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Comment by ruminasean | Hacker News Reader

I've tried pretty much everything in the course of my lifelong insomnia, and still my nighttime mind racing is still consistent enough that it's literally my username across all my online apps ("rumination" plus my name). I've had some success with lavender drops right before bed, but I'll give this a shot too, because why not?

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I used to have sleepless night once in a while generally due to over-thinking while lying on the bed for years till 2014/15. I experimented with meditation before sleep and since then I haven't had a single sleepless night in all these years. The practice is simple. Turn lights off. Sit (with hips on the pillow) on the same bed you're going to sleep. Sit straight and comfortably (preferably in cross-legged pose), gently close your eyes. Now concentrate on the area Right in the middle of your chest. You can feel bone, muscle or anything else when you focus here. Just continue to concentrate on that physical sensation you're experiencing. Just discard every thought that comes even the thought of how much time has passed. If mind drifts onto some thought, gently bring it back to the area and its sensations. About 8 to 10 minutes of this meditation and you're ready to sleep. Lie down, keep the focus on the same middle of the chest area and don't entertain any thought. They'll still come and if you focus on them, start analyzing/thinking about them, you'll lose the peaceful state just gained with meditation. And you may have to do it again

I generally fall asleep within first few minutes of lying down after this meditation.

The above is my personally tested and daily practiced method. You can also try Yoga Nidra guided meditation audio which has helped people in relaxing the mind before sleep. Go here http://www.swamij.com/Meditations.htm

I just count backwards from 1000. I figured the repetitive chanting bit of counting is what puts you to sleep so starting at a higher number gets you immediately to the repetitive chanty bit, and doing it backwards adds just enough mental overhead that my brain has to mostly shut up all its other chatter (although recently I've noticed that I can just count backwards while also thinking about all the other stuff...)

I just count upwards normally, so it's not a lot of mental work and I can let my mind wander. I also imagine myself hitting the snooze button on my alarm. Nothing makes me fall asleep faster than needing to be awake.

I use high CBD tincture 25:1 and a sleep tincture composed of about 30% indica thc/cbd and the rest non addictive herbs.

I have a lot of pain and am unable to dissociate from it enough to sleep until I’m completely exhausted which several nights a week meant no sleep or just a few hours. These tinctures along with another pain medication (extremely low dose naltrexone, no side effects except better sleep for me) allow me to get a very good nights sleep 80-90% of the time which was a significant improvement in quality of life.

Give it a try if you are having no luck elsewhere!

If you're open to some other experiments, I've had success with ashwagandha and CBD.

Someone at burning man just recommended CBD so I'm excited to see this timely validation.

You need to look at the terpene profile of the CBD, the wrong terpene profile can actually energize you. Also CBD in small doses can be energizing as well.

I had the same problem for years and technique that helped me is "to put day to rest". 30 minutes before sleep I write on paper all good and bad stuff that happened today, and everything that worries me right now. Last part is HUGE sometimes. Then, I write down when I will take care of every worry. It can be "tomorrow", "next week", "next month", "this year". It can't be "today".

Additionally, I don't work or talk or message 1 hour before bedtime.

Additionally, I implemented all advice from CBT-I. It took few months to develop a habit, and I'm feeling better every day now.

The "mind racing" is itself the main problem you need to fix, and lavender drops (or any kind of harmless physical remedy) won't do that.

What has worked well for me is to deliberately focus my mind on simple, pleasant topics instead of negative, annoying ones. That time at work when I solved a difficult problem. Dream vacation plans. The great view at the end of a long hike.

I'm aware this may not be easy (or possible) for everyone to do.

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