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I can actually vouch for this, but I discovered it independently for myself. I realized that the nights I couldn't fall asleep were nights my brain kept racing

I can actually vouch for this, but I discovered it independently for myself. I realized that the nights I couldn't fall asleep were nights my brain kept racing and thinking about different things. Kind of like a wikipedia rabbit hole where my mind keeps racing onto the next tangential thought. So I found a foolproof solution: Relax all my facial muscles and imagine an empty, black (literally #000) void in my mind's eye. The physical cue is to be cognizant of your eyes; every time my eyes began to squint, I know it was because my mind was wandering off. I'd reset my closed eyes to be as loose (imagine a very bored expression) as possible and revert back to my black space. As long as I kept fighting the temptation for my mind to wander, and maintain loose eyes, I fell asleep. All anecdotal of course, but I did use this just recently at burning man while soundcamps blasted my tent, and it's nice to see this method validated in this article.

LouisSayers 8y ago
Yup, I also use the same technique. I think of black, but I make it a little more interesting as the black of deep space. Like meditation, any thoughts that come in, and I focus back on the black. Generally, I don't even need to do this - I tend to fall asleep pretty fast.
- sitkack 8y ago
  I am floating on a planet made almost entirely of water, about 70-73f, small waves, nothing extreme. Very fine sand alternating with course sand, in about 2-3 feet of water. Overhead is something that looks like the milky way but isn't. The water is very buoyant and sand is close, there is no fear of drowning or predators. The stars are so close, it feels like you are voyaging through space.
- raducu 8y ago
  I do the same, except not thinking about black, but just focusing my attention of the visual artefacts that pop up when I have my eyes closed. Just like meditation, but instead of focusing on a part of the body, I focus on the eyes and their visual artefacts when closed.
1auralynn 8y ago
I've actually found that forced "tangential" thinking makes me fall asleep really fast. Basically, free association but you have to move onto the next thing instantly (eg. Think of a feather and then it's like a comb and maybe the comb is green then green grass, etc). I just seamlessly transition into dreaming. The key is not dwelling but moving on right away so you don't get stuck on things like "where are my car keys" or whatever.
- wruza 8y ago
  Hmm, sometimes I wake up in few minutes after falling asleep and realize that my mind did exactly what you described, but without my intent. Just quickly changing thoughts with no focus, as if gc started its mark phase.
  - de_watcher 8y ago
    That's why I consider this behaviour as more like a symptom of falling asleep. When things get fast and weird it's the sign that the slow consciousness has almost disconnected.
- msadowski 8y ago
  That sounds really similar to what I often do. I often start picturing a tree, then I force one transition and feel like I let the brain switch images without my involvement. It's really hard to describe it but here is a simplified example. Tree -> zoom into the leaves which are actually a field of grass -> there is a small pond -> pond is now growing -> I see a sky now -> random colors and shapes are showing up... And it keeps on going and I don't even notice when I fall asleep.
emmelaich 8y ago
My technique is similar. Start at the toes and identify each toe then muscle individually and let each relax before moving on to the next. I have never got past the knee before falling asleep. Not foolproof though; sometimes your thoughts break through and stop the process. So you start again...
bmurphy1976 8y ago
I used to do something similar. These days I start planning my retirement. I imagine some deserted moon base orbiting a Saturn like planet orbiting a small red dwarf star ejected out of its galaxy into the void. No people, no chance of anybody or anything ever finding it. Trillions of years of quiet solitude before the star burns out. I've never gotten much farther than a few ideas into how it will all come together before zzzzzzzz....
