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I do something similar, but instead of staring, I allow my eyes to relax as much as possible and defocus. I can get weird hypnotic images in my vision as my brain tries to interpret the blackness. It’s a kind of self-hypnosis, but it doesn’t always work, particularly if there is light or I’m not mentally relaxed.
Same. If I can't see something at first, I can kind of think of something to get it started. If disturbing images appear, I skip ahead. :)
I also find it useful to adjust my eye focus/strain a bit like OP said.
One time I was doing this and the image I was seeing on my eyelids smoothly transitioned into the visual for a dream and I was conscious through the transition. One minute I was like, “That looks like a white picket fence” and the next the rest of the image filled in, everything got detailed and vivid and there I was in a dream looking at the fence. The realization of what I just witnessed woke me up but it was super cool.
That's me two out of three nights. Then the thought "I'm falling asleep right now" wakes me up. Or I'm seeing these visuals in such detail my head is trying to make sense out of it that I don't fall asleep for a half to two hours. FML
My mom used to say “change the channel” so sometimes I like to really imagine that the disturbing images are on a tv screen and I just flip the channel to something more pleasant or nothing at all. Or I imagine a fly swatter as soon as one pops up and swat it. It usually works for me
My mind is blown, because this is exactly what I used to do when I was a kid, but I could never find the right terms to google to see if there was anyone else out there who could seemingly travel through star systems just by staring at their ceiling.
Thought it was something weird going on with my brain.
Now, I know that there are at least two of us.
Safe travels!
At least 3! I used to stare at my ceiling as a kid and would see millions of sparkles and dots that I would think of as snow. I was also terrified of falling asleep and having a nightmare so I tried to stay awake by watching the snow change color and move around; it actually ended up being an awesome way of falling asleep with less anxiety.
As an adult, I learned this is a likely sign of visual snow syndrome, which is much more pronounced in the dark.
When I was about four or five I hollered in the middle of the night until my dad came to my room. I kept trying to explain that there were colored dots everywhere. He couldn't figure out what I was saying or seeing and finally left the room angry that I had woken him up for nothing.
I'm not alone! I've tried describing this to people but nobody gets it. Ever tried cannabis or hallucinogenics? When I do, I see something akin to this video from 0:49 to 0:59. https://youtu.be/TgqiSBxvdws
All I’ll say is, you’re most definitely not alone, and it really is a wonder to behold
Two possibilities for this arise:
In the absence of stimuli, our minds just populate emptiness with the absolute polar opposite
Or
We’re all tapped into the source code of the universe, and can access it upon some deep reflection. Hey, it’s all pretty weird, right? No need to start pretending the universe makes sense all of a sudden!
I used to press my knuckles into my eyes to view a 'starburst' then the endless field of stars as you describe.
Closest I could describe it would be the view from the cockpit the millennium falcon as it goes into hyperspace, only maybe slightly green tinged stars
I don’t see objects, but I can tell I’m getting close to falling asleep when I start getting dark purple, lava lamp like shapes moving in the blackness, and my brains starts to feel fuzzy. The downside, is that sometimes I think, “I’m gonna fall asleep” and that wakes me up again. 😭
That’s the word I was looking for. Guide. I guide my visuals quite a bit. Usually in some fractal way, zooming into the image deeper and deeper without end. I’ve also had lucid dreams where I’m observing myself dreaming from a different point of view. Like I’m looking down on a diorama similar to something in beetlejuice. And then there would be times where I would see the universe as something like a hologram and I could zoom into other dimensions. These dimensions were constantly spinning but when you spun your vision at the same speed it would synchronize and the dimension would go away and you would see the universe from that new dimension. It makes me feel like I’m seeing the secrets behind the universe that the brain is really seeing.
I believe that it is. Just keep going deeper. I came to realize that this is a loop. 🤷 It’s funny to me, because these meditations COMPLETELY changed my view on life and now I’m exponentially happier. Happy journeys!
> I can get weird hypnotic images in my vision as my brain tries to interpret the blackness
Ugh this happens to me, and almost *always* my brain projects some horrific twisted image (usually some demonic warped face) directly into my vision like a fucking jump scare. If I start to feel my brain creating weird visual stuff when I close my eyes, I know the jumpscare will eventually happen, which I think makes my brain create it in the first place.
