Routine. The more I do during the day, the quicker I sleep, and I don’t sit on my phone in bed. My napping puppy also helps he feel sleepy
I have a routine. I follow it.
Close your eye. Look out into the darkness. Eventually you’ll start seeing shapes, echoes of your thoughts. Now use your imagination to make it feel like you’re falling or flying through a tunnel. Just be aware of the tunnel sliding by, don’t think of anything, not the tunnel, not the flying, nothing. Next thing you’ll be asleep. Works every time! 🙂
Don’t smoke/drink coffee/use your phone just before going to sleep. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and will keep you awake for longer, and phones give off an blue light that’ll make your brain think it’s daytime.
Reserve your bed only for sleeping, do your work etc. Somewhere else. That way you’ll start associating going to bed with sleeping!
Before going to bed read a book or do some simple chores, those will help you relax and unwind. Remember to also put your phone away like an hour or so before going to sleep! Also put it somewhere you won’t be able to see it so it won’t distract you.
But the most important thing is to not try to force yourself to fall asleep, a couple of missed hours of sleep won’t affect you much, if at all. Don’t look at the clock either because it’ll make you stress, but also because you’ll be able to trick your brain into thinking that you slept enough if you don’t know how much you actually slept.
And if everything else fails and you’re lying in bed staring at the ceiling for hours, go do something else for a moment. Keep reading that book for a moment or get a glass of water. You’ll be able to distract yourself and your body for a moment, and try again.
And as many have already said: make yourself an bed time routine, which you follow every time you go to sleep. Your brain will start associating that routine with you going to sleep.
I hit my self in the head with a bat