- davedx 8y ago
  Hah I like this! For a while I used to imagine being on a spaceship on a long interstellar trip with my family on board with me. Planning where all the cabins were, what the living area looked like, views of interstellar space outside always used to send me off...
- nealdt 8y ago
  Made my day reading this!
- dotancohen 8y ago
  Are you that guy on that inner moon with the shiny rooftop who keeps reflecting the sunlight at me twice per orbit? Seriously, you'll retain heat better with a dark, matte finish on your dome, and you'll blind me less often. In any case, you might also want to reconsider your choice of moons, as yours seems a bit deep into the radiation belts. Out here we orbit much more slowly, peacefully, and we're far from the radiation.
  - dTal 8y ago
    >you'll retain heat better with a dark, matte finish on your dome No, they won't. There's a reason a perfect radiator is known as a "black body". Emissivity (a coefficient that describes the degree to which an object radiates, compared to a black body) is the exact inverse of reflectivity. That's why space blankets are shiny. Of course, dark objects also absorb more heat, so depending on how much radiation you're getting from the sun, a black roof might result in a warmer home. But it won't be because it's retaining heat.
linker3000 8y ago
It only works for me if I think of Vanta Black! Must try this though - my wife is often asleep in a minute or so while I take tens of minutes. I wonder how much using mobile devices in bed at night has affected sleep patterns.
- djaychela 8y ago
  I've taken to not using a screen within about an hour of going to bed, and never using the phone in the bedroom (because of association), and my sleep is much better - I fall asleep quicker, and study asleep longer. I tested the opposite on myself previously (intentionally using the phone in bed right up to lights out), and took longer to get to sleep, and woke up around 4-5am feeling not very rested. Smartphones are the devil.
- davedx 8y ago
  Mobile devices- anything with a screen that emits blue wavelengths IIRC - are terrible for getting to sleep. I avoid mine except for turning my alarm on.
  - _0ffh 8y ago
    Exactly right, which is why I adjust my monitor settings down if I stay late at the computer. Do do it in steps, and the adapted eye can go down even farther than "xrandr --output HDMI-0 --brightness 0.05 --gamma 2.0:1.0:0.5" and still see quite well... ;-) Also, for people who read from a tablet or phone in bed, use software that supports a night mode. Set background color to black and font color to dark amber. Then gradually shift down overall brightness. Personally, I use "Cool Reader", which is really good for that, as it lets you adjust brightness just by sliding up/down on the left screen border.
  - maccard 8y ago
    > I avoid mine except for turning my alarm on. Two solutions to this - get a standalone alarm clock, or set up an alarm to repeat on weekdays so you don't have to do it every evening.
  - dingaling 8y ago
pkaye 8y ago
Yup something like this works for me too. I close my eyes and imagine a dark void of nothing. If my mine wanders off I refocus on the dark void again. If my mind is still too active, I have a boring book at hand that I read for a few minutes to clear my mind and get me tired. Then I try again.
rapnie 8y ago
> and revert back to my black space. As long as I kept fighting the temptation for my mind to wander I do the same, but sometimes - when your mind is racing, full of thoughts - this can be hard. I found if I have an equivalent to the black void, which is more interesting, then I don't have to have this fight. Sleep comes easily. I am fascinated by black holes. So I imagine flying close to the center of the Milky Way, nearing the black hole. Might be nerdy, but it works fine for me.
- JauntyHatAngle 8y ago
  I have the same problem often, I really enjoy (as I'm sure many of us do) time to myself to think, so being alone with my thoughts and willing myself to relax and not to think of the millions of things I'd like to is akin to telling someone not to eat sweets while dangling a cornetto in front of them.
nitins 8y ago
Isn't this a form of meditation? Stay still and focus your mind on nothingness