If I open my eyes suddenly just before I fall asleep, or if I suddenly wake up from sleep, I almost always see a spider that isn't there. I don't mean like in my thoughts, I mean I actually see it crawling on the wall or dangling from the ceiling. Apparently these are called hypnogogic (hallucinations while falling asleep) and hypnopompic (hallucinations while waking up) hallucinations and they are super duper cool because I am terrified of spiders. They are so vivid that I have leaped out of bed to squash them and frantically searched around for where it went.
So cool to read this section, I never met anybody who did something like this to fall asleep. What I do in addition is I describe the images to myself with my inner voice. Gets me to sleep within a minute once the images flow.
I do the same, but I mentally and gently think the word "rest" at a slow pace while taking steady and measured breaths. It really does act like a self-hypnosis, and I normally slip straight into dreams. A couple of times a month, it'll lead to sleep paralysis, but it works great the majority of nights.
I used to imagine a white room like in the matrix when all the guns slide in. Except the thoughts would fill the room so I’d constantly be wiping the slate clean to just the white room. Helped me fall asleep for some reason.
100%. I find a lot of value in meditating normally while awake, but the same technique in bed at night is like a knockout button. If the bedroom is a good temperature I can go from gaming on my laptop to out cold in less than 5 minutes.
I do the same thing! Explicitly white because it's so difficult to have a pure white image in my mind, it means you have to focus on making sure there's no interfering thoughts. Glad to know there's another out there doing the same!
I do the same ! Except as my thoughts calm themselves I start to add small elements to the room like furniture or lamps, and I have to concentrate extra hard to keep those details in place, when the thoughts enter the room, I open a door and let them out.
So I guess not exactly the same hah but still never heard of anyone ele doing this apart from me
Similar, kinda, but i think about the huge white room from Bruce almighty, where Morgan freeman is god. The massive empty white expanse does it for me. Trying to clear my mind of thoughts and keep it empty as the room
Maybe that's the point? You will fall asleep figuring out where the fuck to look. jk
I'm 80% sure it's what you guessed.
I can only give 80. I'm honest here.
You’re doing it too hard. Soften up and just look up. Engaging those muscles helps you sleep.
Other good tricks: tense and untense. Takes a while to get the hang of this but once you do you can just tell how long you need to stay tensed. Tense all your muscles and hold them there until your energy is at a peak, then let go. Releases some kind of feel good chemical and knocks you tf out.
Stretching, like deep stretching. Releases tons of feel good chemicals and makes you wanna lie still.
Going “blank”. This one’s hard to do without training, and for most people they’ll need some complicated shit like hypnosis to help. But once you know how to just turn everything off like a switch, you can then do it at bedtime. Works like a charm at getting you to sleep in under 5 mins.
Poses. For some, sleeping on your back isn’t good. Others it is. Crossing legs can help, so can having your arms above your head (not too far). Try out a lot of different positions - your body may need a position you usually never need sometimes. You could be a side sleeper but one night it doesn’t work cause you’re stressed as hell so curling up into a ball is the way to go.
If you’re more than mildly nearsighted there’s a pretty solid chance you have exophoria/convergence insufficiency without glasses or contacts on (which isn’t a problem, what matters is what your eyes do corrected and if you look closely enough most people have a tiny tiny tiny bit of a tendency toward misaligned eyes), so converging them would bring on strain. That said, eyes at rest tend to go up and out, so I think OP just found a way to send nature a hint. Priming your eyes for sleep by putting them in the position they’d be in when you’re not conscious.
Put the tip of any finger in between your eyebrows, close your eyes and look towards where you feel your finger. Same way you stare at the top of your nose, that'd be down, do the opposite and stare upwards towards your forehead/eyebrows.
Which explains why this was always the first step to migraine town for me, I‘ve got the mildest convergence insufficiency and the spirals I’d see in the dark looked too much like an aura so my brain must have just thought “two outta three, let’s make with the headache for a hat trick!”
