h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

1. Under no circumstances have any dairy products within 3 hours of going to sleep! I know warm milk is supposed to be good, but that is just an old wives tale.

2. Er, I hate to say this, but early to bed early to rise really does help. It helps you go to sleep faster if done repeatedly, get a better nights sleep, sleep deeper, and it also improves your memory.

3. Soothing music can also help. Try to pick music that makes you feel dream like. For me if I can't sleep a tape of harp music that sounds as if you are drifting over flowers fields helps.

My friend's stolen my favourite tape!

Okay, this sounds really daft, but it is the only thing I've found that's guaranteed to get me to sleep.

If you're worried or stressed, and you can't sleep because your thoughts are running round in circles, or even if you just don't feel like sleeping, then tune your radio into a channel that is continous talking, no music. Then (this is the clever part) turn it down really low, so low that you have to lie very still and concentrate really hard to make out most of the words. Focus on trying to follow what is being said and you will gradually drift off to sleep.

This always works for me, it seems to keep my brain totally occupied, stopping any negative thoughts. Even if what's on the radio is interesting, if you've got it turned down low enough it still seems to work.

I normally listen to a talking station anyway, so I'll try that. I find that if I listen to music that I really like I stay awake to hear it, so that doesn't work.

Let me know if it works for you, or if it's just *my* brain that shuts down when it has to concentrate

That radio trick works for me too! When I was living at home my mum used to stay up later than me and listen to the radio or watch TV in the next room and I would go to sleep really easily. At other times I would listen to my Walkman before going to sleep and I would drop off really easily.