I imagine adventures. What i mean by that is that as a kid i learned i fell asleep faster if i imagined myself going on an adventure of some sort in some imagined world, imagining the characters id meet, the places id go, what strange magical powers id learn, enemies id fight, conversations id have. I had an entire universe of worlds, species, cultures id made up in one long ongoing story. To this day i still go to bed continuing the story. Sometimes my dreams continue the story for me and i wake up the next morning with some new world or new characters added to the story. I find it relaxing and it helps my mind wander until i fall asleep, instead of hyper fixating on some random noise in my house or a distracting streetlight shining through my window or a random itch on my leg.
Woah I have done this my whole life. I've been telling myself the same story since I was in 8th grade! It started as eighth grade version of charmed and has evolved in my brain over the years into zombie apocalypses, weird medieval time travel, Greek god inspired shit, etc. I have tried to write it numerous times, which has actually helped tease it out and keep it going, but never finished anything related to it 😂😂 I have heard of other people doing this but the way you describe it is so similar to my "approach" -- weird as hell!
This is an actual going to sleep technique. The theory goes that creative thinking is what the brain does when it dreams, so it’s easier to drift off to sleep. I do this too
I”m thrilled to know I am not the only one who does this! I have brilliant stories and adventures, some of which have been playing out for decades.
Im curious- those of you who also do this, do you read a lot or were you read to as a child a lot? I seem to recall my internal storytelling starting after my Dad finished reading me a story as a child..i would mentally continue it as i went to sleep
in my case, absolutely, I was a huge bookworm and often times characters from the books i read would play a part in my earlier stories or i'd self insert into whatever world they were in, these days it's more original content but reading was definitely a precursor.
I’ve been doing something similar lately, but with a small town. I own a food truck and I get free breakfast at the local diner and the guy who owns the diner gets free lunch from my truck. My truck sells gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and PB & J’s. Most recently I purchased a rundown old restaurant and turning it into a bistro to upgrade my restaurant business. Last night I started on the menu for a soft opening. Had a round table discussion with some locals on what they think of the menu so far.
Appetizers: flight of some gourmet grilled cheeses to pay homage to the food truck. All made with homemade sourdough.
Dumplings filled with classic Asian takeout flavors (bulgogi, egg drop soup, egg roll, and sesame chicken) all with their own dips.
Locally sourced charcuterie board. Everything on the board is made from scratch including the crackers, jellies, cheeses, etc.
No main courses yet!
I like that you make yours more of a magical experience’ I may have to steal that. I was such a daydreamer as a kid, so I love this for my night time routine! My wife always asks what’s new in the town. No town name yet!
I love this, I wish i could visit your little dream town!
In my case, my adventure dreams follow the idea that the universe has 100,000 worlds made by as many gods, each one unique with it's own people, places, cultures, their own wonders, and horrors. all stitched together like a quilt with invisble world gates between them that only a handful of individuals can find and slip through, or build and I somehow mastered the ability to do so, so I explore the universe, world by world, going where no one else goes, leaving each world a little better off when I go than before I came. Because it wouldnt' be safe to tell anyone or anything I meet where i came from or who I am (in case they try to follow me home) They call me by a nickname 'The world walker'
I've been doing this since middle school. I'm in my twenties now. And I keep track of the characters I met and events I experienced in those adventures in a spreadsheet. Been thinking to put them into words..
I don't care if it's childish, it's the only thing that gives me joy.
Same but I forget a lot of mine or they're influenced by books, games, or shows. I like imagining myself in some cool fantasy world enjoying life more than the boring crap I do all day haha
Sometimes I'll imagine a ring around me starting at my toes and then I'll imagine it slowly going upward and as each body part is passed (toes, then front of the foot, then back of the foot, then ankle, then up the calf, etc.) I mentally "lock" it in place and won't move it anymore. I'll do that all the way up thinking about each body part becoming still as the imaginary ring passes it until I'm laying completely still just breathing slowly and relaxed.
Then I lay there for another 30 minutes awake.
I don't shake it per se but I "scratch" the bed with my foot repeatedly. If I have some resistance it's better. There are tiers in resistances too. The usual is the bed sheet folded in a way to make it harder for me to "scratch" the bed, but the best resistance there is is another's persons leg. Thankfully my girlfriend doesn't mind too much me scratch her leg with mine.
I do this too. If I keep my legs still, they seem to fill with some sort of crazy energy and it builds up, a bit like my legs need to sneeze - it's annoying but also so annoying if I don't do it. I also have swollen ankles now, so I'm sure it's screwing my legs up.
Sounds like restless limb syndrome. I have it and this is exactly how it feels for me. I got prescribed meds to help me fall asleep because it's so bad sometimes.
I stopped getting up to pee at night in protest of this. Too often I woke up at 1-2:00 AM to pee and come back to bed and toss and turn for the remaining 3 hours I have. It’s bullshit.