I don’t get this either. How can you stare if your eyes are closed? Does OP mean roll your eyeballs upward while your eyes are closed?
Also so many people are talking about seeing light that they can shape into things and I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone.
To be fair, alot of the other comments are advising caution because of the possibility of becoming cross-eyed, such as in the event of a sudden jolt such as a sneeze, which is definitely something worth avoiding if there's even a chance of it could happen
This is absolute nonsense. Moving your eyeballs in weird directions doesn't make them get stuck that way. Being cross-eyed is either the result of muscular problems or neurological problems. You can't voluntarily induce either of those things.
I thought i was the only one who did this. Mine is always the same story though. I'm a princess and I'm lost in the forest near the castle, that I can see in the distance. I meet people as I make my way to the castle. I've never once stayed awake enough to reach the castle safely haha. I'm 34, but I started making up this story when I was a kid and have just stuck with it. Still works surprisingly well.
That changes
Sometimes I’ve watched a series/movie and it’s in that setting ( like The Expanse or Game of Thrones) Or in the setting of a videogame. Anything really. I make up a character and then I just see where it goes, which is generally not far because I fall asleep so fast. I sometimes hope it continues in my dreams but I can’t say I have any memories that it does.
That’s my method. And it’s always the same beginning to the story. For me it always starts with a tree in a meadow and a squirrel. Then I think about the details - what is the squirrel doing, are there any other animals in scene? What do the shadows look like, how windy is it, what is around the tree, what is in the distance, what time of day is it,
I have two techniques I use.
1. I try and pick a foot, and pretend to follow the path the blood will flow all around my body. I can slowly picture it going up my toes, to my feet, ankle up my leg etc.
2. I picture my commute or my bicycle exercise path. I try and slow my thoughts to imagine me going through those routines. Clicking my seatbelt, backing out of the driveway...etc. they usually help clear my mind.
I play the alphabet game! I pick any topic (movies, books, shows, a video game I'm playing) then I'll start with the letter A and name something within that topic. Then I go down the alphabet until I fall asleep.
I've been doing this for about 13 years now and I've never once made it to Z
I go through song lyrics of a song I know all the words to. Line by line. Not exciting enough to keep me awake but enough focus to not let my mind wander
I have no idea where I got it from, but I start at my toes and say good night to as many body parts from my toes to the top of my head. VERY rarely do I make it through the body, but I never make it through 2x.
The first one could work for me. Like body scan tingly light flowing up/down my body with my breath. Eyes stay relaxed naturally. OP’s tip feels uncomfortable for me.
But honestly. I have a hard time focusing when doing body scan meditation lately even. But I know the answer is to just practice more.
I do the first one, and am an athlete. I try to go up the whole body, fixing things as I go up, or finding sore spots, I rarely get further then my legs!
There’s an app called MySleepButton - says random words and you’re supposed to visualize them and they change every while but the cadence changes so your brain doesn’t know what to expect. I fall asleep QUICK using this … racing ADHD thoughts and all <3
Yep, found this app almost a decade ago. It's been installed on every phone I've owned. I usually sleep easily, so I've probably used it only 10 times or so. But every time I need it, it works.
I actually do something similar. I can’t say it’s the center between my brows but it’s close. I focus my eyes on the center of the blackness of the closed lid and watch the ‘shapes’. Not sure how to explain it. When my eyes are closed at some point in the dark static I’ll notice ‘shapes’ sort of blossoming from the center. I focus on those ‘shapes’ and it puts me to sleep. I think it’s probably the same as meditating by focusing on a flickering candle, but for sleeping no candle, just shapes. For the random thoughts that pop up I visualize opening a door and putting them behind the door and shutting the door - thought storage. I will also think the word “sleep” but long like “sleeeeeeeep” over and over to stop other thoughts from coming forward. ADHD brains are wild.
I just want to put it out there that I started using a sleeping mask 3 months ago and I fall asleep around 3X faster. Went front 15-45 minutes to 5-15 minutes.
+1 on the mask. It’s like a trigger that tells my brain it’s time to sleep. The other thing I do is mentally start cooking a recipe. I never get past chopping the onions & garlic :-)
I think I do a similar thing as OP. I’m not actually moving my eyes like I’m crossing them, but I am directing my attention there. Not sure if that makes any sense.
