Ask Lemmy

40k lore. Thanks fr all the Luetin

Fester in my skull

One of the best pieces of advice I got...tell yourself a story in your head. Pick a book, movie, show, game, whatever you're very familiar with and tell yourself that story. Start from the very beginning and be as detailed as possible. You'll be out in 5 minutes. I used to do it with KotOR but after a while I got so familiar with it that it stopped working.

Nowadays I write like Star Trek fanfic with convoluted explanations, and attempt scripting out new movies in my head

Well, I once had chemical induced insomnia from a Pepsi I drank too late and even God himself couldn't have fixed that one, it was annoying as heck. But what I did is I lay in bed and I thought about stuff all night. Currently I'm worldbuilding a space fic so it was mostly about space. And I started imagining what the scenes would look like, what dialogue I would write. I usually do that anyway to fall asleep but the damn chemicals did keep me up. I do not recommend the chemicals.

So I guess, for real you actually do have to quit caffeine and alcohol. Also don't give up and look at the internet. That shit is wakeful asf. I actually use it to banish grogginess in the morning, it is better than coffee. Also! Don't ever look at the time. If you perceive the time going by it just stresses you out which slows down sleep. Time is an illusion. Even 1 hour of sleep will improve on how you currently feel.

I guess you can try breathing and counting and stuff, I always find that I get bored doing that. That's why I like to imagine things. But it has to specifically be unrelated to anything stressful. Godspeed my brothers.

I take prescribed sleeping medication that usually works. If it happens to not I'll smoke some pot and I'm sound asleep till a reasonable hour in the morning.

Stay awake

Eventually, I had to go to a doctor for a diagnosis. Apparently I can't breathe at night.

Fap

Rot until 4AM, then ruminate in the b a d thoughts until exhaustion gives way to alarms and caffeine

Doomscroll

Podcasts.

I saw a hack, years ago, probably on reddit since I was there at the time (so, long ago) that was like thinking “since I’m awake, let me just get up and do some chores”, like washing yesterday’s dishes you left in the sink to soak. Apparently at the prospect, you then sleep like a baby It’s a similar brain glitch to like once the alarm goes off and you hit snooze, I fall asleep in seconds. Stupid brains…

I put a particle physics or cosmology video on in the background, where the subject matter veers into some math, and it is just outside my range of intuitive comprehension.

It lets me find a headspace where I can selectively pay attention to things, but also drift away when the subject matter is just leaking out my other ear

Eventually I'll just be asleep

read, eventually I fall asleep. sometimes 3am, sometimes 5AM but I have no alarm clock or cummute, ao i wake up when i need a piss :)

Drink heavily

DO NOT FUCKIN TAKE THAT AS ADVICE

I used to have really bad insomnia, but through lower caffeine, extra exercise, and a consistent sleep schedule I've mostly beaten it.

But today I'm sick, which almost always means being up the entire night. Not a great combo.

When all of my usual tricks fail I usually just embrace it. Get up, watch TV, play a game, or read. No reason to be bored AND miserable.

Curious how other people handle it.

Break every good sleep habit I have. Does it help? No. Does it feel good to do so? Also no. Will I stop? Not likely

Heard this trick on the radio a few months ago and it seems to work for me.

Think of a word, I usually do something short like "cat" or "dog". Let's use "dog" for this example.

Take the first letter and list every single word you can think of that starts with the same letter. So, for "dog", think of all words that start with the letter "d"

Once you run out of "d" words or are taking more than a few seconds between each one, go to the next letter and do the same thing. So, all words that start with "o". Continue until you're asleep or have to pick a new word.

You're lookin' at it.

Turn on pink noise and scroll Lemmy

Worry and sometimes disassociate. Also, cry.

Sleep With Me Podcast

Get up, wash my face, then read. Have to get your mind off sleep.

Slow paced docs, reading a book, listening to sounds of rain, low/no caffeine hot tea, weed

The best way to sleep when you can't is calculate a trajectory where you run, jump and hit the headboard so hard you get a concussion, works every time! /s ofc

Man, I'm tired as shit and it's only 1:38pm

If marijuana or masturbation aren't cutting it, rewatch some familiar TV - TNG, X-Files, Batman TAS. The familiarity usually puts me out, sometimes I'll watch six episodes and get an hour sleep.

wank it, that usually helps

I just lay still with my eyes closed and wait. That's how 100% of the times I've fallen asleep have begun so I trust it to work this time as well.

Thrash.

Move to the couch or sleep the opposite way (head where feet usually go). If that doesn’t work I start organizing files on my pc. Brain will relent because it loathes file organizing

If I'm stuck worrying about something or reliving an event, I need to get my mind out of the fear or problem solving mode. I use the alphabet game where you pick a category then give an answer for each letter. Desserts, plants, countries, anything like that. If you can't get one, skip it and come back. If it doesn't work, a horny version tends to help one-track my kind.

Its funny how pretending to sleep can so often turn into sleep. Fake it till you make it.

... 😏 ✋🏿

Zopiclone, Fedi, porn, YouTube, The Elder Scrolls soundtrack, sext with a previous fling, gym, write heartfelt messages to family members, poke myself with pocket knife without causing lacerations, spy on my pothead neighbors, writhe.

I recently started taking 1.5mg melatonin if I feel like shit before bed, or if I'm really tired, or of for some reason I expect not to sleep well. It helps quite a bit I think, I usually fall right asleep pretty fast if I take it.

I recommend it. But don't abuse it very often. And don't buy the expensive stuff. I think I paid like 15 euro for a pack of 60 tablets of 3mg that I bite half from.

If it's just one night, I meditate to try to clear my mind and keep it from racing and keeping me awake, and if that doesn't help I take diphenhydramine. If it happens over many nights, I quit drinking alcohol and caffeine, and maybe take nyquil to get me through any discomfort from quitting those.

Not sleep