How to fall asleep at night.

[KittyCatsby]

How can I fall asleep and not lay there for hours , then get up , and after an hour or so try to go back to bed to sleep ?
I go to bed but my mind won't switch off . Sometimes it processes the day , or the next day , but often it starts to think about random shit . Last night it was the phonetic alphabet , so in my head I'm going Alpha , Bravo , Charlie , Delta etc several times over . Then it might jump to trying to remember something from years ago , like a wedding I attended , or something I should have said to someone.
Having a snorer next to you doesn't help , even with ear plugs , I toss and turn as well , then start to ponder where my arms should be. It's an never ending , mind going into overdrive , heap of shit
If you've had similar , how it you manage to turn off and sleep ? .
I've tried telling my mind to switch off , or to just see the blackness behind my eyes but that doesn't help.

I'm going to switch off screens by 8 pm as well.

Does it help if you listen to something? I find having the radio or an audiobook on really quietly helps me drop off.

Try the headspace app, there's stories and wind down things. I swear by it!

I’ve been listening to yoga nidra meditations on YouTube.

Read for half an hour in bed - clears your mind of any other thoughts and helps you to drop off.

I also listen to sounds when I fall asleep. Though I'd never admit to anyone in real life, most nights I fall asleep listening to ASMR. really relaxes me

Radio 4. Put a timer on.
Hypnotherapy for sleep on you tube. Loads of them, find a voice you like and make sure your device isn’t set to play the next.
Breathe in and out slowly, count down from 10, each number on an out breath.
Do a walk in your head, around a house, somewhere you like walking, look at every details on the walk.

I find a fab routine helps! I also use the neom magnesium body butter and pillow sprays - they are great. Occasionally if I'm really struggling I'll use melatonin and that helps!

Listen to something - try a few things. I like the Get Sleepy podcast (very dull stories narrated by a chap called Thomas), or an audio book (but miss most of it due to falling asleep!),

Also heard about a theory that we can have two periods of sleep (biphasic sleep) so don't stress if I wake up, I just do something until I feel sleepy again.

Tried pillow sprays , can't use them as don't even use air fresheners , plug ins etc. I have always read in bed. Do you listen to apps with an early in ? Wouldn't want to disturb the snorer !
Yes I've tried imaging myself laying on beaches , gently walking through fields of flowers etc, mind still wanders.

I read until I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. If ever I can't sleep, I make an old fashioned milky drink, cocoa or ovaltine, which sends me off within minutes.

This is me, exactly the same! I also get an ear worm which can be purgatory.

I did nhs sleepstation program through work, it worked. But it was bloody difficult and you really need to persevere.

You have my sympathy