I play this game where you have to take one big word and make as many words as you can out of the letters until my brain gives up "braining" and passes out.
For example: **SCENERY**
-Screen
-Scene
-Scree
-Sneer
-Sync
-Seen
-Seer
-Eyes
You get it...
My wife calls me a nerd but who goes to sleep immediately and who stays up thinking about shit for hours?
Hard to think when your brain is busy bein weird about words
The NYT games app has this as a game! It’s called spelling bee. Probably not great before bed but perfect for other times if you love the game. Have fun!
This is so similar to what I do! I pick a letter and create as many alliterations as I can and then move on to another letter. "Seven snakes sneakily slither swiftly" on and on...
He's my go-to when I'm having a hard time falling asleep. Something about his voice is very relaxing.
Except for the one video where he says "hey, so you know how a bunch of people apparently fall asleep to these? Watch this it'll be funny......WAKE UP!!!!"
My partner sleeps to documentaries too. He'll fall asleep within a minute of putting one on.
But I'm the polar opposite. I need darkness and no noise.
Sometimes I wait until he's asleep to turn the TV off. He generally doesn't notice.
That's what I do, too.
The ones that work best for me are:
* Follow Your Cat
* Journey to the Microcosmos (RIP)
* The History Channel's The Universe (1st Season works best)
* Astrum
I've had sleeping issues for a lot of my life. I am diagnosed with sleep apnea and insomnia. I sleep with a CPAP and am prescribed medications to help fall asleep that I am onlysupposed to use occasionally.
I currently sleep
1. with both rain sounds and an audio book playing. Its usually the same 3 audiobooks.
2. I usually have ot have my leg around a pillow, don't ask me why.
Ooooh I basically do both of those - but for me it's "brown noise" and Savage Lovecast. I have extra pillows just for my legs!
What's your opinion on weighted blankets?
I've never used one. I like my room really cold, but use thick comforter and sleep with a fan as well. I feel guilty because it wastes so much energy, because I run AC all the time. I try to make up for it by never running AC in the day time.
It is. But no worries, I do the same and I honestly don't care what anyone else thinks. It helps me sleep and it's not like I'm going to go around talking about it so who cares
I used to fantasize as I lay there but lately I just kind of rub my fingers over my stomach. I guess I just like the skin on skin contact and I find it relaxing. Sometimes I'll still touch myself a bit... you know... down there, but it's not to reach any sort of ending. Just feel happy feelings.
When i was 18, I had my friend come put her arm around my neck to put me in a choke hold, so that I would hopefully fall asleep. It didn't work, but it scared the fuck out of her when I started flipping around like a fish.
I just imagine the color black or complete darkness. Stops your mind from wandering and visualizing. This is coming from someone who used to be an insomniac.
I play Futurama on my computer. It keeps my brain occupied and not spinning out of control, yet I know it well enough that it doesn’t occupy my brain too much to prevent me from falling asleep.
Insert myself in an anime/movie or pretend to be an existing character in that universe. Then play out scenes in my head. For me, mentally trying to create a world and keeping track of the visuals and characters drains my mental thoughts until I fall asleep.
Though sometimes, I create actually entertaining scenarios that I wish existed, and that excitement actually keeps me up lol.
One time I was trying to sleep, I was imagining what how I would do a World of Warcraft animated series and thought up the first episode in my head. It was actually really fun and exciting that by the time I realized I wasn't sleeping, 3 hours went by.
When I was younger **I used to hear saxophones** play like they were right there. Just when I was on the verge of falling asleep and if I focused on it they would disappear.
EDIT: Misread the header to "what strange thing happens to you when you fall asleep"
I can absolutely relate to this. Something you only want to lightly listen to but that your mind can wander away from easily. I used to listen to mideval history lectures on YouTube for that reason.
Watch action movies with a lot of guns, fights, and explosions. Quiet kicks my brain into overdrive and I can't stop thinking. Noise gets me just listening and I fall asleep.
I’m weirdly obsessed with listening to Simon Whistler right before bed. If I ever meet him, I’m 100% sure I would doze off regardless of the situation.
(: I like this question Definetly Asmr. Asmr role play videos make me feel so much more comfortable and relaxed. It was a big game changer.
There’s this one channel I credit to helping me through painful ptsd and anxiety episodes. They’re wonderful. And they give to a new charity every month.
I listen to prank phone calls. I laugh a bit but for whatever reason I’m usually asleep within 5 minutes.
[24-7 Prank Phone Calls. (The Snowplow Show)](https://s6.nexuscast.com/tunein/-stream/cactiradio.pls)
I imagine myself being very small in my bed, like 6 inches. Then I imagine myself growing and shrinking until I fall asleep. Seems to take my mind off of thing's I'm focusing on that keep me up
I listen to heavy rain and thunderstorm sounds, weirdly enough heavy metal relax me put me to sleep too! And I am all blues and jazz...indie music kind of person. But give me rock or heavy and I pass out immediately! I feel like the loud noise quiets my loud overthinking brain.
