I can’t sleep

One glass of decent or good red wine makes me sleepy. And no TV or computer for an hour before I hit the sheets.

R1 I don’t drink, but I’ll have to try the no tv or computer thing. Do you just read a book?

I just let my sparkling wit flow on DL...

all while humming "Never Been to Me"

and thinking about my day

Exercise, This really does work.

Instead of reading I listen to podcasts.

R4 you mean exercise before bed? Or in general.

R6, At some point during your day, but not right before bed.

Sublinox - 10mg nightly. Nothing else works.

CBD/THC combo works well for me

Trazadone. Puts you to sleep so effectively, that it's hard to get up before 11 a.m.

I’ve had success with melatonin, an allergy tablet and the narrated option of my Jehovah’s Witnesses lesson.

Get off the internet, your phone/laptop/tablet. Get off DL!

I've become the opposite. If everything is quiet, then my mind starts racing and I can't turn it off. I now sleep with the TV on with a timer, that'll focus my mind until I fall asleep - which is usually within an hour.

I take four Night-Night pills an hour before I want to be asleep (in my case, acetaminophen PM, but Advil PM works as well). It's too much, but at least I get sleep.

Two capsules of magnesium threonate. I read about a Navy pilot approach to falling asleep quickly and it works for me. Tell your mind it isn't allowed to think about anything, it can think when it's dreaming. If a thought enters your mind just say "nope go to sleep".

I asked a friend of mine who never has trouble falling asleep what he thinks about when he goes to bed and he said "I don't think".

Easier said than done R15!

Guaranteed asleep in 5 minutes

r13 I am doing the same thing with audiobooks. I just stay up until I pass out. I work from home with flexible hours so I can usually just sleep 7 hours and get up whenever.

I've had insomnia since I was 9 years old, and used to make it worse by trying to sleep, which created anxiety and the racing thoughts (about sleeping, not sleeping, work, not being able to work, how shitty I was going to feel, how bad the next day would be, news, family drama, and everything else on my mind).

Now I focus on something and sleep when sleep comes, and it's been working. No alarm clock for me, back when I needed to be up at 6 I took ambien, or klonopin, melatonin, benedryl, anything. Exercise (2 hour bike ride) in the morning used to work for too. I would fall into bed at 10. But I was 18-27 then with no career or problems.

I try to remember the names of as many belamis as I can. Works pretty well. Also a good strategy if someone spouts bullshit you don’t want to listen to.

Like Belami models?

You count porn stars to fall asleep?

It takes practice R16. I'm 67 and I've had insomnia since I was a child, my mind just wants to go and go.

R20 trying to remember names is not sexy. And so many strange names too.

I have had problems with sleep for as long as I can remember, I've always been a very vivid dreamer and as a child would wake up from nightmares quite frequently.

It usually takes me a while to fall asleep but I don't tend to have the typical insomnia where I'm laying awake for hours without being able to sleep - it's usually more that I will wake up multiple times in the night when I'm going through a bad patch with it, but it means I never get good quality 'recovery' sleep so it can feel like I've not slept at all.

I've tried lots of over the counter remedies, herbal treatments, melatonin, hot milk, mindfulness, having a hot bath before bed (which I generally do anyway), limiting screen time after a certain time etc. etc. The only thing that ever worked fully was proper hardcore sleeping pills which I only had for a very short period as the doctor said they were incredibly addictive and wouldn't prescribe more than about a week's worth. That sleep was great though!!

Exercise is the answer, people don't sleep because they aren't tired enough. Try washing walls, that'll put you to sleep at night.

Spank the monkey.

Not looking at the clock helps a lot for me. So does giving myself ample time, meaning that when I go to bed, if I fall asleep right away, it would mean I got 8-9 hours of sleep. It helps with anxiety, telling myself "you've got time here." If I went to bed 6 hours before I was supposed to get up, that would make me very anxious, as I would think "Even if I went to sleep right now, that's only 6 hours, and what's the chance of even that?"

Chew on an edible about an hour before bedtime.

Have a good wank.

I'll second Trazadone. It's a mild antidepressant, but it's also used to help with insomnia. It's also non habit forming. You're not supposed to mix it with alcohol though, which OP mentions they don't drink.

Also, just popping in my earbuds and listening to podcasts helps me while I drift off.

When I really need to sleep, I take a benadryl. Knocks me right out. But since I don't want to become habituated, I only use it when I MUST get some sleep (an occasional sleepless night won't kill me).

Also - am I the only one who's found gentle masturbation often makes me very sleepy? If I'm not intent on getting off, I can start gently masturbating and find myself more ready to fall asleep than to climax.

Using meds to sleep is a terrible and unhealthy habit to get into.

Download reddit OP. I scroll through it on my phone when I can't sleep in the middle of the night and it makes me tired and eventually I drift off.

If you can resist your phone - that's likely better, but when my mind starts racing in the middle of the night - I need something mindless to look at.

"gentle masturbation "

What the hell is that? I bang on it until it shoots. i'm not whispering sweet nothings in my own ear.

I am the one who suggested counting belamis. I actually did that, but also other things: exercise, but not hard. A very hard workout keeps me awake, even if it was before lunch. That might be different for you, though. Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but the quality of sleep will be subpar. No coffee after 12 if you are sensitive when it comes to caffeine. Jerk off is a good one, also if you want a quick nap during the day. Sleep-inducing hormones are released. Regular sleep-schedule, turn off lights/screens, all sorts of mindfulness and relaxation.

I would try all of these before medication. All medication also has side affects.

If this is a one-night thing, you will be fine.