My best advice on dealing with insomnia

Having battled insomnia most of my life, I've had plenty of time to find ways to fall asleep at times where I wouldn't be able to just fall asleep like most people do.

For me personally, the so called sleep hygiene you read about in the news every now and then does not work at all! All it does for me is to give me a place in the Olympic toss and turn team.

I have however found ways that does make me fall asleep most nights, and funnily enough, it involves a lot of the things sleep hygiene tells you to NOT do! 

Things that makes me able to fall asleep includes: 

- Watching TV

- Streaming a movie on my laptop right next to bed

- Sitting in bed with laptop on my lap

- Prescription sleep medicines

- App on phone

I do tend to avoid the prescription medicines, for the most part I just stay up until I feel tired enough to maybe fall asleep and then I start streaming a movie on my laptop, or I run this absolutely fabulous smartphone app called Relax and Sleep well which you can find here: http://www.relaxandsleepwell.com/ 

The app is by far my best advice to those of you out there who struggle with insomnia! 

That being said, I'm not always asleep by the time the app finishes even in the paid version which is 48 minutes long or so, but even if I'm still awake at that time, I'll be relaxed so my body is resting even without sleep. Most of the time I do fall asleep with the app though, even on the free 27 minute version, but I personally prefer the longer version even with it being a tad bit on the pricey side for an app!

I tend to fall asleep better with some sound around me, hence the movie or app, I am normally very sound sensitive but that also means I hear just about every sound in the building. A movie of my choice or listening to Relax and Sleep Well makes any noises in the building less disturbing. 

I have tried other sleep apps with relaxing sounds and white noise, but no other app has been working as well as Relax and Sleep Well, and other apps tends to use up more battery too.

I am not getting paid by anyone to write this, I'm writing this purely based on my own experiences with using the app for the past three years or more, and a life of insomnia battles. 

But again, it doesn't always work on me. Sometimes I'm simply in too much pain to fall asleep, or my brain is just too full of thoughts to relax. The app is just a great help for the moments where it's "just" insomnia and I'm tired enough.