I have always had problems falling asleep. My mind is very active and I find it difficult to stop thinking. I could spend 1-2+ hours before I would fall asleep.

A long time ago I tried meditation using the 8-minute meditation book that was recommended by many.

I didn't have any luck with it and gave up after a short while. The book talks about different ways to meditate, the one I chose to do was the breathing technique. You think about your breathing and spend 8-minutes with a clear mind.

If you find yourself thinking about something, immediately go back to thinking about your breathing. The trick is to think about your breathing, but not to focus on it or change it. It's just a center point for when you get distracted.

It didn't work for me, but it gave me an idea. An idea that changed my life. I went from taking 1-2 hours to fall asleep to be able to sleep in 5-10 minutes. I still have days (like last night) that I have a difficult time sleeping, these nights are typically around 30 minutes maybe 45 minutes, nowhere near 2+ hours. They also don't have very frequently (maybe once every 2-3 months).

White Wall Technique by @themarkymark

This technique is very simple, when you are ready to fall asleep you think of a white wall.

That's it!

You are not freaking serious? Are you???

Ok, well there is a little more to it.

There are a few things I found work best, this white wall should be nondescript. No particular detail, and virtually out of focus. You want to shut off your thinking and imagination portions of the brain. To help this, I find thinking of this wall is far in the distance. The goal is to avoid focusing on any specific detail about the wall and just something to eliminate more complicated thought processes.

As someone who has wasted hours of his life sitting in bed thinking when I should be sleeping, this has saved a lot of my sanity and allowed me to sleep when I want to sleep.

I probably have been doing this at least ten years, and it has had a huge impact on my life.

How to fall asleep when you can't fall asleep

White Wall Technique by @themarkymark

That's it!

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