Tips for a good night's sleep?

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It works! The breathing tip, that is.

moved from General Autism Discussion to Health, Fitness, and Sports

i also concentrate on my breathing. in my mind, i say the word IIIIIINNNNNNN as i inhale and OOOOUUUUUUT as i exhale. sometimes a few thoughts will intrude but i dash them away and refocus. i don't have trouble falling asleep anymore - it used to take me hours to fall asleep. i had that problem from early childhood until a decade ago when i started using this technique. now i have difficulty staying asleep, but that is a new challenge.

If you can't sleep, don't try to, you'll just disappoint yourself. Get up and do something instead.

Try to avoid regular lights for a few hours before bedtime. I use the yellow anti bug lightbulbs in my bedside lamp. Blue light (any normal incandescent bulb produces blue light despite being clear) will keep you awake. Candle light won't affect your sleep, either- so you could burn some candles if you are so inclined. Be careful with melatonin, if you take it regularly, you may have difficulties producing adequate amounts of it in the future.

I use a satin sleep mask (which I initially was very resistant to but became used to it), on top of having my window blacked out, sound machine (with rain which is my favorite), a humidifier (for good health & moist breathing passages), a fairly comfy bed (I'm not thrilled with it, but I'm like the princess and the pea), and plenty of pillows so I can switch them out (while i'm asleep) for the cool side, and I love a down comforter (warm but cool and not too heavy).

Heavy blankets scare me.

I work overnight shifts and I hate it but I kind of have to, so my sleep is all messed up.

Hope you find relief and get some good sleep. When I can't sleep I like to try to stay awake and that sometimes sends me into sleepy time.
The worst is when your mind won't shut up long enough to go to sleep- I sometimes wish I could turn my brain off.

May I be so bold as to ask why nobody has breached the subject of masturbation..?

Without a fan or open window, it's often the only way I can fall asleep.

The chemicals your brain releases during and after orgasm make it easier to fall asleep so as to regain the energy expended in sex.

It works. It sounds dumb, but it really does work. I either have to masturbate or be in a state of ready to physically pass out (be it drunk or exhausted or just mentally drained from being surrounded by people) or I will lay awake for HOURS, just thinking about various things or reading.

Avoid mentally engaging activity for the hour or two before sleep. No television, heavy/intriguing reading, serious or heavy conversations, etc.

Also, as mentioned above, don't do mentally engaging stuff in bed- have your brain associate the time and place where you regularly sleep with no stimulating activities.

I recommend having a more extensive winding-down ritual before bed. Most people have some sort of pre-sleep habits: plenty of people change into pjs and wash up and brush their teeth and then go directly to bed. I mean adding to that: meditating in bed in a way that relaxes the mind and body, or playing the same music every night. I find I am highly programmable- if I do certain things together my body picks up the association. I used to listen to the same music before bed every night, and after a while I'd be more able to sleep whenever I heard it. I don't do this every night anymore, but when I need extra help to go to sleep I play that music.

The word meditation can mean dozens of different mental practices, the important thing is to find something that works for you. One idea is to spend a few minutes focused on removing all the thoughts and stresses of the day from your mind. Next, spend a few more minutes bringing in positive thoughts and affirmations. Another idea is to close your eyes and imagine a pleasant fictional place (or even a real place, say somewhere in nature that has no complicated associations in your mind) and mentally dive into embellishing every detail- the color of the sky or the shape of the clouds or the smell of the air or the sound of birds. The intent behind that one, I believe, is to get your mind to focus entirely on that place and by doing so to letting go of any other things your mind might think about.

Another thing to mention is that people need time while they are awake where they aren't really doing anything mentally, so their waking mind can think. Going on a walk or driving without any music, for example, gives your mind space to think freely and without the pressure of some immediate task at hand. Your brain needs unstructured thinking time and if you don't give it to it during the day it may take it at night, not allowing you to get to sleep when you want to.

I knew someone who slept great until he discovered audiobooks. Why have just whitenoise or music or talk radio you'll ignore when you can listen to that book you've been meaning to read? He noticed that he would wake up in the night thinking about the problems he encountered in his work or throughout the day, be up for hours maybe thinking about it or something else or trying to get to sleep or doing something else entirely, and eventually fall asleep again. It was weeks before he figured out that before he started reading with his ears his daily commute provided valuable unstructured thinking time.

Another good example is of a close friend who lost sleeping well right around the time when people were getting mp3players left and right. It wasn't until her ipod broke that she realized her mind needed those times that she folded laundry, washed dishes, got groceries, etc without continuous music. Music can be an ignorable background for some people, and it can consume important pieces of your mind's attention for others.

The point I'm getting at is that your brain needs free time, and will sometimes take it forcibly when it doesn't get it.

This explains a lot. Thanks!

Hey i just joined this forum tonight because it's 2am in aus and I can't sleep. I am listening to rain and thunder storms seems to be working ok so far in regards to calming me down, but still not asleep yet. My sister doesn't sleep well either and stays awake till 6am and my dad gets up at all hours of the night too. When I go to sleep I usually sleep through the whole night but my body never wants to go to sleep and that is my main problem. It seems disinterested in sleep and wants to find out what the rest of the awake members of the house are doing. I enjoying looking out the window too to see if anyone down the street is up to anything interesting. Any advice from anyone on how to get to sleep?

Has nothing over the previous two pages worked?

Alcohol.