I'm grateful to have fallen asleep most days of my life; I could probably count on two hands the number of times I didn't.

There are phases where it happens naturally, and phases where I struggle (often when I'm more electrified through dealing with digital things). So I've tried to figure out some kind of process for when I don't fall asleep easily or automatically. Maybe it can help you?

I think of it as 'layers' that can be folded into each other like dough, not really in any specific order. You don't need to do them all, and maybe you can integrate your own.

If you need practice, you might try some of them during your day. Take your time and be aware of what the rep is for you. Don't get too caught up with sequences, don't force anything. Notice how you feel, be responsive, and see what you can enjoy.

layer 1: sit

Just sit. I don't mean meditate or anything else, but you can if you want. Sit and watch what happens.

You can watch the thoughts about your day if you want, or just notice whatever comes to mind. Feel the breeze if your window is open, or anything else you sense from your environment.

Stay as long as you want. Sitting on top of a blanket has the nice side effect of warming it up before you get under.

I believe certain actions send an obvious message to your body or inner system that "it's okay to do this", maybe removes some stress or destigmatizes being awake. Perhaps deliberately try not to sleep to break some patterns or dogma.

layer 2: body

How do you know you have a head, heart, or stomach, without looking or thinking? You could say "I have a stomach", "I have a neck" as a cue to try and pay attention to those places, but not in a visual, mental, or intellectual way. Observe through sensation and feeling. What does your hand feel like without touching it? Or just touch it if that's easier for you.

Observe everything that might be easily neglected: toes, elbows, eye lids, the back of your head, behind the knee, places you don't feel too often, or even the ones you do. Maybe stretch a little bit, wiggle things, criss-cross, shake… If it's intimidating or not so familiar, try to stay with it for a specific amount of time — maybe ninety seconds?

Less metadata, more feeling.

Try to find a body position comfortable enough to relax into it, without tension or pain. If you want to switch positions, maybe stretch and take time instead of tossing and turning. I like to trap my hands or fingers so that they're not open, or curl my body up into a ball. I prefer cold air with a nice comforter. Find your cozy and stay body.

layer 3: breath

Breathing is generally great. Even with no other purpose, it keeps you from dropping dead. It's normal to breathe automatically, but maybe not often so well. Two techniques help me focus on breathing better.

1. box breathing, to go longer.

• Breathe in for 4 seconds.
• Hold for 4 seconds.
• Breathe out for 4 seconds.
• Hold for 4 seconds.
• Repeat.

Simple and useful. Change the numbers if you want to try less or more. Here's an animation:

2. dictionary breath, to go deeper.

• Put a book on your belly and let it rise only by the air from breathing in.
• When breathing out, try to empty every last bit of air until your belly button touches your spine.

During either of those approaches, you could pay attention to your nose, your lungs, in between, or see if or how it impacts your back, leg, or left butt cheek. No specific outcome to expect here, just observe. Noticing that not much changes is also useful, the attention is what's important.

layer 4: mind

Slowing down the mind might seem mysterious. Sometimes when I'm tired, I feel like it's already 'empty': nothing happening, pleasant and quiet, no expectations, relaxed; ready to catch the sleep train. Sometimes it's more challenging.

There are nights where a truckload of cool ideas show up at once, coming at me like bees, and I try to catch them all like I'm in a cash cube, jotting them down with my notes app (the only one I might use after 11pm); this is often exciting but can keep me awake for hours.

There are nights where similar ideas show up with their hat on backwards, beating their chests, saying "consider this or you'll be left behind", and I just let those slide away: it's an obvious ploy to seek attention, and it's fine to ignore them because fundamental things show up more than once.

Of course, there isn't an obvious button to simply stop everything, but we can at least try to quiet things down. The mind is good for thinking, but not for everything (like maybe sleeping); the deeper I follow the thoughts rabbit hole, the less likely I tend to relax.

I often imagine each thought projected onto a movie theatre screen; it helps me shift from "this is happening" to "I notice this over there". Sometimes I say "now I'm thinking about …" after every thought, which feels interestingly annoying. Sometimes I say "let's see what the next thought will be". You can play those sort of games to watch yourself and maybe detach from thoughts to find that space where they are not the only thing that's going on. If it's really distracting, you can always gently nudge attention back to your breath as an anchor after the mind repeatedly wanders.

I try to avoid the electricity of apps and digital screens by keeping devices away. Reading a book can help me cool down.

I try not to get frustrated when losing focus or when my mind races on random thoughts yet again, and treat each interruption as an invitation to practice. If it feels out of control, don't fret: there's no sense in feeling bad over something you can't control, so go easy on yourself. It's okay to not sleep well sometimes. It happens, and it's not the end of the world. You could also just enjoy it, maybe just get up and do something you like.

Connect with your feeling of tiredness. Thinking takes you away. Follow feeling, use it as a guide.

layer 5: waves

When closing my eyes, I often perceive some kind of sounds within me. Music that's stuck in my head; unrelated syllables from a language I'm learning; indecipherable noise; random channel flipping… It's kind of pure incoherent nonsense, but I consider this to be my brain figuring something out. Noticing while it happens helps me find a bridge to dreaming.

Also when closing my eyes, I see something. Patterns of light through my eyelids, little dots that might relate to blood flowing, or indescribable abstract visual wandering. I try to stay with it, as it also helps me find another bridge.

So to recap: sit, find your body, breath well, slow the mind, observe any waves.

These layers helps me, but it's something I often have to practice consciously. Maybe someday I won't need it anymore. Regardless, I hope something here can help you catch your train. Sleep well. 🙏🏽☀️

[You don’t sleep by doing anything: when activity stops, you simply go into sleep.]

— Osho