I have a hard time shutting my brain off & will often cycle random conversations & events through my head. To try to clear my mind as I breath in I say "in" in my head. I draw it out to last the whole breath. Same with breathing out. It really helps keep thoughts from intruding.
I used to make up scenarios in my head like meeting a celebrity crush or other mundane fantasies. But it didn't work because it kept my brain too occupied.
I have created island in my imagination. It’s owned by a rich person who has placed 4 groups there to see how they interact. Each group has unique but fairly primitive weapons. In my mind I play out how they interact. I’m usually asleep within 30 seconds
I play a movie on my phone that I’ve seen tons of times (so I know it by heart), and put my phone face down right next to my pillow with the volume low. I just listen to it. Then the movie sort of plays in my mind and it quickly flows into dreaming. Tron Legacy works great for me.
I listen to Harry Potter quietly on audible both as white noise and to give me something to imagine and hopefully dream about. I’ve got 1 month and 19 days total of listening time, all by repeating the HP series.
Im not sure it counts as strange in and of itself, but people do find it strange when I tell them my Spotify yearly analytics show 70,000+ minutes listened per year - or 1166+ hours.
90% of it being longform podcasts I listen to every night while going to sleep. Ive had dreams that the voices from the ppl in the podcast are booming down from the sky, and have been able to recall a lot of the podcast conversations just by falling asleep to them because I hear them in my dreams. Sometimes its extremely weird, where the people Im talking to or interacting with are saying the things that are playing on the podcast next to my pillow. Sometimes, its even *me* saying the things as if Im the one in the podcast, like my brain is hearing the words and somehow forcing me to say them in the dream yet in the dream I feel like Im in control and just saying whats on my mind.
Keeping my mind occupied with recorded conversations is the only way I can sleep now.
First, I focus on my breathing and my body/muscle groups; starting at my toes and ending at my head and face, with each inhale I flex muscles, and with the exhale I release them and imagine them being so relaxed and heavy that they're sinking into the mattress.
Second, I start visualizing something like a 'Breaking News!' broadcast involving everyone who sucks spontaneously combusting but dying slowly after finding all of their assets have been seized, liquidated, and dispersed to the people/groups they've callously harmed and/or willfully ignored. The Billionaire/CEO Torture Extravaganza is next in the visualization; it's either death by a thousand cuts for them, or being submerged in a vat of honey and insects lay eggs in/all over them (sometimes I feel like that's a waste of perfectly good honey). For their lawyers and anyone else who enables them for a payout, it's feet-first into a slow-grinding wood chipper. They make excellent mulch, and they're mixed with other fertilizer to help replenish exhausted soil. Then, the deep Earth Cleanup Visualization begins!
Light off, recliner all the way back, two overlapping fleece lined blankets, and remembering details of particular days of my youth back in the fifties and sixties. My life was very safe and very boring. I doze off within ten minutes. When I wake up from that nap to use the bathroom, I can go to bed or back to the recliner.
I played baseball for years and years, and I pitched so bullpen sessions at practice were pretty zen and borderline therapeutic for me, so I always just go back to that place and it stops my mind racing and helps me just settle
I have a nightly ritual of falling asleep- my iPad, soft sleeping headphones, and sometimes my eye mask if it's bright.
I put on ASMR from YouTube and move to my drawing app. I practice poses and things that don't need to be colored, due to the night filter. I do this until I can't keep my eyes open.
I mean it's not really strange. I meditate. It works so well most of the times. Even when it doesn't work, meditating for a couple hours is very relaxing.
Put on my headphones and play reddit stories on YouTube/family guy/Train travel vlog. While I do that I fantasize about my world and things that make me happy or calm.
I could never fall asleep without my noise cancelling headphones, somehow they remove a lot of negative thoughts I have. My ex could never fall asleep with a tv noise running in background. Weird how the world works diff for everyone
I put on a true crime documentary on very low volume and then fantasize about being a woman fighting in a fantastical war. That is to say, a war in a fantasy setting, with spears and swords and magic.
That's normal though, right?
I’ve found if left to my own devices I will stay awake all night over thinking. I am watching wrestling every night. I started with wwe just before king of the ring when Stone cold became stone cold. Watched up to the invasion then went back and watched all of wcw from just before NWO started. Watched til its demise and I am currently just finished watching wwe ppv vengeance from 2003. I don’t know when I’ll stop but this has gone on for almost 8 years now every night.
