It’s actually like the title asks; What does everyone here do when you can’t sleep and are wide awake besides being on phone?
So let’s say it’s in the middle of the night and you are unable to sleep. You have to keep things soundless due to family or partner.
Trying to get the phone usage significantly lower when being in bed but it feels like nothing can replace the ‘easiness of mindlessly scrolling’.
I read a book. It’s quiet, it’s restful, it often helps me get back to sleep but even if it doesn’t it’s still relaxing and worthwhile.
Kindle with a dim backlight is perfect for this.
Happy my recent upgrade has the yellow backlight feature for just this reason
I try to name unconnected things until I’m interrupted by a different thought, then when I realize I’ve gone off I play the unconnected naming game again. Doesn’t matter if there is a connection. Apparently this disorganized thinking is similar to sleep thoughts and can help get your brain in the mood for sleeping.
Example: sheep, glass, shelf, sock, alien, whisker, etc
I lay completely still. Properly, completely still. I focus all my energy on not moving a single muscle besides what I need to breathe.
Then, while doing that, I try to conjure up elaborate fantasy scenes in my mind.
9 times out of 10 I’m gone within five minutes.
Dreaming awake. Idk how to call it otherwise.
I invent to myself the most ridiculous stories of things of my imagination and i play them in my head, like a sort of head game.
When i do a sufficiently long story, i often fall asleep on it and i continue it the next evening, and it can last months. Plus you get better at mental visualisation the more you do it. I remember dreams almost every night since i did that for a long time.
Reading books or playing video games. If I have the energy then also working on projects.
Read or take a dose of melatonin.
- YouTube (radio drama channels) - there are some fantastic plays.
- podcasts using antennapod on F-Droid.
Not exactly quiet but works for me because of the layout of my house.
I go to the laundry room which is on the other side of the house from the bedrooms, turn the kitchen light on, laundry room like off (so it’s light enough to see but pretty dim), sit on the washer and play sad songs on my guitar.
It’s therapuetic and after about 20 minutes I’m just exhausted.
I have those nights and I hate them.
I stay in bed and at least rest the body. I found that getting on an electronic device keeps me up.
I just read my science book and I fall sleep
One time I put my professor lecture videos on
Read books, do light stretching, journal with pen and paper, meditate, any quiet activity like that without a screen.
I would always struggle with falling asleep while trying to read dense scientific literature and journal articles. I’ve now learned to weaponize that to induce sleep.
I can usually sleep at night, but if I didn’t use my phone I would probably draw or play the keyboard (with headphones connected) for a while, then I would stop and try to sleep again.
I put the phone down as the light coming from it is part of the reason your brain is staying awake.
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