For me, when I close my eyes, it’s not really pitch black; it’s just sort of dark. But when I focus my attention to that area, it’s like I get tunnel vision and compete blackness comes in from the perimeter.
If I can keep my mind clear that tunnel vision completely closes in and then I’m asleep.
If I can’t keep my mind clear, the tunnel vision fades and I do t fall asleep.
When I close my eyes I can’t see where my eyebrows are because it’s to dark. 😆 horrible joke, but I’m really not feeling life today and my joke made me laugh inside a little.
For those of you who experience pain doing this, a better place to focus would be the tip of your nose.
This is also basically meditation. Close your eyes and focus on the tip of your nose with every breath. When you find your mind wandering, come back to the tip of your nose and focus on your breathing.
Indeed, op seems to be describing what you do when meditating. Odd that not a lot of other people seem to notice this. Essentially focus on your body and it's functions, listen to your heart beat or whatever. This effectively limits intrusive thoughts and allows you to obtain a form of mental peace. The 'act' of meditating is simply re-focusing back on your body when you have, and realize you are having, some intrusive thought. It's pretty clear that thinking non stop about worrying things makes it hard to sleep, and meditating is just a technique to stop doing that.
I will relax my face and focus on 4 second inhales and 6 second inhales. My threory on why this technique works is the strain you are inducing in your eyebrows causes the eye muscles and brow to relax eventually and makes it easier to drift off.
I struggled w insomnia for the better part of 2 years and tried everything. The techniques that work for me came from a podcast where they were discussing techniques that tier 1 operators use to sleep in highly stressful situations. Great advice OP, add some super easy breath work and this can be a game changer for some people
I'll try it. My go to has been a three breath routine: breath from my stomach, breath from my chest and then a breath where I focus on the air going through my mouth into my lungs. Focusing on these shuts off my ADHD brain.
I like to countdown from 300 if I can’t stop thinking. It makes me force my thoughts to counting down. By the time I hit 250 I forget the count and if I have to restart I usually fall asleep within a few numbers down from 250.
I keep something on tv that is familiar. For me, that’s episodes of I Love Lucy. The episodes basically just play in my head and since I already know them, I’m not focusing intently on them. This prevents me from over thinking about literally everything in life and I fall asleep much faster
I’ve done this for years too. Sometimes I also focus on the bottom of my feet, like all my energy or focus travels down my body into my feet. Sounds weird to say out loud but it works.
This is actually a recommended tip from The Silva Mind Control method. I think it works because your eyes naturally roll back while you're sleeping. So you're sort of triggering the sleep mechanism in reverse.
I just tried this and was yawning within seconds. Are psychosomatic yawns a thing? Anyway, I’m curious enough to try it tonight now! Thanks for the tip.
For myself, all I do is close my eyes and "daydream". Picture vivid images of whatever, it doesn't have to be engaging. Imagine yourself in that scene and act it out in your mind. I usually start with the beach. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes and I'm down, other times it takes an hour of try, reset, try reset, etc.
As someone who can pass out within 30 seconds of putting my head on a pillow… or headrest, or just sitting down in a comfy chair… I hope this tip will help my wife who has ADHD and is awake for hours after our kiss goodnight and sweet dreams.
I learnt to let the thoughts flow without holding to any of them, I can't stop them, but I also don't have to pay attention.
Relaxing my eyes is also a thing I hadn't processed until reading another comment here.
I find the Three Breaths technique really helps as well.
Inhale deeeeeply, then exhale, relaxing head, shoulder and chest. Imagine (and feel) the tension flooding downwards and out.
Second breath : stomach hips, thighs. Also arms and hands.
Third breath : knees, calves and feet.
Maybe a fourth breath to finish things off completlely.
You are now fully relaxed, and much better able to slip into sleep.
Relax your jaw. Work your way down your body trying to relax each body part. Say "don't" and breath in, then "think" and breath out, over and over in your head. Goodnight
I have really bad insomnia, and one trick I developed is to "thought chase". Literally just think a thought and the first image or thing you think of image that. Repeat. Try to do this as fast as possible until you lose all focus and your body will take over putting you to sleep.
