this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2025
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It’s actually like the title asks; What does everyone here do when you can’t sleep and are wide awake besides being on phone?

So let’s say it’s in the middle of the night and you are unable to sleep. You have to keep things soundless due to family or partner.

Trying to get the phone usage significantly lower when being in bed but it feels like nothing can replace the ‘easiness of mindlessly scrolling’.

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[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 hour ago

Read or take a dose of melatonin.

[–] ClassifiedPancake@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

If I still have 8+ hours time I’ll throw in a Zopiclon, otherwise I’ll give up eventually and watch Youtube until the alarm goes off.

[–] communism@lemmy.ml 5 points 4 hours ago

Reading books or playing video games. If I have the energy then also working on projects.

[–] callyral@pawb.social 1 points 4 hours ago

I can usually sleep at night, but if I didn't use my phone I would probably draw or play the keyboard (with headphones connected) for a while, then I would stop and try to sleep again.

Count from 1 to 10, then 10 to 1. With each number, relax your body a little more. When the mind strays, bring it back to counting. Repeat until unconscious.

If that isn't working at all, get up, go to another room, play soft music at low volume on headphones, and depending on the circumstances read a book, jot stuff down, or just contemplate stuff. Chill until sleepy, then either go back to bed or just curl up where you are.

[–] daggermoon@lemmy.world 6 points 13 hours ago

Coom to weird porn for an hour and feel like shit afterwards, then take melatonin.

[–] thelsim@sh.itjust.works 14 points 15 hours ago

I take a random number around 800 and start to count backwards in increments of 7. It’s kind of tedious and drowns out my other thoughts. I don’t think I’ve ever made it to zero :)

Of course you should use bigger numbers if your math skills are better.

[–] WellTheresYourCobbler@hexbear.net 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I listen to audiobooks I’ve already listened to so that they don’t take much effort to keep up with while still being more interesting than laying there motionless with nothing to do.

[–] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I do this with low key youtube videos, downloaded to mp3.

Also, take another clonodine after a couple of hours.

Hell yeah sister love that long form content

[–] orbular@lemmy.today 11 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

I try to name unconnected things until I'm interrupted by a different thought, then when I realize I've gone off I play the unconnected naming game again. Doesn't matter if there is a connection. Apparently this disorganized thinking is similar to sleep thoughts and can help get your brain in the mood for sleeping.

Example: sheep, glass, shelf, sock, alien, whisker, etc

[–] patatas@sh.itjust.works 3 points 16 hours ago

Yes! This is almost exactly my technique. I try to do the naming in a steady rhythm, around one per second, picturing the thing in my mind while mentally saying the word.

My hypothesis is that it syncs up both sides of my brain at a timing that is in the delta wave frequency, same as a deep sleep state

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 25 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I read a book. It's quiet, it's restful, it often helps me get back to sleep but even if it doesn't it's still relaxing and worthwhile.

[–] cRazi_man@europe.pub 8 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Kindle with a dim backlight is perfect for this.

[–] picnicolas@slrpnk.net 2 points 18 hours ago

Happy my recent upgrade has the yellow backlight feature for just this reason

[–] dingus@lemmy.world 23 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

I mean, I know it's entirely opposite to the accepted advice...but when I can't sleep, I actually find it helpful to go on my phone.

Scrolling social media doesn't help though. What helps is putting on long form videos on YouTube that aren't overly engaging. It helps if you've seen them before too. If my thoughts are racing, having something else to focus on (but not too focused) helps a ton.

Sitting in the dark without a mild stimulus doesn't help, despite what the common advice given seems to be.

I know you said you can't have sound, but what about headphones?

[–] Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world 7 points 19 hours ago

How It's Made, commercial bakery prep, or street food making are my go tos for long form videos to try to sleep.

[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 5 points 16 hours ago

I read a book. Usually have an e-book or graphic novel queued up. Worse case, grab a paper book and a booklight, set to low. That always works.

[–] TheGuyTM3@lemmy.ml 9 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Dreaming awake. Idk how to call it otherwise.

I invent to myself the most ridiculous stories of things of my imagination and i play them in my head, like a sort of head game.

When i do a sufficiently long story, i often fall asleep on it and i continue it the next evening, and it can last months. Plus you get better at mental visualisation the more you do it. I remember dreams almost every night since i did that for a long time.

[–] Lazhward@lemmy.world 1 points 17 hours ago

It's usually referred to as 'immersive daydreaming'.

[–] Fondots@lemmy.world 8 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

I very rarely have trouble sleeping, but when I do, this is what I've always done since childhood and it hasn't failed me yet.

I lay there, with my eyes closed, resist any temptation to look at my phone or do anything else, make myself as comfortable as possible wrapped up in blankets and pillows and whatever

And I just kind of direct my mind towards something pointless and let it wander down that rabbit hole

Maybe I'll imagine sort of a bunch of swirling lights and colors and just kind of watch them, look for patterns, etc.

