Rosemary Gladstar's "Rest Assured" herbal tea.

The Chamomile, Lavender, and Valerian help relax and the Passion Flower ensures a deep sleep once you konk out.

I drink it when I need a good night's sleep but am going to be late...or getting up really early.
posted by bkdelong at 7:56 AM on January 24, 2002

er.. that should be "going to bed late"
posted by bkdelong at 7:57 AM on January 24, 2002

Rum, and unspeakable acts with my wife.
posted by bittennails at 8:04 AM on January 24, 2002

Beer for me, and unspeakable acts with bittennails' wife.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:19 AM on January 24, 2002

A friend of mine is trying the Uberman's sleep schedule. The basic premise is that by taking 20 minute naps every four hours, you eventually condition yourself into dropping directly into REM sleep. You'll get 2 hours of REM sleep a day with only 2 hours of sleep.
posted by reishus at 8:36 AM on January 24, 2002 [1 favorite]

"Excessive computer work" is listed here as a cause. hmmm... I wonder what the solution might be in that case?
posted by plaino at 8:41 AM on January 24, 2002

I surf the web aimlessly, or channel surf.
posted by riffola at 8:44 AM on January 24, 2002

I usually get in my car and jump on the freeway. I nod right off.
posted by dong_resin at 8:49 AM on January 24, 2002

A friend of mine is trying the Uberman's sleep schedule. The basic premise is that by taking 20 minute naps every four hours, you eventually condition yourself into dropping directly into REM sleep. You'll get 2 hours of REM sleep a day with only 2 hours of sleep.

Wasn't this an episode of "Seinfeld?" Poor, poor Kramer...
posted by ColdChef at 9:08 AM on January 24, 2002

I prefer warm milk and some black tar heroin.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:13 AM on January 24, 2002

If I have just regular toss-and-turn sleeping trouble I count backwards from 200 in time with my breathing, breathing deeper as I count down. If I lose my place I start over. I've never made it to zero. This has never worked for anyone I've recommended it to, so I won't be writing any bestselling self-help books anytime soon.
posted by kittyloop at 11:24 AM on January 24, 2002

I do the breath-counting thing as well, only I start at zero and work my way up. On occasion I've got into the 800s, but I have to be really keyed up to get that far. Usually, 200-300 is about it...
posted by kindall at 11:30 AM on January 24, 2002

A big fat joint is the only thing that'll put me to sleep.
posted by bytecode at 11:45 AM on January 24, 2002

it sounds like a dumb thing, but I try a mutated form of biofeedback relaxation stuff. Lay in a comfy position and concentrate on your toes, and completely relaxing them. If you're doing it right, they'll feel a bit warmer. Then do your feet, ankles, calves, knees, and so on. a piece at a time, really think about relaxing all those muscles (sometimes flex them all really tightly and then relax them, that helps) and work your way up. I have never ever made it all the way to the top.

That and my husband putting on the History Channel. Ten minutes of "The Sweatsocks Of World War Two" usually knocks me right out.
posted by verso at 12:47 PM on January 24, 2002

I count my breaths to 10 and then start over, emptying my head of thoughts or letting thoughts go when they occur. Breath in, 1, breath out, 2. Etc. I rarely go through many cycles of this. And if I do, well, it's meditation, and beneficial.

My main problem is an inability to stay up as late as I want. I have stuff to do and then zonk. I'm out.
posted by Slagman at 12:47 PM on January 24, 2002

The answer, my friend, is Nyquil.
posted by vito90 at 12:52 PM on January 24, 2002

reading never has worked with me...the first time someone suggested to me that i read to fall asleep i read Bunnicula cover to cover and stayed up all night...must have been in third grade. Last night i read Chaim Potok's The Chosen, cover to cover. I find Fatigue, good food, sex, and hot cocoa help me fall asleep eventually....but not reading, TV, web surfing or video games.
posted by th3ph17 at 1:39 PM on January 24, 2002

I tenderize my meat until all the juice comes out. I'm usually pretty tired after that.
posted by hellinskira at 1:39 PM on January 24, 2002

maybe the uberman sleep schedule could help me find the other three days of time i'm missing out of each day.
if i sleep only 20 minutes four times a day, then i am actually getting four days out of each single day, right?

seems no one has mentioned the timecube guy in a while. if the uberman sleep schedule works, could THIS be what Gene Ray has in mind to reveal at his upcoming talk at MIT?!

are any mefi's going to this?
posted by alicila at 2:52 PM on January 24, 2002

I'm going to try Kava before they outlaw it.
posted by mecran01 at 3:48 PM on January 24, 2002

A couple more bowls of Humboldt County Green Boy Super Sticky Skunk Herb...
posted by Mack Twain at 4:09 PM on January 24, 2002

No more pillow flipping!
posted by Eric Lloyd NYC at 4:15 PM on January 24, 2002

Melatonin saved my life and made traveling enjoyable again (really hard time sleeping in a strange bed).
posted by cakeman at 5:09 PM on January 24, 2002

A good old-fashioned hammer has never failed me.
posted by Wizzle at 6:51 PM on January 24, 2002

Cryosleep.
posted by darukaru at 6:55 PM on January 24, 2002

I think this is the best line from the story:

The results replicate a pyschological study in which telling someone not to think about polar bears only encourages them to think even more about them.

I'm so glad that someone is on this polar bears thing. Those guys should ponder flag flapping.

On the NyQuil thing -- beware! I abused NyQuil one especially sleepless summer and it worked for awhile until I apparently built up some sort of immunity to its somnolent powers. Now NyQuil perks me up after an hour or so. I *avoid* it if I want to do any sleeping.
posted by amanda at 7:16 PM on January 24, 2002

Double-strength peppermint tea. Calms Forte. Watching the hypnogogic imagery till it starts moving freely. Readings on nuclear waste / incomprehensible Tibetan philosophy, for pleasant dreams.
posted by sheauga at 9:35 PM on January 24, 2002

verso, i do the same "relax from toes to scalp" thing. its the only thing that's worked for me.
posted by sadie01221975 at 4:06 AM on January 25, 2002

I block out noises with Mack's Ear Plugs.
posted by Carol Anne at 7:09 AM on January 25, 2002