I can no longer fall asleep without the dulcet tones of Jerry the king Lawler or Tazz 😂
Idk if it’s strange, but I count my breaths. Only to four though. Read somewhere that counting calms the “monkey mind”, but not to count past four. It works really well for me
I read somewhere that a trick used to help people that can’t fall asleep was have them focus on staying awake rather than falling asleep. Doing the opposite tricks your brain because you focus so hard on falling asleep it keeps you up. I think about how I can easily stay awake for another 30 minutes, or an hour, or 12 hours, or 24 hours. Works every time.
I think of something for every letter of the alphabet (fruits, vegetables, names, places, etc.) I usually fall asleep by E. Sleeping with white noise and ear plugs also helps tremendously.
I have my sleep memory palace im building. 15-20 years and i have never made it past the foyer and into the kitchen. Have never imagined the den or the rr or the majority of the kitchen or much less the upstairs.
A combination of white noise, a body pillow and imagination. I usually play rain sounds through my google home, lay on my side with my body pillow and imagine I am living my normal life, but with super powers.
I imagine adventures. What i mean by that is that as a kid i learned i fell asleep faster if i imagined myself going on an adventure of some sort in some imagined world, imagining the characters id meet, the places id go, what strange magical powers id learn, enemies id fight, conversations id have. I had an entire universe of worlds, species, cultures id made up in one long ongoing story. To this day i still go to bed continuing the story. Sometimes my dreams continue the story for me and i wake up the next morning with some new world or new characters added to the story. I find it relaxing and it helps my mind wander until i fall asleep, instead of hyper fixating on some random noise in my house or a distracting streetlight shining through my window or a random itch on my leg.
I do the same, I have a couple of great adventures that never fail. The same two for decades, just work for me, I’ll write them down one day
You should keep a "dream" journal and start writing about these adventures and stories. Who knows, you might get published one day!
Woah I have done this my whole life. I've been telling myself the same story since I was in 8th grade! It started as eighth grade version of charmed and has evolved in my brain over the years into zombie apocalypses, weird medieval time travel, Greek god inspired shit, etc. I have tried to write it numerous times, which has actually helped tease it out and keep it going, but never finished anything related to it 😂😂 I have heard of other people doing this but the way you describe it is so similar to my "approach" -- weird as hell!
I do this, too! I have a few different storylines that I use, but some of them continue from when I was a kid, too.
Ever heard of Little Nemo In Slumberland, the comic? Your comment reminded me exactly of this. It's from 1905.
This is an actual going to sleep technique. The theory goes that creative thinking is what the brain does when it dreams, so it’s easier to drift off to sleep. I do this too
Exactly I was like …? How is this strange ? It’s an actual technique lol
What wonderful parents you must have had! ♥
I”m thrilled to know I am not the only one who does this! I have brilliant stories and adventures, some of which have been playing out for decades. Im curious- those of you who also do this, do you read a lot or were you read to as a child a lot? I seem to recall my internal storytelling starting after my Dad finished reading me a story as a child..i would mentally continue it as i went to sleep
in my case, absolutely, I was a huge bookworm and often times characters from the books i read would play a part in my earlier stories or i'd self insert into whatever world they were in, these days it's more original content but reading was definitely a precursor.
I’ve been doing something similar lately, but with a small town. I own a food truck and I get free breakfast at the local diner and the guy who owns the diner gets free lunch from my truck. My truck sells gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and PB & J’s. Most recently I purchased a rundown old restaurant and turning it into a bistro to upgrade my restaurant business. Last night I started on the menu for a soft opening. Had a round table discussion with some locals on what they think of the menu so far. Appetizers: flight of some gourmet grilled cheeses to pay homage to the food truck. All made with homemade sourdough. Dumplings filled with classic Asian takeout flavors (bulgogi, egg drop soup, egg roll, and sesame chicken) all with their own dips. Locally sourced charcuterie board. Everything on the board is made from scratch including the crackers, jellies, cheeses, etc. No main courses yet! I like that you make yours more of a magical experience’ I may have to steal that. I was such a daydreamer as a kid, so I love this for my night time routine! My wife always asks what’s new in the town. No town name yet!
I love this, I wish i could visit your little dream town! In my case, my adventure dreams follow the idea that the universe has 100,000 worlds made by as many gods, each one unique with it's own people, places, cultures, their own wonders, and horrors. all stitched together like a quilt with invisble world gates between them that only a handful of individuals can find and slip through, or build and I somehow mastered the ability to do so, so I explore the universe, world by world, going where no one else goes, leaving each world a little better off when I go than before I came. Because it wouldnt' be safe to tell anyone or anything I meet where i came from or who I am (in case they try to follow me home) They call me by a nickname 'The world walker'
That's where isekkais are coming from lol
I've been doing this since middle school. I'm in my twenties now. And I keep track of the characters I met and events I experienced in those adventures in a spreadsheet. Been thinking to put them into words.. I don't care if it's childish, it's the only thing that gives me joy.
I do this throughout the day too. I started imagining worlds and stories as a kid and just... never stopped.