Or I'll make up stories. I'm no author, but I'll imagine myself as maybe a super hero, or an astronaut, or a wizard, or any of those sort of stock characters, and I imagine myself saving the world, or fighting a dragon, or boldly going where no man has gone before. These stories I'm making up aren't deep, they're a crappy universe full of plot holes and the kinds of characters an elementary schooler playing make-believe would come up with, because of course the superhero I'm imagining myself as can fly and has heat vision and wolverine claws and can turn invisible and has super strength and...

Or I just kind of think about simple things I enjoy. Places I could go hiking with my dog, date nights with my wife, meals I'd like to cook for friends, etc.

Whatever it is, I just kind of let my mind wander down that road, it takes my mind off of whatever was keeping me awake, and after I while my focus begins to falter and I just sort of slip into sleep from there.

I'm pretty sure this kind of falls under the category of some kind of meditation. My work once did a mandatory "wellness retreat" as a "training" thing I had to go to. One of the things we did was a guided meditation session, and that felt like the same sort of thing (but for people who are boring and lack the imagination to think of a scenario to meditate on by themselves, imagining myself flying an x-wing through an asteroid field beats the pants off of imagining I'm walking through a meadow to the beach or whatever that lady was having us imagine)

Sometimes a little background noise is helpful. I'm not personally too picky about what it is, I like trip hop music for this purpose, or forest sounds, or just random YouTube videos (not even necessarily anything relaxing, I've fallen asleep to some machinist YouTubers plenty of times and the sound of a mill, lathe, band saw, grinder, etc. isn't exactly what I'd call soothing.

And when all else fails, I rub one out

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 6 points 19 hours ago

Well, I've dealt with insomnia since I was a kid to some degree, and as a teenager to a significant degree. I've kinda got a list.

The first thing I try is meditation. It's a solid way to shift brain waves to begin with, and often leads to improved rest even if I don't get back to sleep at all. So I always recommend at least laying still and breathing controlled patterns. Doesn't matter much what style of breathing you do, it's the control and regularity of it that helps being better rested. Half an hour of that, and 4/10 times I'm back to sleep. The rest of those, I'm usually at least feeling like I had another hour or two, so I can either get up, or switch off to other things.

Reading has been a lifelong help since it doesn't bother anyone else and for me it's almost a form of meditation of its own. So that's usually what I'll try if I still want to try to sleep more. It works fairly well. Out of those remaining 6/10, it usually gets me back to sleep 3 or 4 more times.

The rest though, I'm usually going to give up. When I was single, that meant maybe getting up and just starting my day, or fucking around doing what I could do without waking housemates. That's where devices like phones and tablets have been a huge help. I can play games, fuck around on lemmy or whatever and not disturb my wife at all, much less anyone else. Sometimes I'll throw on some headphones while doing so and listen to music.

[–] monovergent@lemmy.ml 5 points 18 hours ago

I would always struggle with falling asleep while trying to read dense scientific literature and journal articles. I've now learned to weaponize that to induce sleep.

[–] clot27@lemmy.zip 3 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

I just read my science book and I fall sleep

[–] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 16 hours ago

One time I put my professor lecture videos on

[–] NorthWestWind@lemmy.world 7 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I explicitly command my brain to stop thinking. When something pops up again I would go "nope, you ain't doing that".

I would visualize something being cleaned up, like a whiteboard being erased, or turning screens off.

[–] Rozz@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 20 hours ago

I do that too, like wiping my whole whiteboard/brain completely clean. It takes a few tries often.

[–] sylver_dragon@lemmy.world 3 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

This is basically me every night. Unless I go to bed at 3am, I usually toss and turn for an hour or more. So, I listen to audiobooks. Nothing heavy, usually just sci-fi or fantasy. Basically cotton-candy for the mind. Unless I have a good lecture going, the Great Courses stuff is soothing. But, that usually distracts me enough that I finally fall asleep. I use a single ear bud in my right ear and set a sleep timer so that the book shuts off after a reasonable time. That usually gets me close enough to sleeping that I can finally get the rest of the way.

The only downside to this plan, is when you get a really good book, with a good reader and you start getting towards the end of the book. The temptation to go just one more chapter is hard to resist.

[–] whiskers165@hexbear.net 4 points 21 hours ago

I live walking distance to the best queer bar in the south, you can find me there many nights after midnight. Plenty of clubs, dancing, house music. I just be roaming the night looking for pretty lights and thumping music. Perks of living in a major city

[–] normalexit@lemmy.world 2 points 18 hours ago

I'll get up and go to another room. Try to read or do something until I get sleepy and try again.

[–] ultranaut@lemmy.world 2 points 18 hours ago

Listen to an audiobook. If my eyes are open I'm not falling asleep so laying there listening to a book works for me.

