Do you know what works like a charm for me? A few minute ice-cold shower. That, and a totally blacked out room during the night, not a single photon from charging cables, laptops, or half-closed curtains. But the shower is the trick. On some nights if I just can't fall asleep I'll go take one. It's a bit counterintuitive because you'd think that it would jolt you awake, but something about getting into a warm bed afterwards just brings on the sleepy vibes. My $0.02. YMMV. Edit to add: the first time I took these showers my breath became very shallow because it's just so cold! The trick, as The Iceman Wim Hof would tell you, is deep breathing.
Blacked out room for shower (hot for me, relaxes muscles) and blacked out room. Prissy as it sounds, I'm the techie of the flat with the router, printer and all so I haven't had great transitions to sleep as a result of all the lights in my room. I think about it every night... Aside from this all, I couldn't agree more on how pitch dark rooms are a plus for falling asleep.
Duct tape! Cover them indicators! Your sleep is worth it.
So as you know, I'm pretty obsessed with my sleep. Which has gotten me into some difficulty because the new place I moved to is at the intersection of crackheads and bored children off school for the summer. I just got a fan for the white noise a while ago, which helps immensely. But the biggest help has been the blinds that are installed and the heavy drapes I hung behind them. I'm also planning on installing a small hanging shelf right outside my bedroom door near an outlet at hip-level. That's where I'll leave my phone every night before entering my room. I'll have a battery-powered analog alarm clock inside. I'm at pretty near darkness.
Good move with the heavy drapes in combo with the fan, and I might take a page from your book in setting the phone away from the bed. I can relate to where the drapes and blinds come in clutch. There's a mustang without a muffler that parks outside my own and my roommates' window. His regular 5 AM drives are much easier to sleep through with a black out curtain and closed blinds on my end.
Just wanted to pop back here and say thank you for the simple suggestion. My brother came to reclaim his bedroom set that weekend. So with this in mind, I got a lower bedframe (lower than the surface of the indicators) and taped them tight. I've had a WAY easier time falling to sleep since. :)
Thanks. If I had access to a sauna, it would be that plus a cold shower. Few things feel better. I have found that just jogging about 1 mile, plus reading, does the trick. At least that keeps me from waking up. I really don't have much trouble falling asleep. It's been more about budgeting the time.
I see. Yea, I'm sure your day is full, and by default its sleep that suffers first. I thought maybe a deeper sleep might prevent midnight wakefulness, but a cold shower has its limits.