I struggled starting at a very young age to get a proper night of sleep. The first dream I ever remembered was a nightmare. Bad dreams would follow me often for years. Sometimes I did not want to sleep because of it. I also struggled with mental hyperactivity no matter how tired I felt physically. I would end up in bed with my brain jumping from topic to topic. Even when I tried, I would end up just staring at the black digital clock with red numbering above my bed. I would end up making out the outline of images through the numbers like 25 being a vase or pot because of the shape. Rarely I would go an entire night without sleep but my average seemed to be 5 hours.

I ended up trying everything to fix my sleep. Here is what actually worked for me.

The first step was to keep a schedule. Do the same thing every night. Music, bedtime, praying, think, wait, sleep, and repeat the next night. I trained my brain to recognize a routine. I also started drinking warm milk before bed (as well as a little melatonin).

The equally important step though was mental training. I would retreat to a story from a novel I’ve been working on. A place I was intimately familiar with. A place with no surprises. I took away the stimulation. I was no longer being attacked with random facts and images. I was in control and it gave my body permission to shut down for the night.

With all these things combined, I have shortened the time it takes me to sleep from literal hours down to as little as a couple minutes sometimes. I feel better rested and enjoy being in bed so much more. I hope this is helpful to other people too.