I used to have a very hard time falling asleep. I could spend hours laying in bed not sleeping. Sometimes, I just wasn’t tired. Other times, my mind just didn’t want to stop thinking. And when I was younger, it was truly annoying having a bedtime, because the fact was, I was not going to sleep anytime soon.

Eventually, I decided I wasn’t going to strictly abide by a bedtime anymore. Certainly, I would head to my room at the appropriate time and be appropriately quiet. But I got a feel for what volume the TV could be on without anyone hearing outside my room. I listened for when my parents went to bed so I could turn my light on and read. Then, I would play video games, read, and watch TV until I couldn’t hold my eyes open anymore. Then, it was an easy matter to fall asleep. My body just didn’t want to be awake anymore, so it was going to sleep whether I liked it or not.

I liked it way better than trying to sleep on my own. So, for me, the first step was simply to stop trying to sleep when I wasn’t tired. But it wasn’t the end. After all, becoming exhausted in order to fall asleep does get old after awhile, and  doesn’t lend itself well to the scheduled lives most people lead. I still had to wake up for school after all.

However, staying awake until I couldn’t anymore had another effect. After falling asleep quickly and easily for a long time, I learned what happens when I go to sleep. Not in a way I can explain, but rather I could observe how I felt going from awake to asleep as I kept just sleeping easily after staying awake for far too long. After seeing how that worked, I eventually learned to just do it whenever I become tired and wanted to sleep. Now, when ever I feel tired and would like to sleep, it’s a simple matter to lay down, close my eyes, and shut down within a few minutes. It’s not perfect mind you. I still get overly stressed and start thinking too much sometimes when I’d rather just  get some shut eye. But most of the time, it really is just time to lay down and go to sleep.

So, in short form, if you want to try this:

1) Start staying awake until staying awake is a struggle.
2) Lay down, get comfy, and go to sleep quickly due to being extremely tired.
3) Eventually, after many repetitions of steps one and two, learn to put yourself to sleep by noticing how you go to sleep quickly when extremely tired. This should happen subconsciously.

Naturally, sleep deprivation is considered a bad idea in the medical community, so it would be wise to consult a medical professional first. I wouldn’t expect something horribly bad to come of this so long as you’re smart about knowing your limits (protip: don’t drive after being awake for 24 hours straight), but getting a professional opinion on the matter can’t hurt and could possibly help a lot. It could also catch any issues that might be specific to you if you have any health complications that too little sleep might adversely effect.