- TheJoYo 8y ago
  it's impossible to keep all thoughts from your mind. meditation is having focus on an anchor like breathing so you are aware of the thoughts that occur. im not saying there's a wrong way to meditate, i just don't want people suffering to try the impossible and feel they have failed. being aware you are lost in thought is a huge success.
- Fnoord 8y ago
  > Isn't this a form of meditation? Yes, it is a form of mindfulness. > Stay still and focus your mind on nothingness "Nothingness" is the most difficult way to meditate. Its often seen as the way one meditates by people who are ignorant about meditation and mindfulness. Generally, there is one focus point. This could be sounds, it could be breathing, it could be visualisations, it could be focusing on walking. It could even be multiple focus points in one session (shifting the focus point throughout the session). Which is pretty much what a body scan does; it focusses on different body parts throughout the session. Also, it is far easier to do guided meditation, and the goal of meditation is to relax and become focussed; not necessarily to fall asleep. Though, if you are tired, that might very well be a byproduct. If you start with meditation, it is normal that you're not very good at it. It takes time, practice, and effort. In that sense it is actually hard work; not 'relaxing'. > Relax all my facial muscles Normal procedure to relax your muscles at the start and during meditation (if you have to reset). > and imagine an empty, black (literally #000) void in my mind's eye. This is one of the many visualisation techniques. Other examples are included in the article's URL.
  - bambataa 8y ago
    After meditating for a few months this I have started to notice that the increased mental awareness can make it harder to sleep. I’m more aware of myself gradually falling asleep and sometimes that sudden awareness of ‘oh, I’m falling asleep’ is enough to wake me up a bit.
davedx 8y ago
I once fell asleep on my feet inside a festival music tent - I actually wanted to stay awake :)
Id15eba6u 8y ago
I can vouch for this, I sometimes imagine my mind's eye have hand and use those to push thoughts away
alexpetralia 8y ago
I also do something similar. Just count (1, 2, 1, 2..) on each breath for as long as I can. When I stop counting I know I've either become distracted or fell asleep. Focusing on one thing ironically (such as counting) tends to be better than letting my mind completely relax (where then it will latch onto any topic it finds).
DEADBEEFC0FFEE 8y ago
Sounds very similar to mindfulness meditation.
piceas 8y ago
I have a somewhat limited ability for visual hallucinations, apparently called Aphantasia, discussed before on hn [Aphantasia]. As such, when meditating I tend to simply look at the "blackness" of my eyes closed. What I mostly see is a very dark pulsating tunnel pattern. A quick search suggests this is called phosphenes [phosphenes]. I find it interesting that as I fall asleep the pattern abruptly stops; somewhat like having a LCD screen set to black and the having the backlight turned off. It works for me, particularly when trying to nap. In the evening I prefer to listen to podcasts. As dzhiurgis mentioned, finding the right podcast makes a big difference. I look for podcasts where are interesting enough to keep listing, but not interesting enough to keep me awake. Usually podcasts with 5-15 minute segments are best. I like The History of English podcast [podcast 1] and The Naked Scientists [podcast 2]. [Aphantasia 176 comments on a fb hosted article] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11554894 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11554894 [Aphantasia comment by blakeross to a BBC link ] http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34039054 http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34039054 [phosphenes] http://scienceline.org/2014/12/why-do-we-see-colors-with-our-eyes-closed/ http://scienceline.org/2014/12/why-do-we-see-colors-with-our... [podcast 1] http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/ http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/ [podcast 2]https://www.thenakedscientists.com/ https://www.thenakedscientists.com/

