Sleep

I often suffer from insomnia. Here are some tips that have helped me get to sleep:

• Don't spend all day on your bed. Your brain will get mixed up, thinking it's a daytime area and won't associate it with sleep.
• Sleep with the window open if at all you can. Sleeping in a cool room is much healthier, and you feel much cozier if you snuggle into a warm blanket. The fresh air also helps.
• Taking savasana, or corpse pose, is very beneficial. Lie on your back without a pillow, arms at your sides at an angle, palms up, fingers slack and not touching, legs angled out, feet slack and flopping out. Some yoga teachers put bolsters under your knees and even blocks under your feet, but I prefer savasana flat. With a blanket. Never underestimate how cozy and warm a blanket can make you feel.
• Concentrating on your breathing can be very helpful in emptying your mind so that your daily worries don't creep in and keep you awake. But don't concentrate on breathing evenly (don't count how many seconds it takes you to inhale and exhale) and don't even concentrate on breathing deeply. Instead, with your eyes closed, concentrate on your belly button. Visualize it moving up and down as you breathe, just a slight movement. This will give the mind something to focus on. You will breathe deeply naturally once your mind slows down.
• I have fallen asleep in savasana at the end of a yoga practice numerous times, so I can definitely recommend doing a few yoga poses before going to bed.
• Shower or bathe. Some people are too tired to do it at night. (In which case you fall right asleep and don't have to worry about insomnia!) But I like to go cleanly into a clean bed. That makes me feel good. (Cozy again!)
• You know the old saying about counting sheep. Well, I'm not good at visualizing sheep jumping over a fence, and I get distracted and lose count anyway. Instead, if the belly button observing really isn't kicking in and putting me to sleep, I say the multiplication tables in my head. It is very monotonous, but also very methodical (boring) and does take concentration, so it tires me out until I can fall asleep.
• Absolutely stay away from going over your to-to list, mentally writing a shopping list or stressing about something you absolutely mustn't forget the next day. This is too stressful and won't help you unwind. If you absolutely can't stay away from this type of thing, you are only allowed to visualize yourself going through your day the next day and visualize everything going perfectly.
• Warm milk with honey helps.
• Keeping to a regular bedtime helps your body get used to going to sleep. "It's time! Zzzzz..."

Try any or all of these and see what works for you. Don't give up if something doesn't work the first time. 

Good luck!:o)