Ask HN: When you can't fall asleep, what do you do?

Assume that this is probably going to be a bad night, you will not sleep much and tomorrow you will be tired. First of all accept that, or you will feel even more anxious. The good part is that tomorrow night you will be tired, so it will be easier to fall sleep.

Then, try to do something to distract yourself. It is really boring to spend the night laying on the bed and feeling miserable because you cannot sleep. Grab a book or watch a film, at least you will do something profitable during the night. Finally, at some point, you will fall asleep. It will be probably too late, but at this point there's nothing you can do about that.

IMPORTANT: Wake up at your time. You will feel extremely tired, and it will be really hard to wake up; but if you sleep until late, you will be altering your internal clock and next day you won't be able to sleep early neither.

If you cannot sleep for several days in a row, probably you should see a doctor. He will be able to help you.

I take 6mg of melatonin. Every night. I have found it allows me to fall asleep within a half hour instead of it taking two hours.

Maintaining good sleep hygiene is often very helpful. Avoid blue light before going to bed. Physical activity and exercise are important. Try not to eat right before going to bed.

When I am really stressed out and just can't sleep, I lie in bed and daydream, (often it's some type of fantasy where I get to live in the future where mankind is living throughout the solar system, I digress). I find doing this calms me down, making it easier to fall asleep.