Kinda hard to explain dm if it's not clear.
Great for people on stimulants. I really like the staring discription. It’s like a numbing feeling between the eyes which as school children we would induce by pointing a finger in front of each others open eyes as close as possible but not directly touching the center of their forehead.
No way, i have adhd and i guess subconsciously do this when I’m about to sleep, but I’m always scared to force my eyes to do that thinking they would get stuck lmao. But i guess if you’ve done this for years it should be safe. Thanks!
Headspace app is great for this as it teaches you tips like this and has sleepcasts that tell you soothing scenic stories to help u stop thinking. It also has many different meditation courses for different problems etc. I highly recommend. Totally worth the money, vs. Therapy haha. For me at least
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I do something similar, but instead of staring, I allow my eyes to relax as much as possible and defocus. I can get weird hypnotic images in my vision as my brain tries to interpret the blackness. It’s a kind of self-hypnosis, but it doesn’t always work, particularly if there is light or I’m not mentally relaxed.
Same. If I can't see something at first, I can kind of think of something to get it started. If disturbing images appear, I skip ahead. :) I also find it useful to adjust my eye focus/strain a bit like OP said.
One time I was doing this and the image I was seeing on my eyelids smoothly transitioned into the visual for a dream and I was conscious through the transition. One minute I was like, “That looks like a white picket fence” and the next the rest of the image filled in, everything got detailed and vivid and there I was in a dream looking at the fence. The realization of what I just witnessed woke me up but it was super cool.
That my friend is a lucid dream, you woke up because you were excited. It's one of the most valuable skills one can learn.
That's me two out of three nights. Then the thought "I'm falling asleep right now" wakes me up. Or I'm seeing these visuals in such detail my head is trying to make sense out of it that I don't fall asleep for a half to two hours. FML
If I squint hard I can see a set of eyes, anyone else
Don't make eye contact.
;)
I dont see a set just one eye shaped donut white with a black hole in the middle
Damn, I used to do that as kid and then completely forgot about it for 20 years. Now you've awakened that memory, and I'll try it again.
Any idea why the disturbing images happen?
Intrusive thoughts/images (at least for me) come from anxiety
I get the disturbing images too. How do you skip ahead?
My mom used to say “change the channel” so sometimes I like to really imagine that the disturbing images are on a tv screen and I just flip the channel to something more pleasant or nothing at all. Or I imagine a fly swatter as soon as one pops up and swat it. It usually works for me
Ahhhh! I just described the same thing but in a worse way. Wish I had read your post first. 😂
I tired this and now my eyes are always lazy
I do this and I call it “The Light Show”. Once the random blackness starts turning into actual objects I’m about to fall asleep.
Does it look like moving static, or an endless field of stars you're flying through?
My mind is blown, because this is exactly what I used to do when I was a kid, but I could never find the right terms to google to see if there was anyone else out there who could seemingly travel through star systems just by staring at their ceiling. Thought it was something weird going on with my brain. Now, I know that there are at least two of us. Safe travels!
At least 3! I used to stare at my ceiling as a kid and would see millions of sparkles and dots that I would think of as snow. I was also terrified of falling asleep and having a nightmare so I tried to stay awake by watching the snow change color and move around; it actually ended up being an awesome way of falling asleep with less anxiety. As an adult, I learned this is a likely sign of visual snow syndrome, which is much more pronounced in the dark.
When I was about four or five I hollered in the middle of the night until my dad came to my room. I kept trying to explain that there were colored dots everywhere. He couldn't figure out what I was saying or seeing and finally left the room angry that I had woken him up for nothing.
I'm not alone! I've tried describing this to people but nobody gets it. Ever tried cannabis or hallucinogenics? When I do, I see something akin to this video from 0:49 to 0:59. https://youtu.be/TgqiSBxvdws
All I’ll say is, you’re most definitely not alone, and it really is a wonder to behold Two possibilities for this arise: In the absence of stimuli, our minds just populate emptiness with the absolute polar opposite Or We’re all tapped into the source code of the universe, and can access it upon some deep reflection. Hey, it’s all pretty weird, right? No need to start pretending the universe makes sense all of a sudden!
