Insomnia

You've heard the common advice for trying to beat insomnia:

See a Doctor
Take a Warm Bath
Get a Massage
Listen to Music
Drink Warm Milk
Drink Herb Tea
Eat a Bedtime Snack
Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol and Tobacco
Sleep in a Well-Ventilated Room
Sleep on a Good Firm Bed
Sleep on Your Back
Get Some Physical Exercise During the Day
Keep Regular Bedtime Hours
If You Can't Sleep, Get Up
Don't Sleep In
Get Up Earlier in the Morning
Keep Your Bed a Place for Sleep
Avoid Naps
Avoid Illuminated Bedroom Clocks

And of course, counting sheep (which doesn't work). Here are ten uncommon methods that might help you out:

1. Sleep with Your Head Facing North
And, obviously -- unless you have a particularly unusual body -- your feet facing south. This aligns your body with the magnetic field of the planet, bringing your own energies into harmony with those of the Earth. Sound like a pretty bizarre theory? Try it. You'll see what a difference it makes.

2. Don't Watch TV or Read Before Going to Bed
Wait at least one-half hour (preferably longer) before going to bed after reading or watching television. We know; some people say that reading a detective story or some such escapist book helps put them to sleep. If it works for them, great. But it seldom worked for us. And it probably hasn't worked for you either.

The reason is that no matter how passively we watch television, or how innocuous the book we read is, our minds are still being stimulated. And an overstimulated mind -- along with anxiety and stress -- is what keeps us awake. It's all those thoughts in our head we have to get rid of before we can get to sleep. The last thing we need is more input into our heads from television or books.

3. Toe Wiggling
A relaxed body is essential for a sound sleep. This may sound like we're contradicting what we just said about our minds keeping us awake, but it's no contradiction. Eastern sciences (such as yoga) have known for thousands of years that the mind and body are connected (actually they're not just connected, they're one, but the idea that they're connected is sufficient for our purposes here.) So if the mind is not relaxed, the body is not relaxed. Conversely, the body has to be relaxed for the mind to be relaxed. It's a package deal.

So how do you relax your body? We've already mentioned milk, herbal teas, exercise, and avoiding caffeine. But there are techniques you can do directly with your body. Toe Wiggling is one of them.

Lie on your back (where you should be in the first place) and wiggle your toes up and down 12 times, wiggling the toes of both feet at the same time. This will relax your entire body, inside and out.

How does it work? According to the science of Reflexology -- which has been around in other cultures for thousands of years -- your feet are a kind of master control panel for the rest of your body. "Meridians" in the body -- which are those channels of energy treated by acupuncture -- end up in the feet. So the ends of those meridians in your feet connect with every organ and every part of your entire body.

When you wiggle your toes, you are stimulating -- and thus relaxing -- your entire body. (Incidentally, this is a good place to mention that you can be energized and relaxed at the same time. It's a matter of the quality of that energy. If it flows freely and smoothly, you will be relaxed. If the energy flow in your body is restricted or blocked, you will be tense. And toe wiggling helps to bring about a relaxing, free-flowing energy.)

Note: This same exercise is also great first thing in the morning before getting out of bed in order to energize the body.

4. Stomach Rub
This soothes down the digestive system and helps to bring about a deeper relaxation. An extra benefit is that it will help you to lose weight by improving the functioning of the digestive system.

Simply lie on your back and place your hand on your navel. Begin to make small circles in a clockwise direction as you gently glide your hand over your stomach. Let your circles gradually become bigger and bigger. When your circles reach the outside of your stomach, gradually reduce their size until you are back at your navel again. Then reverse the direction (to counter-clockwise) and do the same thing again. Repeat this whole series with your other hand. Do this several times.

Note: Food material moves through the colon in a clockwise direction. If you have trouble with constipation, make all your circles clockwise. If troubled by diarrhea, make all your circles counter-clockwise. Clockwise circles will alleviate the blockage, counter-clockwise circles will help solidify fecal material.

5. Progressive Relaxation
This exercise is most effective when you tape record the instructions in advance, preferably in your own voice. This way you don't have to concentrate on remembering the instructions.

We'll give you the instructions here. You tape record them, with a short pause after each sentence to allow yourself time to actually do the sensing and relaxing.

