How do you sleep at night?

[Sandman]

Lately, I've discovered sleeping with nature recordings is awesome. I usually have a recording of ocean waves or light rain on my speakers as I sleep. The sound fills the room, but isn't loud. I used to be able to sleep with music but I can't anymore because it keeps my mind too active, this is more soothing and relaxing. Has anyone else tried this before? Amazon has the recordings I use for .89 and .99 each.

Rain for Sleeping and Relaxation

Ocean Waves

[Ink Asylum]

I sleep like a log no matter the circumstances. I can fall asleep with the lights on and a podcast playing and sleep soundly for hours. I consider myself very fortunate in this regard.

I also have very vivid dreams and wake up naturally after around six hours.

[TheKeck]

I try not to think of the horrible things I've done.

[Narradisall]

I've never had any problems sleeping, bar the one time I owned one of those soft memory foam mattresses that tried to kill me each time I slept in it.

I can sleep in light, dark, with music playing (although I prefer silence), while crap films are running etc.

I have recently moved to not having things such as TV's in my bedroom. It's nice to have a place devoid of things like that to rest and relax, and while most people watch TV in bed etc, I prefer not. There's something mentally detaching about it.

Oh and ofc this helps.

[iHap]

I either have my computer or fan on. I'm a light sleeper so having a "white noise" drown out everything else helps.

[Widgetcraft]

I like having the TV playing in the background, with the sound almost completely muted. The strange thing is that even though I'm not actually watching the TV (I usually have my back to it), and I can't hear it... I don't like leaving it on something I wouldn't watch normally.

Back in my senior year of high school I preferred to sleep in absolute darkness and silence. In college... I didn't sleep, because I always had roommates who snored loudly, leading to long-term sleep deprivation. I have had virtually no tolerance for going without sleep since then.

It's important for the room I'm sleeping in to be a bit chilly. If it's warm, I'm very uncomfortable. If it's hot enough for me to sweat, I won't sleep.

[Khrymsyn]

with one eye open
gripping my pillow tight

[Dorkandproudofit]

Originally Posted by Khrymsyn

with one eye open
gripping my pillow tight

Exit light!

Enter night!

Take my hand....

[carnage11]

With my eyes closed. Where ever I landed.

[Scaryfaced]

I'm a pretty shitty sleeper and I dislike it greatly. I sleep coffin position with a specific pillow and a special arrangement of blankets, in a blacked out room, going so far as to put pillows over my clock so I can't see the light the numbers produce. I wear ear plugs and often turn on a fan for the added white noise. The only time I ever fall asleep with lights or sound is if I'm piss ass drunk.

Its all a giant pain in my ass. I have trouble sleeping anywhere that isn't my bed, I bring a pillow and blanket with me whenever I travel, which makes me look like a 4 yr old. Practically every girlfriend I've had makes fun of me for having a "blankie". Seriously, I envy all of you who can sleep anywhere.

[Vandabo]

I have sleep apnea pretty bad, so I either have to sleep sitting up in a recliner (which I usually do) or use a full face CPAP mask if lay down. The CPAP mask sucks, but not as much as essentially not sleeping while being asleep. I actually used a webcam on my laptop to record myself sleeping without my CPAP on, and I found that I actually thrash around, doing nearly constant swimming type motions with my arms and snoring/gasping. Obviously not very restful.

I also always have a box fan blowing on or near me, both for the noise and the breeze. If I have all the pieces in place for good sleep, I sleep soundly, but if anything is missing it's bad times. The worst thing for me is trying to sleep in hotels. I usually end up sleeping in whatever chair is in the room, but they are not usually comfortable and it kills my body. But if I actually sleep in the bed I often wont get to sleep at all, and it's always a nightmare getting the CPAP setup nicely in the hotel, assuming I even take it with me. I hate going on business trips because of this, as I essentially go into sleep deprivation mode starting the first night and just get worse until I get back.

[Khrymsyn]

Originally Posted by Vandabo

I have sleep apnea pretty bad,...

I know this is somewhat of a threadjack, but it's still in relation to sleeping at least.

I also had sleep apnea (both obstructive and the brain one), and probably still do to a point... but it's nowhere near as severe. I spoke to a doc about always feeling tired, and had tons of tests done... some of the things I remember specifically? "I've never seen this many obstructions and interruptions in such a short period of time before." "There's no way a CPAP machine will work for you, as it seems to keep putting you into a hyperventilated state." and my favorite... "At this rate, frankly, we're a bit concerned your heart isn't going to make it 5 more years."

What it boiled down to is, my soft palette was oversized by almost 2 inches, and I also had oversided tonsils, so any time I'd lay down, it'd completely choke me off. I had throat surgery and had to relearn how to drink without it coming out my nose, but if I had to do it over again, I totally would. I dream again like I did when I was a kid, and am completely functional at work (or at least as functional I am =P) even if I don't get to sleep until 1. It's been fantastic. I know I'm not "cured" because the... "brain?" interruptions still occur, but over the years they've improved too. And I've beat the 5 year estimation handily. No signs of heart enlargement at my last test. =)

[Codicier]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRNOj...tailpage#t=43s

Out of curiousity, is it possible to embed with a specific video time?

[iHap]

Originally Posted by Codicier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRNOj...tailpage#t=43s

Out of curiousity, is it possible to embed with a specific video time?

embedding youtube videos with a time stamp hash tag won't work. This might be a good thing to add. *nudge nudge wink wink* Admins.

[Talanvor]

Originally Posted by Codicier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRNOj...tailpage#t=43s

Dammit, that was exactly what I was going to say.

[Reverant]

Glass of scotch

[Wolvie]

Originally Posted by Ink Asylum

I sleep like a log no matter the circumstances. I can fall asleep with the lights on and a podcast playing and sleep soundly for hours. I consider myself very fortunate in this regard.

I also have very vivid dreams and wake up naturally after around six hours.

You are one lucky human being, this will help you live a healthier life.

I used to have sleeping problems when I was younger. But now I get to sleep at 9pm, sleep until about 3am and wake up and go "what the hell?" nod off after a bit, dream some messed up nonsense, then get rudely awakened by my alarm clock. Then I'm groggy for a few hours afterwards.

I'm thinking about taking B-vitamins in the morning.

[diablopath]

It has to be dark. It has to be cold enough for me to cuddle up with blankets. There has to be a fan. I have to be exhausted. I've had a huge problem of laying down and just...laying there for six hours.... since I started college. A few folks have recommended liquid melatonin, so I may give that a shot.

[evilgoodwin]

AC cranked, fan on, wrapped in my comforter. I then lie there until I damn well feel like getting up.

[Mot Wakorb]

I also have Sleep Apnea - so I'm tethered to a hose at night when I sleep. That said, six hours is about the max I sleep now, because I'm extremely well rested during those hours of sleep. I don't have the problems transporting the device though, the only issue I have is rainouts - suddenly waking up snorting water because the air is too cool outside the hose. Not fun.