Friday 30th July - Falling asleep

 I regularly have what I call 'non-sleeping' nights. Generally I put on my 'cozy-phones'

and listen to a talking book, or the radio. This hasn't been working recently - I blame my choice of books. I set the sleep timer for 30 minutes, and then, because the story is holding my attention, set it for another 30, and maybe even another 30... I was listening to 'The October Man', a Rivers of London book by Ben Aaronvitch, and now I'm three-quarters of the was through 'The Lighthouse' by P D James.

I need to choose something more soporific...

I have tried various breathing methods; in for a count of four, hold for a count of 4, out for a count of four, wait for a count of four... I manage one, maybe two 'circuits' and then I need to do some ordinary breathing again. Or in for four, hold for seven, out for eight and repeat... nope. I can't keep this going without running out of breath.

Last night I tried the US Airforce pilot training method and it worked! I read about it on the internet, and managed to find it in this article along with a whole load of other ideas.

Summarised;

1 relax your face, mouth, eyes

2 relax your chest, arms, hands

3 relax your legs, feet

4 Clear your mind, and imagine a relaxing scene. A couple of suggestions are 'lying in a canoe, looking up at a completely clear blue sky', or lying in a black velvet hammock in a pitch back room'

5 If this doesn't work, say 'don't think, don't think' over and over to yourself.

This should work within 10 seconds (or so!)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Blue_sky_with_wisps_of_cloud_on_a_clear_summer_morning.jpg

Whether it will work two nights in a row is another matter.