• Exercise or walk for an hour during the day
• Turn of electronics an hour before bed and do something calm, e.g. read a book (often not necessary, but if you want surefire)
• Have a consistent sleep schedule - wake up at same time at least 6 days a week
• Complete dark - blackout curtains or t-shirt over face
• Complete quite - ear plugs. A lot of people complain about them, but they work great if you just can't sleep.
• Don't move - usually best if you sleep on back
• Most "techniques - counting breath, repeating a phrase, etc don't work, just don't think about anything important
• On the note of my (somewhat sarcastic) point about energy drinks - don't have those or any coffee/sugar at least 16 hours before you sleep
As long and convoluted as that list seems, to me it's just essential to reliably sleep every time. I use it and it works.
• Exercise or walk for an hour during the day
• Turn of electronics an hour before bed and do something calm, e.g. read a book (often not necessary, but if you want surefire)
• Have a consistent sleep schedule - wake up at same time at least 6 days a week
• Complete dark - blackout curtains or t-shirt over face
• Complete quite - ear plugs. A lot of people complain about them, but they work great if you just can't sleep.
• Don't move - usually best if you sleep on back
• Most "techniques - counting breath, repeating a phrase, etc don't work, just don't think about anything important
• On the note of my (somewhat sarcastic) point about energy drinks - don't have those or any coffee/sugar at least 16 hours before you sleep
As long and convoluted as that list seems, to me it's just essential to reliably sleep every time. I use it and it works.