If you have trouble sleeping, what helps you drift off?

[awaywiththecircus]

Don’t know if it’s my age (46), but during lockdown I started waking in the night with irrational worries. It’s almost like I have to think of something to fret about and I think it’s become a habit. I try working through the alphabet thinking of things beginning with a, b, c etc but this is getting tedious now. So what do you do when you can’t sleep?

Another vote here for audio books. Nice cosy and comforting reads that i already know well (am currently doing LOTR again). If I wake up my brain just links in to the story and sort of drifts off again - it certainly stops me from worrying. You have to pick the right books though (and children's books are among the best). It's like being read to by a grown up whilst snuggling in bed.

I tense and relax my body and make lists in my head until I nod off.

Meditation before bed works for me.

I say the alphabet backwards. It's just difficult enough to concentrate the 'doing' part of my mind that would otherwise be engaging with stimulating thought (worries, planning etc) and I can't just rush though it like counting backwards, but it's boring enough not to stand in the way of sleep.

I have had appalling insomnia for years - I never got to sleep before 2.30am,,and it was leaving me feeling wrecked.

I tried pillow sprays, magnesium, lavender, cbd oil, over the counter sleeping tablets, prescription sleeping tablets, meditation, mindfulness etc etc - nothing worked.

Eventually I tried audiobooks - and it works! I am kicking myself for not trying them sooner - I was worried about it keeping dh awake, and didn’t think I could justify the cost of wireless earphones (since it was only for me, and I don’t matter).

Currently I am listening to Dan Jones telling me about the Plantagenets, the Wars of the Roses and the Tudors - it is something I am very interested in, but I am finding it very soporific. Judging by how far I have to go back, each day, to find the last bit I remember hearing, I am falling asleep in 20-30 minutes each night - which is amazing.

Audiobooks is the way to go. Agree with all other listeners.

I have Brown Noise ( much more soothing than white noise) on in the background and do the 4-7-8 breathing tecnique. It's amazing.

I may have to try audiobooks after reading all of the recommendations! I usually count and focus on my breathing; breathing in and out slowly. I find reading (a book not on my kindle) before bed helps me switch off quicker too.

Oh yes and I second Dan Jones and the Plantagenets!

If you want audio books to sleep with, please do listen to a sample first. Some narrators (Mr Jones and the wonderful Stephen Fry, for example) have terrific 'bedtime book' voices. Others can be too shrill or too shouty for really relaxing listening.

I find it's less the content than the narrator, but I have learned an ENORMOUS amount about history since I've slept with audio books. Non fiction is better than fiction because you don't have to stay awake to find out how it turns out.