What helps you sleep?

I generally have a high energy and most of the time hyper. Which is why when I have my down moments, it hits me harder it seems. Or I get mixed moments/emotions. That's tiring alone! But most of the time, I average about 5 hours of sleep, give or take. Caffeine normally makes me super sleepy but not enough to put me to sleep. I always joke, it has the opposite affect on me because I'm usually hyper. Melatonin, helps me pass out right away for like, an hour and then I'm wide awake. So I'm curious what everyone else does?

I've only been diagnosed with Anxiety and Mild Depression. I've never seen a therapist or anything...

Heillo, I am new here, just joined. For me, I find that listening to the sound of rain or sounds of nature with quiet instrumental music helps me get to sleep easier. I generally set my Dream Machine for an hour or put in any of the Nature Quest CDs which are about an hour and I very seldom hear them shut off. I have found out recently that if you take about 5 minutes before you climb into your bed to do some deep breathing exercises, it helps your body relax. Sometimes, I am just irritated and find that the deep breathing exercises and reading a book for the enjoyment of reading will help me find that place where my mind has wound down and I can sleep. Some research on my own says you need to develop a routine, things that you are willing to do each and every night before you retire to bed so that your body starts to notice that you are preparing for sleep and will start to relax. You may have to try a number of differently things to find what will work best for you and don't be afraid to ask your caregiver questions or search the internet for other ideas. The above suggestions are just what I do to help me sleep at night. I have gone from about 4 hours a night to about 6.5 hours over the last month.

I find guided meditation quite helpful. I struggle with 'proper' meditation, as my mind wanders too much, and I get irritated, so the guided meditations work well for me. Guidedmind.com has a wide variety of different ones, including one on sleep. Reading for about 20-30 minutes before I go sleep also helps calm my mind... As long as it's something that doesn't require concentration like a Science book. :P

When I find myself getting frustrated because I'm unable to fall asleep, I just tell myself "I'll eventually fall asleep, my body will get the rest it needs", and that has actually also helped, strangely enough. It's as if I've gotten rid of the pressure to sleep and my brain relaxes a little.