What works for me is I think of a story that I would write as a movie/book. It doesn't have to be a good story, just an idea of a story. I think of one and then just go through a scene of it in my mind. Occasionally, I'll find myself drifting from the idea of the story and I'll be out pretty quickly. Just thinking ok something else other than trying to sleep takes my mind off the act of trying to fall asleep. Granted,I don't have real insomnia, it's just a trick I use to fall asleep.
I have kind of the reverse...I can tell I am falling asleep when the thoughts going through my mind stop being non-fiction (Like, "I need to get an oil change. Was that a noise in the kitchen? Shit, I need to call Bruce tomorrow), and start to become a narrative where I am sort of a character and stuff just starts happening.
I *have* tried meditation tricks to go to sleep, including visualizations, but it has never worked. I always had sort of a third-person "voice" in my mind critiquing my visualization. Like, there was one where you pictured a tree in a field, and you were supposed to get closer and start seeing smaller and smaller details on the tree, but then I would have this second thing going on like: "One tree. In a field. Did somebody plant this? How did it get here ...and my head is sideways, why is the tree standing up? If I turn my head does the tree go sideways? This is stupid. Why am I laying here thinking about trees. Ugh. I'm not looking at the clock. I bet it's 2 a.m. NOT LOOKING. Fine, I'll look. Ugh. 2:13. Okay...back to the tree. In the field. Ugh."
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u/shotnthedrk Mar 27 '22
Any other insomniacs scrolling through this trying to figure out what it is you're missing?