LouisSayers 8y ago

Yup, I also use the same technique. I think of black, but I make it a little more interesting as the black of deep space. Like meditation, any thoughts that come in, and I focus back on the black. Generally, I don't even need to do this - I tend to fall asleep pretty fast.

sitkack 8y ago
I am floating on a planet made almost entirely of water, about 70-73f, small waves, nothing extreme. Very fine sand alternating with course sand, in about 2-3 feet of water. Overhead is something that looks like the milky way but isn't. The water is very buoyant and sand is close, there is no fear of drowning or predators. The stars are so close, it feels like you are voyaging through space.
raducu 8y ago
I do the same, except not thinking about black, but just focusing my attention of the visual artefacts that pop up when I have my eyes closed. Just like meditation, but instead of focusing on a part of the body, I focus on the eyes and their visual artefacts when closed.

1auralynn 8y ago

I've actually found that forced "tangential" thinking makes me fall asleep really fast. Basically, free association but you have to move onto the next thing instantly (eg. Think of a feather and then it's like a comb and maybe the comb is green then green grass, etc). I just seamlessly transition into dreaming. The key is not dwelling but moving on right away so you don't get stuck on things like "where are my car keys" or whatever.

wruza 8y ago
Hmm, sometimes I wake up in few minutes after falling asleep and realize that my mind did exactly what you described, but without my intent. Just quickly changing thoughts with no focus, as if gc started its mark phase.
- de_watcher 8y ago
  That's why I consider this behaviour as more like a symptom of falling asleep. When things get fast and weird it's the sign that the slow consciousness has almost disconnected.
msadowski 8y ago
That sounds really similar to what I often do. I often start picturing a tree, then I force one transition and feel like I let the brain switch images without my involvement. It's really hard to describe it but here is a simplified example. Tree -> zoom into the leaves which are actually a field of grass -> there is a small pond -> pond is now growing -> I see a sky now -> random colors and shapes are showing up... And it keeps on going and I don't even notice when I fall asleep.

emmelaich 8y ago

My technique is similar. Start at the toes and identify each toe then muscle individually and let each relax before moving on to the next. I have never got past the knee before falling asleep. Not foolproof though; sometimes your thoughts break through and stop the process. So you start again...

bmurphy1976 8y ago

I used to do something similar. These days I start planning my retirement. I imagine some deserted moon base orbiting a Saturn like planet orbiting a small red dwarf star ejected out of its galaxy into the void. No people, no chance of anybody or anything ever finding it. Trillions of years of quiet solitude before the star burns out. I've never gotten much farther than a few ideas into how it will all come together before zzzzzzzz....

davedx 8y ago
Hah I like this! For a while I used to imagine being on a spaceship on a long interstellar trip with my family on board with me. Planning where all the cabins were, what the living area looked like, views of interstellar space outside always used to send me off...
nealdt 8y ago
Made my day reading this!
dotancohen 8y ago
Are you that guy on that inner moon with the shiny rooftop who keeps reflecting the sunlight at me twice per orbit? Seriously, you'll retain heat better with a dark, matte finish on your dome, and you'll blind me less often. In any case, you might also want to reconsider your choice of moons, as yours seems a bit deep into the radiation belts. Out here we orbit much more slowly, peacefully, and we're far from the radiation.
- dTal 8y ago
  >you'll retain heat better with a dark, matte finish on your dome No, they won't. There's a reason a perfect radiator is known as a "black body". Emissivity (a coefficient that describes the degree to which an object radiates, compared to a black body) is the exact inverse of reflectivity. That's why space blankets are shiny. Of course, dark objects also absorb more heat, so depending on how much radiation you're getting from the sun, a black roof might result in a warmer home. But it won't be because it's retaining heat.

linker3000 8y ago

It only works for me if I think of Vanta Black! Must try this though - my wife is often asleep in a minute or so while I take tens of minutes. I wonder how much using mobile devices in bed at night has affected sleep patterns.

djaychela 8y ago
I've taken to not using a screen within about an hour of going to bed, and never using the phone in the bedroom (because of association), and my sleep is much better - I fall asleep quicker, and study asleep longer. I tested the opposite on myself previously (intentionally using the phone in bed right up to lights out), and took longer to get to sleep, and woke up around 4-5am feeling not very rested. Smartphones are the devil.
davedx 8y ago
Mobile devices- anything with a screen that emits blue wavelengths IIRC - are terrible for getting to sleep. I avoid mine except for turning my alarm on.
- _0ffh 8y ago
  Exactly right, which is why I adjust my monitor settings down if I stay late at the computer. Do do it in steps, and the adapted eye can go down even farther than "xrandr --output HDMI-0 --brightness 0.05 --gamma 2.0:1.0:0.5" and still see quite well... ;-) Also, for people who read from a tablet or phone in bed, use software that supports a night mode. Set background color to black and font color to dark amber. Then gradually shift down overall brightness. Personally, I use "Cool Reader", which is really good for that, as it lets you adjust brightness just by sliding up/down on the left screen border.
- maccard 8y ago
  > I avoid mine except for turning my alarm on. Two solutions to this - get a standalone alarm clock, or set up an alarm to repeat on weekdays so you don't have to do it every evening.
- dingaling 8y ago

pkaye 8y ago

Yup something like this works for me too. I close my eyes and imagine a dark void of nothing. If my mine wanders off I refocus on the dark void again. If my mind is still too active, I have a boring book at hand that I read for a few minutes to clear my mind and get me tired. Then I try again.

rapnie 8y ago

> and revert back to my black space. As long as I kept fighting the temptation for my mind to wander I do the same, but sometimes - when your mind is racing, full of thoughts - this can be hard. I found if I have an equivalent to the black void, which is more interesting, then I don't have to have this fight. Sleep comes easily. I am fascinated by black holes. So I imagine flying close to the center of the Milky Way, nearing the black hole. Might be nerdy, but it works fine for me.

