help. Slightly different than drinking it, but I still did have some milk. Perhaps I'll try tonight.

I don't have a family doctor, since I moved out of my parents house, but I might see if I can find some natural sleeping pills at a drugstore.

[FlowersFall]

The only thing that helps me fall asleep is rocking. Lol I have to rock my legs and hips back and forth while laying on my side. I've been like this my whole life, and so has my older brother.

My friend had a problem sleeping for a while, and I told her about this, and she said it knoked her out, lol.

[Kiwi_Kat]

I'd definitely try some herbal pills or vitamins you can get at like Walmart or the drugstore, or try some sleepy-time herbal teas. Those usually knock me out. The don't taste the best, but it's better than cruising a full day on an few hours of sleep. They are clearly labled Bed Time or calming.

[wigglykid90]

Before I go to bed, I take a soothing bubble bath to help me to sleep better at night but if I didn't use it then I would watch some children series on Treehouse on Demand for half an hour (7:30 pm - 8 pm) before my bedtime (8:30 pm). Hope this will work it out for you if you have any problem with bedtime routine, I'll be glad to help you in anytime