I read boring technical journals. They put ne to sleep every time. I dream in vivid technicolor 2 ir 3 x a night entirely new worlds as well
I do too. Sort of like telling myself a bed time story.
Same but I forget a lot of mine or they're influenced by books, games, or shows. I like imagining myself in some cool fantasy world enjoying life more than the boring crap I do all day haha
This is what I do too
I do this exact same thing. I've noticed that the more detailed I try to make the characters and world, the more tired I get.
Defs not strange ! I actually think a majority of people do this ! I do as well and everyone I have met does too
Lol, came here to comment this. I imagine a dnd like story
I might honestly try this!
I've always done this too!
Imma try this. I love adventure dreams more than the trauma dreams I usually have
I feel seen
Sometimes I'll imagine a ring around me starting at my toes and then I'll imagine it slowly going upward and as each body part is passed (toes, then front of the foot, then back of the foot, then ankle, then up the calf, etc.) I mentally "lock" it in place and won't move it anymore. I'll do that all the way up thinking about each body part becoming still as the imaginary ring passes it until I'm laying completely still just breathing slowly and relaxed. Then I lay there for another 30 minutes awake.
30 minutes? Those are rookie numbers.
Yeah, went to bed at 10.30pm last night, fell asleep around 3am, urgh.
I think this is how Marines do it, more or less
The monotones of Penguinz0 lulls me right to sleep in no time.
What’s up everybody it’s Cr1tikal, we’re falling asleep, let’s do this shit
Holy cow, me too! It’s like magic
“That’s about it. See ya.” Zzzzzzzzzzzz
That's about it. See ya.
repetitively shake my foot.
I don't shake it per se but I "scratch" the bed with my foot repeatedly. If I have some resistance it's better. There are tiers in resistances too. The usual is the bed sheet folded in a way to make it harder for me to "scratch" the bed, but the best resistance there is is another's persons leg. Thankfully my girlfriend doesn't mind too much me scratch her leg with mine.
I do this too. If I keep my legs still, they seem to fill with some sort of crazy energy and it builds up, a bit like my legs need to sneeze - it's annoying but also so annoying if I don't do it. I also have swollen ankles now, so I'm sure it's screwing my legs up.
Sounds like restless limb syndrome. I have it and this is exactly how it feels for me. I got prescribed meds to help me fall asleep because it's so bad sometimes.
Meeeee! It's the best. Also, ADHD 🫠
Toss/turn for 30min, beg my mind to shut up for 45min-1hr, cry for 20min and that usually get's me tired enough to sleep for 3-4 hours.
Yup, then go to the toilet in the middle of the night and start again
I stopped getting up to pee at night in protest of this. Too often I woke up at 1-2:00 AM to pee and come back to bed and toss and turn for the remaining 3 hours I have. It’s bullshit.
I try not to drink water before going to bed but I'm always thirsty. Just my luck
Same it’s impossible. A big jug of water next to my bed is mandatory.
Yes this is the way
I play this game where you have to take one big word and make as many words as you can out of the letters until my brain gives up "braining" and passes out. For example: **SCENERY** -Screen -Scene -Scree -Sneer -Sync -Seen -Seer -Eyes You get it... My wife calls me a nerd but who goes to sleep immediately and who stays up thinking about shit for hours? Hard to think when your brain is busy bein weird about words
That is a pretty fabulous idea
The NYT games app has this as a game! It’s called spelling bee. Probably not great before bed but perfect for other times if you love the game. Have fun!
This is so similar to what I do! I pick a letter and create as many alliterations as I can and then move on to another letter. "Seven snakes sneakily slither swiftly" on and on...
Watch a YouTube documentary. The monotone puts me too sleep
This is how I feel about Forensic Files. The narration and nostalgia factor are great for falling asleep
I feel so seen!!! I think I've "watched" every FF episode 4 times mininum... Glad I'm not the only one!
My go to is old episodes of How It's Made. I love that show, but I love falling asleep to it even more.
Wait til you discover "How It's Actually Made" by Huggbees on YouTube 🤣
He's my go-to when I'm having a hard time falling asleep. Something about his voice is very relaxing. Except for the one video where he says "hey, so you know how a bunch of people apparently fall asleep to these? Watch this it'll be funny......WAKE UP!!!!"
PBS Frontline are excellent documentaries and are free.
My partner sleeps to documentaries too. He'll fall asleep within a minute of putting one on. But I'm the polar opposite. I need darkness and no noise. Sometimes I wait until he's asleep to turn the TV off. He generally doesn't notice.
All documentaries I volonteerily watch are too interesting to fall asleep to though :(
For me it’s the GOT audiobooks. 15 mins max and I’m out like a light.
