Getting to sleep
Posted by paulway on December 14th, 2008
A friend taught me a very useful trick to use when you really want to get to sleep but your brain can’t stop bouncing around randomly. Start counting and visualise each number, tracing it out in your visual space. Replace each number with the word ’sleep’ before going on to the next. Or imagine it like a count-down strip in an old film reel, with the number 1 being surrounded by a clock face sweeping out the time to the next number. Slow that time down between numbers. Or write the words out in your head. Or count in a foreign language, again tracing the words out in your head. Try binary or trinary.
The key detail here is to not just think of the number but to visually map it out in your visual space, so it involves more of your brain to trace each number. If you also involve a picture or a word that you have to put between each iteration, it forces your brain to concentrate on one thing. And that’s really the key to that ‘brain pinball’ feeling - stopping every bit of your brain firing randomly.
The other technique I’ve used is to count up in series. Powers of two or three, the Fibonacci series - there are plenty of other arithmetic (and a few simple geometric) progressions that you can use to focus your mind. Now that I can count up to 2^24 from memory it becomes more of a challenge, but it’s a good way of concentrating to stop your thoughts randomly running all over the place.
Filed under: Brain Hacking |
December 16th, 2008 at 1:01 am
I find it also helps to bring out one of the old manuals, or anything that requires your brain to really focus (I like philosophy or coding manuals myself) and that helps me to fall asleep. Kudos on the site.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:30 am
Thanks for this tip about visualising a sequence of square numbers. It has worked for me and my sleep has improved. I have yet to reach 100.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Hi Anthony,
I’m really glad of that - you’ve really made my day :-). Goes to show that sometimes even a little gesture from someone else can really cheer you up!
Have fun,
Paul
January 28th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
I try to run. If my body is tired I will have a much easier time trying to relax.
Also I try to stick with a schedule just before I sleep so that the last things I do are extremely predictable.
I don’t visualize numbers, but I have found that trying to visualize anything works well.
August 11th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
If I’m not having such a good week, then getting out of bed in the morning can be a real mental strain… I can come up with some very intelligent arguments to stay nice and cosy in bed.
So I use the memory of that feeling to help me get to sleep at night. I visualize myself in the morning, toasty warm, tired, and comfy. I usually drop of within minutes.
Try it, it works for me most of the time.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Thanks for the tips guys, I’ve just had to move onto nights and falling asleep just as the sun starts streaming through the window can be hard, I will try some of these tips.