Sleep

What is your relationship like with sleep? Does anyone have any tips or tricks about good sleep?

I am staying away from home alone, and last night I had the first good sleep I have had in months, and it made such a difference! My mind is more clear and lively and I feel like I have a sense of humour.

One thing I do is that I stay up way too late trying to get alone time after the hectic day, so regularly I only get 4 hours of sleep a night! But I find it very difficult to sleep anyway, as I lay awake for hours worrying or feeling resentful. I am no stranger to insomnia and at times it was very bad.

I really want to talk about something I have noticed over the years, which is the state between awake and asleep. It is when my inner monologue goes from being a coherent single voice, to being diffused and diffracted. A lot of nonsensical and unrelated thoughts and pictures start flickering through my mind, instead of just one rational voice. It's almost a dreamlike or hypnotic state when I am just flowing along with the bizarre thoughts, and I know as soon as I go into that state I will go to sleep very soon, but I'm not sure exactly how to deliberately put myself into that state.

I have been trying to get into this state by focusing on sensory things and I think it helps. Sometimes there is a noise somewhere in my environment that is faintly droning on and I tune in to it. Sometimes I say the same words again and again in my mind, like a mantra, like "Sleep soon, sleep soon, sleep soon, sleep soon". Sometimes I remember the voice of someone who has talked to me during the day and I let it drone on in my mind. I relax all of the little muscles around my eyes and forehead (there are many), and I try to feel how heavy my body is on the bed. I've sort of being trying to fiddle with the right combination of things to put myself into a state that will lead to sleep.

Do others have any thoughts or stories about sleep, whether what I have written, or experiences in general? Thank you