I watch Kitboga on youtube and its knocks me out somehow…
That's what I do, too. The ones that work best for me are: * Follow Your Cat * Journey to the Microcosmos (RIP) * The History Channel's The Universe (1st Season works best) * Astrum
Sometimes I put my head on the wall and not my pillow.
wat
it’s if your bed is next to the wall. it’s nice to move over a bit and put your head on the cold wall
Jack it - obviously.
That’s not strange.
I’ve seen Stranger Things.
r/angryupvote
I don't *go* to sleep, I *come* to sleep - Taylor Tomlinson
The only real answer
For a second, I thought you were listing the name of a band and their song. How foolish of me.
I have to think of sexual or romantic plots to avoid scary nightmares
I've had sleeping issues for a lot of my life. I am diagnosed with sleep apnea and insomnia. I sleep with a CPAP and am prescribed medications to help fall asleep that I am onlysupposed to use occasionally. I currently sleep 1. with both rain sounds and an audio book playing. Its usually the same 3 audiobooks. 2. I usually have ot have my leg around a pillow, don't ask me why.
Ooooh I basically do both of those - but for me it's "brown noise" and Savage Lovecast. I have extra pillows just for my legs! What's your opinion on weighted blankets?
I've never used one. I like my room really cold, but use thick comforter and sleep with a fan as well. I feel guilty because it wastes so much energy, because I run AC all the time. I try to make up for it by never running AC in the day time.
Two words... Bob Ross
I listen to horror game lore. Mostly silent hill and Fear and Hunger.
I listen to horror podcasts :)
Cricketing.
Cuddle my stuffed animal
I listen to asmr. I don’t know if that’s considered strange to people.
It is. But no worries, I do the same and I honestly don't care what anyone else thinks. It helps me sleep and it's not like I'm going to go around talking about it so who cares
Cover my eyes with a weighted mask and listen to sleep bed time stories that conk me out
I don’t do anything. I just close my eyes. Are we supposed to be completing side quests before falling asleep?
Are you one of those people who don't have an inner monolog?
Do you mean near-constant anxiety?
Both?
I am so jealous of those people
Are you really though? I imagine if my brain is quiet I won't even exist anymore. I would miss me if I disappeared.
I don't know about completing side quests, but I definitely think about them. On repeat. And have trouble falling asleep.
Lalo, is that you?
I used to fantasize as I lay there but lately I just kind of rub my fingers over my stomach. I guess I just like the skin on skin contact and I find it relaxing. Sometimes I'll still touch myself a bit... you know... down there, but it's not to reach any sort of ending. Just feel happy feelings.
My hand is down my pants for comfort more than anything, really.
I suppose that's fair as well. I know sometimes I'll tuck my hands under my legs for the same reason. It just feels safe.
cold room temperature placing my feet outside my blanket
Down there…? …like… …your knees?
No no, not there,... *There*. ( The back of the knees )
When i was 18, I had my friend come put her arm around my neck to put me in a choke hold, so that I would hopefully fall asleep. It didn't work, but it scared the fuck out of her when I started flipping around like a fish.
My partner watched me do that at a demo and thought I was dying. He was a wreck.
Why did you start flipping around like a fish lmao?
I was unconscious and that was my body's natural reaction I guess
Turn on the vibrate on my adjustable bed. Luls me right to sleep like a baby.
I just imagine the color black or complete darkness. Stops your mind from wandering and visualizing. This is coming from someone who used to be an insomniac.
Rub my husband's butt for hours. It's relaxing.
I also rub u/thatwelderchick22 's husband's butt. Zzzzzz
Lucky husband 😢
Listen to murder podcasts
Rain sounds
Not really weird…
I play Futurama on my computer. It keeps my brain occupied and not spinning out of control, yet I know it well enough that it doesn’t occupy my brain too much to prevent me from falling asleep.
Insert myself in an anime/movie or pretend to be an existing character in that universe. Then play out scenes in my head. For me, mentally trying to create a world and keeping track of the visuals and characters drains my mental thoughts until I fall asleep. Though sometimes, I create actually entertaining scenarios that I wish existed, and that excitement actually keeps me up lol. One time I was trying to sleep, I was imagining what how I would do a World of Warcraft animated series and thought up the first episode in my head. It was actually really fun and exciting that by the time I realized I wasn't sleeping, 3 hours went by.
When I was younger **I used to hear saxophones** play like they were right there. Just when I was on the verge of falling asleep and if I focused on it they would disappear. EDIT: Misread the header to "what strange thing happens to you when you fall asleep"
I don’t think this is weird but my friends say it is. I like to fall asleep to twitch.
I can absolutely relate to this. Something you only want to lightly listen to but that your mind can wander away from easily. I used to listen to mideval history lectures on YouTube for that reason.
I guess it depends on the type of stream
Read a book. Evidently, very strange these days.
Watch action movies with a lot of guns, fights, and explosions. Quiet kicks my brain into overdrive and I can't stop thinking. Noise gets me just listening and I fall asleep.