[–] xtrapoletariat@beehaw.org 1 points 16 hours ago

Look at the stars for a while.

[–] hellinkilla@hexbear.net 2 points 19 hours ago

A doctor told me that if you aren't asleep after 20 mins, you should get out of bed and do something quiet til you are tired. So you learn to associate being in bed with sleep.

Or as someone else told me: beds are for sleeping, sex and dying.

[–] Xaphanos@lemmy.world 4 points 22 hours ago

Melatonin and a 3mg THC gummy or two.

If it's real bad, I'll resolve to go clean up the garage. All of a sudden my body becomes too heavy to stand up and I'm immobile.

[–] deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 4 points 22 hours ago (3 children)
  • YouTube (radio drama channels) - there are some fantastic plays.
  • podcasts using antennapod on F-Droid.
[–] Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Oooh, do you have any recommendations for the former?

[–] deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 1 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Search on "radio dramas" in the bar regularly until "radio dramas" appears in the capsule shaped in the listings for you; you might want to try "BBC Radio" too. I'm a old fart Brit bought up in the golden era of BBC for context.

  • I adore le Carré and there are quite a few read by him, some quite abridged. However, these will probably stop you going to sleep because you stay awake trying to guess what's actually happening.
  • RD Wingfield
  • the Whitehall 1212 series about the old Scotland Yard are half hour stories of the old type where the criminals always give themselves up and explain why they did it!
  • Paul Temple (and ..)
  • Miss Marple.. and related Agatha Christie
  • Dorothy L Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey)
  • The trenchcoat PI with the classic American Private Investigator voice and demeanour. Damn. Can't remember the name. Philip Marlowe.
  • there's a Nordic series too: Martin Beck.
  • PD James.

I hope that's of some use. Don't hesitate to write if you listen to a good one i may have missed!

It's difficult to provide channels because YouTube takes channels down for some reason and they reappear under similar names or not at all.

Send them a few pennies if you can or at least like and subscribe.

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[–] blackbrook@mander.xyz 3 points 21 hours ago

I play some music (thru earbuds unless my wife happens to be away). My go to is the Goldberg Variations. I think the reason it works, even though it can be quite busy and fast in some parts is that there is enough complexity to occupy the mind, but enough sameness to lull, and I know it really well.

Sometimes I'll take 1mg of melatonin, and a cup of warm milk with honey.

[–] Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world 2 points 19 hours ago

I personally like writing + D&D, so I'll just do that in my head. Grab some character I like, throw them in some random moments, and then just kinda daydream about the little movie I'm making for myself. It helps a ton if I can keep focused

[–] the_abecedarian@piefed.social 3 points 22 hours ago

Read books, do light stretching, journal with pen and paper, meditate, any quiet activity like that without a screen.

[–] mlegstrong@sh.itjust.works 2 points 20 hours ago

Read with a real book if possible . If you sleep by yourself you can be quiet with just a small light. Either I get lost in the story then can sleep or it gets so boring sleep seems better then forcing myself to read another word.

[–] pr06lefs@lemmy.ml 1 points 18 hours ago

Lately I've been watching videos from twoodfrd on youtube. Guitar luthiery. Gets me napping like no other. Found another that seems promising "Machinery Restorer". Turn on subtitles if you need to be quiet.

[–] Salamanderwizard@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Season 1 of Bob's burgers at a whisper. All lights off. Phone brightness down to nothing.

[–] skankhunt42@lemmy.ca 2 points 20 hours ago

This but futurama.

I leave my phone further away.
Close enough that I'll hear it if there's an actual emergency, but far enough that I won't reach for it just because I'm bored.

That's enough to take care of most of my mindless night scrolling.

If I just can't fall asleep, sometimes I'll go drift off in the hammock outside or something that'll cool my body a bit.
Tbh, sometimes I just rub one out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also works as a decongestant.
I'm not a doctor, don't use this as medical advice.

[–] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 2 points 22 hours ago

Supposedly the best thing to do is to lay perfectly motionless in bed despite being wide awake, because that's still a form of rest and "better than nothing". This isn't always what I do myself, though: sometimes I will take an extra melatonin tablet or use the bathroom, and I always wear my trusty eye mask in any case; but if you absolutely have to fidget with something in bed, I think the most recommendable thing is physical paper books. Either books for reading, including comic books; or a notebook into which you can jot down ideas, journal, doodle, whatever it may be.

[–] TootSweet@lemmy.world 1 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

Lay still in bed with the lights off and my eyes closed. If the reason why I can't sleep is noise, I'll put in an ear plug. (Only one, because my other ear is on the pillow and blocks everything out.) Otherwise, I just... you know... try to sleep?

[–] CII_RX@lemmy.ml 1 points 20 hours ago

I leave my dark, warm place of sleep, walk into a room with a light & cool air, stay for a few minutes, maybe have a drink of water, then lay a heating pad across my stomach and go back to sleep.

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