Most everyone I know is sleep deprived. Even those who think they get enough sleep generally don’t. It shows pretty clearly on the QEEG Brain Maps. I think it is less the number of hours in bed, and more the level of anxiety and activation upon going to bed. A person who goes to bed with anxiety or worry may never get fully deep, restful sleep. One of the best things a person can do is reduce the level of activation frequently throughout the day. Maybe I’ll write more about that one day, but here are a few resources I’ve found that may be of use in helping you fall asleep more quickly.
#1 Important Guideline
Your eyes contain specialized receptors for light that can trigger from a single photon and inhibit the release of melatonin, which regulates falling and saying asleep. These receptors are very sensitive to blue light. White lights contain blue light. It is very important to cut out white and blue light. Use amber glasses from amazon or blue-blockers on all your devices at least 2 hours before bedtime. If you don’t do this, your brain will inhibit your natural feeling of sleepiness. That means that when you do fall asleep it will take longer, and it won’t be as deep.
#2 Induce Sleepy Brain Waves (must be used with headphones)
Android Users: Waveen app uses isochronic tones and binaural beats to induce relaxation.
Apple Users: Here’s something similar https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/binaural-beats-isochronic-tones-creator-its-just-mindstate/id578089517?mt=8
#3 The Military Technique
This article explains how pilots were taught to fall asleep under any conditions.
https://medium.com/s/story/combat-tested-training-unwind-and-sleep-anywhere-in-120-seconds-27d5307b7606
#4 The Cognitive Shuffle Technique
And there’s an app for it https://www.bustle.com/p/what-is-cognitive-shuffling-this-trick-might-help-you-get-to-sleep-easier-56458
Interestingly, I used to do something similar to this back in college before the technology.
What I would do is relax and close my eyes and just notice what happened “on the back of my eyelids.” I just watched the slideshow without getting attached or involved in any image. Initially, it is just static, but it becomes more and more complicated until it is images. If you can really not attach to the images, it takes just a few moments to fall asleep.