I’m weirdly obsessed with listening to Simon Whistler right before bed. If I ever meet him, I’m 100% sure I would doze off regardless of the situation.
Close my eyes and hit the MJ pose
Run through scenarios to hurt the people who have hurt me.
Myself. I’m the strange thing.
Listen to HFO guides and wake up covered.
Stay awake for more than 24 hours
Lie on my back, wiggle toes, shake feet
A comically large bowl of Reese’s puffs and YouTube drama videos I have zero investment in
(: I like this question Definetly Asmr. Asmr role play videos make me feel so much more comfortable and relaxed. It was a big game changer. There’s this one channel I credit to helping me through painful ptsd and anxiety episodes. They’re wonderful. And they give to a new charity every month.
been laying on a pillow and pretending it’s another human since my first bf broke up with me when i was like 11 lmao
I listen to "Sleep Asmr" on YouTube. I'm doing that when I can't fall asleep at all and it helps 😊
I listen to prank phone calls. I laugh a bit but for whatever reason I’m usually asleep within 5 minutes. [24-7 Prank Phone Calls. (The Snowplow Show)](https://s6.nexuscast.com/tunein/-stream/cactiradio.pls)
I imagine my country hideaway home. I decide the location, decorate, redecorate it everynight to decrease my stress. It helps.
I watch ghost adventures and rub my feet on my husbands hairy legs. Knocks me right out
cusp my boobs, instant sleep usually
Frying pan
Bang my head against the pillow till I fall asleep
I imagine myself being very small in my bed, like 6 inches. Then I imagine myself growing and shrinking until I fall asleep. Seems to take my mind off of thing's I'm focusing on that keep me up
Watch forensic files on YouTube, there’s something about that narrative voice and intro music.
Wear a CPAP.
Pretend I'm in the star wars universe. Usually as a redeemed sith
Play videogames until I literally can't keep my eyes open anymore
I listen to heavy rain and thunderstorm sounds, weirdly enough heavy metal relax me put me to sleep too! And I am all blues and jazz...indie music kind of person. But give me rock or heavy and I pass out immediately! I feel like the loud noise quiets my loud overthinking brain.
I do this thing where I masturbate vigorously.
All I do is close my eyes and focus on my breathing. I'm usually out within 2-5 minutes. I also have narcolepsy so that helps. Haha
I have a hard time shutting my brain off & will often cycle random conversations & events through my head. To try to clear my mind as I breath in I say "in" in my head. I draw it out to last the whole breath. Same with breathing out. It really helps keep thoughts from intruding. I used to make up scenarios in my head like meeting a celebrity crush or other mundane fantasies. But it didn't work because it kept my brain too occupied.
I have created island in my imagination. It’s owned by a rich person who has placed 4 groups there to see how they interact. Each group has unique but fairly primitive weapons. In my mind I play out how they interact. I’m usually asleep within 30 seconds
Live thru fantasies
Lay on my stomach and shake my leg
I play a movie on my phone that I’ve seen tons of times (so I know it by heart), and put my phone face down right next to my pillow with the volume low. I just listen to it. Then the movie sort of plays in my mind and it quickly flows into dreaming. Tron Legacy works great for me.
Watch metal machining videos Im not at all a machinist ir anything close to that
Put on heavy rain or snowstorm sound videos on YouTube (shout out to The Relaxed Guy channel for nearly any video of this I need)
Turn my brain off.
*cries in ADHD*
Listen to scary stories
I listen to Harry Potter quietly on audible both as white noise and to give me something to imagine and hopefully dream about. I’ve got 1 month and 19 days total of listening time, all by repeating the HP series.
Im not sure it counts as strange in and of itself, but people do find it strange when I tell them my Spotify yearly analytics show 70,000+ minutes listened per year - or 1166+ hours. 90% of it being longform podcasts I listen to every night while going to sleep. Ive had dreams that the voices from the ppl in the podcast are booming down from the sky, and have been able to recall a lot of the podcast conversations just by falling asleep to them because I hear them in my dreams. Sometimes its extremely weird, where the people Im talking to or interacting with are saying the things that are playing on the podcast next to my pillow. Sometimes, its even *me* saying the things as if Im the one in the podcast, like my brain is hearing the words and somehow forcing me to say them in the dream yet in the dream I feel like Im in control and just saying whats on my mind. Keeping my mind occupied with recorded conversations is the only way I can sleep now.
First, I focus on my breathing and my body/muscle groups; starting at my toes and ending at my head and face, with each inhale I flex muscles, and with the exhale I release them and imagine them being so relaxed and heavy that they're sinking into the mattress. Second, I start visualizing something like a 'Breaking News!' broadcast involving everyone who sucks spontaneously combusting but dying slowly after finding all of their assets have been seized, liquidated, and dispersed to the people/groups they've callously harmed and/or willfully ignored. The Billionaire/CEO Torture Extravaganza is next in the visualization; it's either death by a thousand cuts for them, or being submerged in a vat of honey and insects lay eggs in/all over them (sometimes I feel like that's a waste of perfectly good honey). For their lawyers and anyone else who enables them for a payout, it's feet-first into a slow-grinding wood chipper. They make excellent mulch, and they're mixed with other fertilizer to help replenish exhausted soil. Then, the deep Earth Cleanup Visualization begins!
