For the last few months I have found it increasingly hard to get to sleep. I’m usually up to about 3 or 4 am. I don’t know why, and it means that I have absolutely no energy during the day.
So, any tips? (Without the assistance of prescription drugs or alcohol).
Counting sheep? Music?
Please help me. 
Um, change to a more comforting screen-name? 
Welcome to the boards, Mr/Ms McS, and I relly wish I knew an answer for you. 
Hehe, I actually got this name from the Something Awful forums. It was mentioned in a thread where people were coming up with ‘angsty’ names, and I found ‘Wristy McSlashalot’ amusing.
I tend to read until I bonk myself in the head with my book. When that happens I know its time to turn out the lights. It’s not bad when I am reading a paperback but right now I am working on The Stand by S. King (hardcover) and I have a bruise on my forhead from that one…
Would a fan or something to create white noise help you sleep? I have to run a fan since I cannot sleep in dead silence. Also, is it dark enough in the room to sleep comfortably? And, as obvious as it sounds, do you drink caffeinated beverages? I hold off on all caffeine after I am home from work, and I may even cut it back further than that since I have trouble sleeping myself (as I write this at 12:30 AM and have to get up in six hours). Lastly, if all else fails, see your doctor to discuss this matter.
Herbs such as valerian and camomile are often said to help, although I am not too sure that they do hlep me.
Well, ** Wristy, ** whenever I have trouble sleeping it usually means that I wake up too late in the mornings. So if I consistently wake up at say 7ish in the mornings (that’s early for me) I’ll usually find myself dozing off at around 10:30 or 11:00 at night.
Perhaps too much stress is keeping you awake?
Oh - and nice username 
A to Z games work for me. First, I think of all the people I know whose names start with A, then B, and so forth. If I’m still awake, I think of food beginning with A, then B… plants, TV shows, anything. this usually works for people suffering sleeplessness because they ‘find it difficult to turn their brain off’.
Failing that, coma-inducing levels of masturbation are always an option
My problem that I can’t get myself to get into bed, but that’s not what you meant, right?
Some excercise during the day definitely helps. I sometimes read a relaxing book until I start to feel sleepy. It’s better to re-read a book you already like - that way you don’t get too engrossed with the book.
I’ve heard that it helps to turn down the light in the evening, starting at least 3 hours before the time you intend to go to bed. Just bright enough to read without straining.
Same problem here. I am going to talk to a professional about this, it has gotten progressively worse for me over the past 6 months.
People will parrot all the typical stuff to you:
Avoid: Stress, Alcohol, Caffeine
Get plenty of exercise. Don’t stay in bed if you aren’t sleeping. wear earplugs. wear a pillow-y eye cover. Try melatonin.
Yeah. And when all of that doesn’t work? You fucking go nuts and are grumpy all day and nonproductive at work.
::deep breath:: So anyway. yeah. I am hoping doc can help me out. I have a script for ambien, that works pretty well. Also I like to load up on codeine for sleeping but I can’t in good conscious recommend that anyone else do that.
Let me know if you find anything out, I sure could use some tips.
“conscious” should read “conscience”. This is what happens at 314 AM.
Oh, and no disrespect intended to anyone offering suggestions, I am just generally grumpy about this sort of thing because nothing has helped me to this point.
One more thing, a psychiatrist might be able to help too. Inability to sleep and lack of energy during the day can be symptoms of mild depression, and treatable as such. (IANAD but I’ve gone through it as a patient.)
And Potter has a point, masturbation helps too. (Though I’d very much like to know how he manages “coma-inducing levels” assuming Potter is male. Actually I’d like to know either way. )
(Disclaimer: I have no independent validation that this works, but I’ve been doing it for twenty-some years.)
Meditation. I guess it’s meditation, anyway.
Lie in bed in a comfortable position, in the dark, eyes, comfortably shut. I like to lie flat and cross my arms over my chest, but something different may work for you. Now, relax every part of your body, one by one. I start from the head and go downward, but I suppose that’s up to you.
Don’t think “relax”; you’ve heard that, and tried that, a million times. Instead, concentrate on sending no motor impulses at all from your brain to your body, part by part. Start with your face; no one can see you, so stop telling your face what to do. Then the neck; your head is supported, so trust that and quit telling your neck what to do. And so on, throughout your entire body.
It gets difficult when you get to certain places like your chest (where breathing is involved), but you’ll learn soon how to stop controlling but still let your autonomous (?) nervous system keep working. For some reason my mouth is tough to shut down (insert joke here), but with a bit of concentration I can do it.
After a few minutes of this, you’ve allowed your mind to quit thinking about your body completely, and it will take off and pretty quickly get to sleep. It takes practice, but I started doing it at a young age, and I do it every night. Sometimes, when I’m really tense, it takes a while, and in fact muscles that have been tense all day will start twitching uncontrollably when I quit unconsciously flexing them, but if you keep going, they’ll stop.
Hope this helps; insomnia can be a bitch. I suggest you follow up on the other suggestions here as well, since they’re from people who seem to know what they’re talking about.
basically, if none of these rather obvious variables apply to you, start keeping a track of rough fall-asleep and wake-up times. also try out the home remedies people here have suggested.
if a consistent pattern of sleeplessness emerges even after this, see your GP. also, if you go to him with a record of how you’ve been sleeping, he’ll really take you seriously.
I’ve used jackalope’s technique in the opposite direction - starting with my toes and working up. Sometimes I’m out before I’m done relaxing my legs.
Lately, I’ve found that watching TV zonks me out. This works well because I have a timer feature on my TV - I can set it to turn off by itself. And since I watch rather boring programs anyway (like HGTV) I’m not being overstimulated by explosions and stuff.
I count to myself. Not sheep or anything. Just numbers. And try to go at a moderate pace, without skipping over any. I have never reached 1000 before drifting off.
Of course I can only speak for what works for me, but I read until I can’t maintain my focus on the page anymore, put the book or magazine on the nightstand, turn off the light, and I’m usually out within minutes.
In addition to everything else above…
I discovered last night that I can’t sleep with my mouth open. Due to allergies, sometimes I get a little clogged up. Once I get my sinuses cleared out, I can breathe through my nose again and right to sleep.
Failing that, I landscape in my head. I visualize certain parts of my yard that need work and literally dig the holes, put in the plants, water, etc. A couple weeks ago, I built a water feature throughout my backyard (in my head) that started with a fountain in one corner and ran a little stream through the yard to a goldfish pond at the other corner. It was pretty.
I listen to the BBC World Service on the radio, turned down low.
I read, take a bath, drink tea, and make sure I get some exercise during the day to wear me out.
If that fails, I have valium on hand…