Camomile tea is a gentle sedative, or you could try some Valerian capsules. Camomile is non-addictive, and I'm pretty sure that Valerian isn't either.

I always listen to my radio when lying in bed. That helps for me.

playing guitar makes me fall asleep...

Concentrate on your breathing, its an incredibly easy way to block out all other forms of concious thought, thus paving the way for sleep.
Music, ive found, is good, alhtough it takes time to kick in.
DO NOT BUY CASETTE TAPES OF RELAXATION MUSIC. By the time your almost asleep, the tape ends with a ear-splitting, CLICK, and your no closer to sleep as you were when you started..


Surprisingly, one tactic i had to induce sleep once was to tink about the Zerg Overlords from starcraft. VERY weird

heh, they were extremely sloooowww... maybe thats where you get your boredom from.

Try telling your self to relax.

First part: Mind over body
Lie on your back, eyes closed. First tell your feet to relax (in your mind). Keep telling them untill they are relaxed. Then move to your legs. and up, and so on. Once you get to your chest, work on calming your breathing. You shouldn't need to breath too much.

Second part: A little bit more difficult...
Close your eyes, and picture in your mind a large dumpster. Now picture what is bugging you the most in your life, shove it into that dumpster. Do this for every single thought in your mind. Bills, work, Timmy not getting his homework done... and so on. Once you have all of your thoughts are in that dumpster, shove it out of view. Imagine you are just looking at a white piece of paper. Concentrate only on that piece of paper, nothing else around you (unless there is a fire....) for about one minute, more if you want. Useually by now, all of your muscles find it sort of difficult to move (if you did it right).

Third Part: Self Meditation
If you are still awake....
Tell your body what time you want to wake up. And that you want to wake up refreshed and ready to start a new day. Keep telling yourself this....


This usually works for me. The time I set I usually can hit +/- 15 minutes, almost any time I set as well. This process is called self Hypnosis.

Don't dis this, it works...



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try not to even think about falling asleep nor doing anything to induce it. i've always had at ough time niddin' off so i use the time to think in the peaceful silence which no other time affords me. holidays...work...the deeper meaning of meatballs....whatever. usually i just get tired and sleep. next mornin' i can't even remember what it was i did to induce it

"My sig is in the post but the man in the shop promised I will find it witty and topical when it arrives."

Find someone you can talk to about that life event and pour your heart out.

why has indy been pouring out some flawless advice past few days?

seriously though, i totally agree with indy here. you let that problem go. you'll sleep easier. i used to be unable to go to sleep till the wee hours in the morning.. i'd toss around and around and around.. till i started opening up to my gf. now i fall asleep within the hour. which isn't perfect, but a huge improvement.

Well thanks Kimk.

go over the day's events or think about a game distract yourself

No no no, all wrong. The worst thing you can do is tell yourself to go to sleep. I used to do that when i was young(er) and had great difficulty getting to sleep, sometimes not for an hour.

Always think about something, allowing yourself to go into into a semi-dream state, and you will fall asleep. Sometimes i get so engrossed in the semi-dream state, when i hear a noise, i realise i'm in bed and not somewhere else.

Clearing the mind does not work , as everyone knows, your mind is active while you are asleep, so clearing it simply wakes you up as your mind franticaly tries to think of something to think about.

Try this. See how long you can't think of anything for. Let me guess. About 3 seconds. Your mind will immidiately wander, waking you up.

Here's a descriptive analysis of your name I pulled out of my a.....excuse me...off the internet.

The name Balthazar creates the urge to be self-expressive and responsible, but it can cause an argumentative, impulsive, and extravagant nature if it is not combined with a balanced last name. This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses in the liver, bloodstream, and reproductive organs.

Judging from the pseudonym you have chosen, I'd say you have some Rage Issues. I would know since I wrote the book on Rage Issues.

No kidding.

I'd consult a Psychiatrist and attempt to deal with your issues before you get permanent insomnia and end up spending your entire nights online like I'm doing now.

You don't want your "personal situation".. falling off.

Glock36
"No Comment"

Thanks guys....

@Esquilax: I'll have to find some of that stuff next time I'm out in the shop, and I'll give it a shot.

@Wizard: Yeah that used to work for me too, but recently it doesn't seem to anymore.

@kimk: Don't have an instrument to play sadly, except maybe the digereedoo in my room.

@Arania: Haven't tried that yet, I'll try it tonight. And I'll take your word for those cassettes.

@Sirius: I tried your method, the first and second bits worked well, but my mind gets suspicious when it's too relaxed and tries to wake up the body everytime with a jolt. I'll have to practise it more.

@Druid: I like spending my time before I go to sleep thinking as well, but I can't anymore for reasons which I'll go into below.

@Indy11: I've been trying that and now all the big issues aren't on my mind so much when I'm asleep, still need more though.

@the master cheif: Roger that

@Outcast 1-1: I've tried what you mentioned, more below.

@Glock36: Well, there's quite a story behind the name I've got here and on the bottom of my original post. The moniker Balthazar Furious was created a couple years ago for various reasons. Most of which would make this board say, "What the hell is wrong with that guy?" or, "I don't believe a word of it." so I won't go into that. Suffice to say though, that soon I hope the surname will no longer be accurate come the end of Christmas for various more reasons.


After taking most of your suggestions on board and trying what I can with the time I've had I can get to sleep a little faster. Often though, I'm actually uncomfortable lying in bed, no matter what position I try to sleep in I feel uncomfortable and awkward. Any ideas on that? Oh and on a semi-related note, while I was laying awake one night I noticed my mind was sifting through thoughts on its own so I let it wander. As it did it was moving through various worlds and one I'll never forget, I think the view was from on/near a planet's rings which were rather more thick than most rings around planets. And there were these two planets close together spinning further away and the colours around was so spectacular. I wish I were able to draw it for you guys. Went to other places too like this vast futuristic city with ships or anti-grav things flying around everywhere. It wasn't interesting when I tried to conciously influence where it went though. Anyway , so yeah, any suggestions or ideas?

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The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary. - James D. Nicoll

Love blinds us to faults, but hatred blinds us to virtues. - Iba Ezra