Lie on your back, close your eyes, and begin to listen to the tape:


Feel your feet. Feel the weight of your feet. Feel your feet relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your lower legs. Feel the weight of your lower legs. Feel your lower legs relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your knees. Feel the weight of your knees. Feel your knees relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your upper legs. Feel the weight of your upper legs. Feel your upper legs relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your hands. Feel the weight of your hands. Feel your hands relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your lower arms. Feel the weight of your lower arms. Feel your lower arms relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your elbows. Feel the weight of your elbows. Feel your elbows relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your upper arms. Feel the weight of your upper arms. Feel your upper arms relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your buttocks. Feel the weight of your buttocks. Feel your buttocks relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your back. Feel the weight of your back. Feel your back relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your pelvic and belly area. Feel the weight of your pelvic and belly area. Feel your pelvic and belly area relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your chest. Feel the weight of your chest. Feel your chest relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your shoulders. Feel the weight of your shoulders. Feel your shoulders relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your neck, both front and back. Feel the weight of your neck. Feel your neck relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your skull. Feel the weight of your skull. Feel your skull relax and sink into the bed.
Feel your mouth. Feel any tension in your mouth. Feel your mouth relax and any tension slide off into the bed.
Feel your eyes. Feel any tension in your eyes. Feel your eyes relax and any tension slide off into the bed.
Feel your entire face. Feel any tension in your face. Feel your face relax and let any tension slide off into the bed.
Mentally scan your body. If you find any place that's still tense, relax it and let it sink into the bed.

6. Deep Breathing
One of the main reasons many of us are tense is our breathing. Most people breathe very shallowly, using only the top part of their lungs. Deep Breathing allows us to use our entire lungs, providing more oxygen to our bodies, and energizing and rejuvenating every organ and cell in our bodies. It is probably the most effective and beneficial method of relaxation we've seen.

Lie on your back.
Slowly relax your body, starting with your feet and moving through every part of your body until you have reached -- and relaxed -- your face and scalp.
Do a quick check to see if you've missed any place. If so, relax it.
Slowly begin to inhale, first filling your lower belly, then your stomach area, and then your chest and the top of your lungs almost up to your shoulders. Hold for a second or two, then begin to exhale. Empty the very bottom of your lungs first, then the middle, then finally the top.
Continue this breathing for 4 or 5 minutes. Don't force your breathing; it's not a contest to see how much air you can take in. Just do it in a relaxed, peaceful manner.
After a while, imagine that you are resting on a warm, gentle ocean. The sun is shining peacefully on your body. Imagine that you rise on the gentle swells of the water as you inhale, and that you slowly descend as you exhale.
Continue this relaxing breathing as long as you wish (hopefully until you fall asleep).

Note: This is particularly effective when you do it after Progressive Relaxation -- if you haven't already fallen asleep!

7. Visualize Something Peaceful
Just lie there with your eyes closed and imagine you're in your very favorite, most peaceful place. It may be on a sunny beach, swinging in a hammock in the mountains or your back yard, or all alone in a cave in the Himalayas.

Wherever it is, imagine you are there. You can see your surroundings, hear the peaceful sounds, smell the fragrance of the flowers, and feel the warmth of the sun or whatever sensations are there. Just relax and enjoy it -- and drift off to sleep.

Once you've found a place that's especially peaceful and effective, you'll find that the more you use it, the more you can count on it to help you relax and get to sleep. Its comfort and familiarity will make it more and more effective.

8. Visualize Something Boring
We like this one in particular. The beauty of it is you can turn a negative into a positive. Just visualize that you are someplace that you have always found extremely boring. It could be listening to a particular teacher who was so boring that he or she almost always put you to sleep. Perhaps it's some friend or acquaintance whose incessant talk and theories put you to sleep. Maybe it's your work, maybe it's your commute each day.

Whatever it is, visualize it. And recapture that bored, tired, heavy, sleepy feeling that you always experience. Let that feeling spread through your mind and all through your body till you're filled with complete tiredness and sleepiness. It works.

9. Imagine It's Time to Get Up
This is a neat one too. Kind of a variation on the previous technique. Imagine that you're not allowed to go to sleep. Imagine that your morning alarm has gone off and it's time to get up and go to work. You know how delicious that feeling is in the morning when it's time to get up but you're so tired and your eyes are very heavy and you shouldn't do it but you just want to fall right back to sleep for a few minutes more?

Well, we find you can often bring that about just by imagining as fully and realistically as possible that it's morning, that you have to get up, put your feet on a cold floor, stagger around the house, take a cold shower, and do whatever unpleasant things you associate with getting up in the morning. The more unpleasantly you can imagine it, the more you won't want to do it. And the more you'll just want to stay in bed and sleep. Try it. You'll be surprised how tired and sleepy your mind can make your body.

10. Quiet Ears
This technique is an ancient Eastern meditation as well as a great way to fall asleep.

Lie on your back with your hands behind your head, fingers interlocked, and your palms cupping the back of your head. Get as relaxed as possible (This position make take a little while to get used to).
Place your thumbs in your ears so that you are pressing the outer flap of your ear and blocking the entrance to the ear canal.
Lie quietly and listen for a high-pitched sound that you will gradually hear inside your head.

Lie there for 10 to 15 minutes and concentrate on that sound. Then put your arms to your sides and go to sleep. (Don't worry about all the stories of people who have ringing in their ears. This is different -- and natural.)

Bon nuit, kids.