For such cases, I've taken to starting the BBC World Service stream on my phone's speaker at low volume. Just loud enough to be a presence but at or below the t

For such cases, I've taken to starting the BBC World Service stream on my phone's speaker at low volume. Just loud enough to be a presence but at or below the threshold where I can easily make out the words. Without really paying attention to the news/program, it seems to "short circuit" my attention or whatever's going on in my mind, enough that I usually drift off within a few minutes. Anecdote, but with a success of 1 (person). P.S. I used to find the idea of sleeping with the TV or radio on counterproductive, and I still wouldn't do it at normal volume, but this hack has worked to let me doze off when that's not happening on its own. My normal and long-standing bedtime routine is usually to read for a few minutes until tiredness overtakes me. P.P.S. I should mention that I also have white noise playing in the bedroom, due to intermittent neighborhood noise issues. Perhaps the BBC stream would be too distracting without the white noise's presence.