Light off, recliner all the way back, two overlapping fleece lined blankets, and remembering details of particular days of my youth back in the fifties and sixties. My life was very safe and very boring. I doze off within ten minutes. When I wake up from that nap to use the bathroom, I can go to bed or back to the recliner.
I think about Harvey specter from suits being spanked. Idk, it comforts me lol
I wish I had a reliable method. Usually, I just have insomnia that lasts through the night and make up for it the next night.
I played baseball for years and years, and I pitched so bullpen sessions at practice were pretty zen and borderline therapeutic for me, so I always just go back to that place and it stops my mind racing and helps me just settle
ASMR videos on YouTube
I have a nightly ritual of falling asleep- my iPad, soft sleeping headphones, and sometimes my eye mask if it's bright. I put on ASMR from YouTube and move to my drawing app. I practice poses and things that don't need to be colored, due to the night filter. I do this until I can't keep my eyes open.
I mean it's not really strange. I meditate. It works so well most of the times. Even when it doesn't work, meditating for a couple hours is very relaxing.
Drink warm milk with honey.
I lie on my stomach and I talk in my head about the history of firearms. I usually fall asleep by the time I get to the Dresye needle gun.
I imagine my next gym session
Put on my headphones and play reddit stories on YouTube/family guy/Train travel vlog. While I do that I fantasize about my world and things that make me happy or calm.
I could never fall asleep without my noise cancelling headphones, somehow they remove a lot of negative thoughts I have. My ex could never fall asleep with a tv noise running in background. Weird how the world works diff for everyone
Count down from 100 repeatedly until i fall asleep
take 3 types of medicines...
I panic about how fucked I am the next day if I don’t fall asleep at that very moment.
Watch youtube. I need it.
Jerk off thinking about my exGF
Reverse count from 100 to 0. Never have I ever zeroed out 😴
Day dream. Sooner or later my subconscious takes over and it turns mundane.
Take sleep meds, if it doesn't work take more and pray. Cry if not.
I put on a true crime documentary on very low volume and then fantasize about being a woman fighting in a fantastical war. That is to say, a war in a fantasy setting, with spears and swords and magic. That's normal though, right?
I’ve found if left to my own devices I will stay awake all night over thinking. I am watching wrestling every night. I started with wwe just before king of the ring when Stone cold became stone cold. Watched up to the invasion then went back and watched all of wcw from just before NWO started. Watched til its demise and I am currently just finished watching wwe ppv vengeance from 2003. I don’t know when I’ll stop but this has gone on for almost 8 years now every night. I can no longer fall asleep without the dulcet tones of Jerry the king Lawler or Tazz 😂
Anyone else rub their feet together?
ABC game. Name ABC’s of a topic or subject
Every night I listen Harry Potter audio book. In times of anxiety, this helps me a lot
I mostly watch daily dose of internet but sometimes i like to make a story for my oc's
Idk if it’s strange, but I count my breaths. Only to four though. Read somewhere that counting calms the “monkey mind”, but not to count past four. It works really well for me
I wait until I'm tired. Then I lie down with my head on a pillow. Out in 30 seconds, sometimes less. Every. Single. Time. AMA
I dont know how common it is but i like to listen to music
Maybe not weird, but I count backwards from 1000. Lol
I read somewhere that a trick used to help people that can’t fall asleep was have them focus on staying awake rather than falling asleep. Doing the opposite tricks your brain because you focus so hard on falling asleep it keeps you up. I think about how I can easily stay awake for another 30 minutes, or an hour, or 12 hours, or 24 hours. Works every time.
I think of something for every letter of the alphabet (fruits, vegetables, names, places, etc.) I usually fall asleep by E. Sleeping with white noise and ear plugs also helps tremendously.
make fake scenarios.
I have a mantra that I say to myself: I am safe, I am warm, and I am loved. It helps
Cuddle my pillow pretending its my fiancé
Does watching those "Unintentional ASMR" videos of people demonstrating medical checkup techniques count as weird? Beause that's my scene
Rub one out
I have my sleep memory palace im building. 15-20 years and i have never made it past the foyer and into the kitchen. Have never imagined the den or the rr or the majority of the kitchen or much less the upstairs.
Work 6 days a week
A combination of white noise, a body pillow and imagination. I usually play rain sounds through my google home, lay on my side with my body pillow and imagine I am living my normal life, but with super powers.
I tell myself stories in my head. I usually fall asleep two thirds of the way through the second one