JauntyHatAngle 8y ago
I have the same problem often, I really enjoy (as I'm sure many of us do) time to myself to think, so being alone with my thoughts and willing myself to relax and not to think of the millions of things I'd like to is akin to telling someone not to eat sweets while dangling a cornetto in front of them.

nitins 8y ago

Isn't this a form of meditation? Stay still and focus your mind on nothingness

TheJoYo 8y ago
it's impossible to keep all thoughts from your mind. meditation is having focus on an anchor like breathing so you are aware of the thoughts that occur. im not saying there's a wrong way to meditate, i just don't want people suffering to try the impossible and feel they have failed. being aware you are lost in thought is a huge success.
Fnoord 8y ago
> Isn't this a form of meditation? Yes, it is a form of mindfulness. > Stay still and focus your mind on nothingness "Nothingness" is the most difficult way to meditate. Its often seen as the way one meditates by people who are ignorant about meditation and mindfulness. Generally, there is one focus point. This could be sounds, it could be breathing, it could be visualisations, it could be focusing on walking. It could even be multiple focus points in one session (shifting the focus point throughout the session). Which is pretty much what a body scan does; it focusses on different body parts throughout the session. Also, it is far easier to do guided meditation, and the goal of meditation is to relax and become focussed; not necessarily to fall asleep. Though, if you are tired, that might very well be a byproduct. If you start with meditation, it is normal that you're not very good at it. It takes time, practice, and effort. In that sense it is actually hard work; not 'relaxing'. > Relax all my facial muscles Normal procedure to relax your muscles at the start and during meditation (if you have to reset). > and imagine an empty, black (literally #000) void in my mind's eye. This is one of the many visualisation techniques. Other examples are included in the article's URL.
- bambataa 8y ago
  After meditating for a few months this I have started to notice that the increased mental awareness can make it harder to sleep. I’m more aware of myself gradually falling asleep and sometimes that sudden awareness of ‘oh, I’m falling asleep’ is enough to wake me up a bit.

davedx 8y ago

I once fell asleep on my feet inside a festival music tent - I actually wanted to stay awake :)

Id15eba6u 8y ago

I can vouch for this, I sometimes imagine my mind's eye have hand and use those to push thoughts away

alexpetralia 8y ago

I also do something similar. Just count (1, 2, 1, 2..) on each breath for as long as I can. When I stop counting I know I've either become distracted or fell asleep. Focusing on one thing ironically (such as counting) tends to be better than letting my mind completely relax (where then it will latch onto any topic it finds).

DEADBEEFC0FFEE 8y ago

Sounds very similar to mindfulness meditation.

piceas 8y ago

I have a somewhat limited ability for visual hallucinations, apparently called Aphantasia, discussed before on hn [Aphantasia]. As such, when meditating I tend to simply look at the "blackness" of my eyes closed. What I mostly see is a very dark pulsating tunnel pattern. A quick search suggests this is called phosphenes [phosphenes]. I find it interesting that as I fall asleep the pattern abruptly stops; somewhat like having a LCD screen set to black and the having the backlight turned off. It works for me, particularly when trying to nap. In the evening I prefer to listen to podcasts. As dzhiurgis mentioned, finding the right podcast makes a big difference. I look for podcasts where are interesting enough to keep listing, but not interesting enough to keep me awake. Usually podcasts with 5-15 minute segments are best. I like The History of English podcast [podcast 1] and The Naked Scientists [podcast 2]. [Aphantasia 176 comments on a fb hosted article] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11554894 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11554894 [Aphantasia comment by blakeross to a BBC link ] http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34039054 http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34039054 [phosphenes] http://scienceline.org/2014/12/why-do-we-see-colors-with-our-eyes-closed/ http://scienceline.org/2014/12/why-do-we-see-colors-with-our... [podcast 1] http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/ http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/ [podcast 2]https://www.thenakedscientists.com/ https://www.thenakedscientists.com/