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Lie still in bed

ognjen.io

141–150 of 246 posts

Re: Lie still in bed

#142
I also struggle to sleep due to anxiety about what I could or should be doing. I started using a visualization meditation technique.

I don’t watch a wide variety of tv, instead I tend to watch my favorites over and over again so I have a pretty good visual in my head.

I have ripped the audio from my favorite shows and put them on random with a 30 minute sleep timer. I focus on visualizing the episode as I’m listening to it as that keeps my mind from wandering, but since I know the episodes so well it also isn’t a struggle.

I’m rarely still awake by the time it stops playing after 30 minutes. And if I am or I wake up in the middle of the night, I can just tap the button on my nightstand and it continues playing for another 30 minutes. No need to open my eyes or take off my sleep mask.

For reference my primary shows are futurama (original seasons), psych, and next generation.

Re: Lie still in bed

#143
post #142

I also struggle to sleep due to anxiety about what I could or should be doing. I started using a visualization meditation technique. I don’t watch a wide variety of tv, instead I tend to watch my favorites over and over again so I have a pretty good visual in my head. I have ripped the audio from my favorite shows and put them on random with a 30 minute sleep timer. I focus on visualizing the episode as I’m listening…

I'll try this but just play the film on my laptop with the screen/keyboard light off.

Re: Lie still in bed

#144
post #137

I wrote [1] about my tip for falling sleep: Daydream. I now coach my own kids to do the same and it works. Essentially do not think about things that has happened; It just gets you annoyed with regrets that can not be changed. Do not think about the future; You will get excited, anxious, annoyed and too worked up to sleep. Also covers sports, politics, relationship, technology etc. Think about things that do not affe…

I’ve found something similar: to fall asleep visualise something vividly. It could be a scenario (a daydream as you suggest) or a scene.

The steps go something like this: be still, relax face, stop thinking (or distract self with audio you’re heard before), vividly picture, wake up.

Re: Lie still in bed

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My sister once taught me a small trick to calm myself down when I was anxious but had no idea what I was anxious about: Count down from a random 3-digit number, subtracting 7 at each count. (e.g. 794, 787, 780, 773, ...) Do it until I drift away and lose track, unable to continue. It works. I guess it's kind of in that "takes just enough brainpower" league. This takes more brain power than simply counting down though…

Counting down in difficult numbers is also a great way to get rid of hiccups. e.g. count down from 1987 in 23s.

For hiccups, this always works:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693610/

Re: Lie still in bed

#146
post #99
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Relevant Bob the Angry Flower comic: http://www.angryflower.com/221.html Instead of trying to focus on nothing at all, the standard trick to get around this problem is to focus on something extremely boring, such as your own breathing. The traditional "counting sheep" method of sleep induction could be considered a variant of this.

I use audiobooks that I’ve listened to many times. I know exactly what’s coming so it’s a bit boring but I can focus on the words.

I use MandaloreGaming's videos. They're longform content that I like, since I'm not learning new/essential information I can tune in and out, and his voice isn't too harsh.

Re: Lie still in bed

#147
post #137

I wrote [1] about my tip for falling sleep: Daydream. I now coach my own kids to do the same and it works. Essentially do not think about things that has happened; It just gets you annoyed with regrets that can not be changed. Do not think about the future; You will get excited, anxious, annoyed and too worked up to sleep. Also covers sports, politics, relationship, technology etc. Think about things that do not affe…

For years I fell asleep thinking about some math problem I was working on. Worked wonders, never had any issues falling asleep.

Then I left academia, and were no longer thinking about math all day. An unforeseen consequence: I started having issues falling asleep.

Now I need to regularly look up puzzles or maybe challenging programming problems, just to have something relaxing to fill my mind while falling asleep.

Re: Lie still in bed

#148
post #144
post #137

I wrote [1] about my tip for falling sleep: Daydream. I now coach my own kids to do the same and it works. Essentially do not think about things that has happened; It just gets you annoyed with regrets that can not be changed. Do not think about the future; You will get excited, anxious, annoyed and too worked up to sleep. Also covers sports, politics, relationship, technology etc. Think about things that do not affe…

I’ve found something similar: to fall asleep visualise something vividly. It could be a scenario (a daydream as you suggest) or a scene. The steps go something like this: be still, relax face, stop thinking (or distract self with audio you’re heard before), vividly picture, wake up.

> I’ve found something similar: to fall asleep visualise something vividly. It could be a scenario (a daydream as you suggest) or a scene.

This method also has the advantage for those of us who can't normally visualise while awake. When you are on the boundary of sleep you can somehow take advantage of your dream circuits to help you out. This is the only time of day I'm able to see anything but black when closing my eyes.

Re: Lie still in bed

#149
post #136
post #88

I used to be really bad at falling asleep. I'm not talking 30 minutes or 45 minutes, but sometimes 3 whole hours without being able to get 1 second of sleep. I didn't even touch my phone once while in bed. I also had a lot of trouble finding the right position in which to sleep to feel comfortable (not even talking about finding the right mattress/pillow combination). Somehow, I trained myself at sleeping on my back…

For people sleeping alone, this counting technique might be a nerdy alternative: http://www.dirk-loss.de/calmyourmind/ Moreover, I find Shinzen Young's reframing helpful: "Amazingly, it’s possible to get a good night’s rest without necessarily sleeping much or at all. Two things are required: (1) that the body get rest by lying very still and corpse-like. (2) that the consciousness get rest by engaging in a systemati…

It’s called Kelno'reem

Re: Lie still in bed

#150
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For people sleeping alone, this counting technique might be a nerdy alternative: http://www.dirk-loss.de/calmyourmind/ Moreover, I find Shinzen Young's reframing helpful: "Amazingly, it’s possible to get a good night’s rest without necessarily sleeping much or at all. Two things are required: (1) that the body get rest by lying very still and corpse-like. (2) that the consciousness get rest by engaging in a systemati…

It’s called Kelno'reem

That only works if you have a snake in your belly though.
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