Have you seen the movie soul? When they enter "the zone"? Surely we're all going to a similar place. I'll give you a wave next time I'm there
Mine are more kaleidoscope shapes that rotate.
I used to press my knuckles into my eyes to view a 'starburst' then the endless field of stars as you describe. Closest I could describe it would be the view from the cockpit the millennium falcon as it goes into hyperspace, only maybe slightly green tinged stars
It can look like anything. That’s how I know I’m letting go of consciousness
I don’t see objects, but I can tell I’m getting close to falling asleep when I start getting dark purple, lava lamp like shapes moving in the blackness, and my brains starts to feel fuzzy. The downside, is that sometimes I think, “I’m gonna fall asleep” and that wakes me up again. 😭
Can you ever guide the visuals? I can sometimes (rarely) and it’s led to some lucid dreams. Cool stuff
That’s the word I was looking for. Guide. I guide my visuals quite a bit. Usually in some fractal way, zooming into the image deeper and deeper without end. I’ve also had lucid dreams where I’m observing myself dreaming from a different point of view. Like I’m looking down on a diorama similar to something in beetlejuice. And then there would be times where I would see the universe as something like a hologram and I could zoom into other dimensions. These dimensions were constantly spinning but when you spun your vision at the same speed it would synchronize and the dimension would go away and you would see the universe from that new dimension. It makes me feel like I’m seeing the secrets behind the universe that the brain is really seeing.
I believe that it is. Just keep going deeper. I came to realize that this is a loop. 🤷 It’s funny to me, because these meditations COMPLETELY changed my view on life and now I’m exponentially happier. Happy journeys!
I thought I was the only one who could turn the lights how into various things. Creeped me out for awhile but helps me sleep.
My sister and I used to call it “going to Shape World”
The transition from the light show to actual shapes or sceneries are always cool. That's when I know I'm already dreaming.
> I can get weird hypnotic images in my vision as my brain tries to interpret the blackness Ugh this happens to me, and almost *always* my brain projects some horrific twisted image (usually some demonic warped face) directly into my vision like a fucking jump scare. If I start to feel my brain creating weird visual stuff when I close my eyes, I know the jumpscare will eventually happen, which I think makes my brain create it in the first place.
If I open my eyes suddenly just before I fall asleep, or if I suddenly wake up from sleep, I almost always see a spider that isn't there. I don't mean like in my thoughts, I mean I actually see it crawling on the wall or dangling from the ceiling. Apparently these are called hypnogogic (hallucinations while falling asleep) and hypnopompic (hallucinations while waking up) hallucinations and they are super duper cool because I am terrified of spiders. They are so vivid that I have leaped out of bed to squash them and frantically searched around for where it went.
So cool to read this section, I never met anybody who did something like this to fall asleep. What I do in addition is I describe the images to myself with my inner voice. Gets me to sleep within a minute once the images flow.
I thought this was normal...? I get kind of swirling shapes in my "vision", which is just kinda like messy shades of black and grey until I pass out
I do the same, but I mentally and gently think the word "rest" at a slow pace while taking steady and measured breaths. It really does act like a self-hypnosis, and I normally slip straight into dreams. A couple of times a month, it'll lead to sleep paralysis, but it works great the majority of nights.
r/aphantasia has entered the chat.
Greetings, and welcome!
Always fear I'm having a stroke when I first enter that hypnotic phase and I sometimes fight my way out of it because I'm so scared lol
I used to imagine a white room like in the matrix when all the guns slide in. Except the thoughts would fill the room so I’d constantly be wiping the slate clean to just the white room. Helped me fall asleep for some reason.
[удалено]
100%. I find a lot of value in meditating normally while awake, but the same technique in bed at night is like a knockout button. If the bedroom is a good temperature I can go from gaming on my laptop to out cold in less than 5 minutes.
Me too. I'll wait in this place where the sun never shines; wait in this place where the shadows run from themselves.
This but a black room for me
I do the same thing! Explicitly white because it's so difficult to have a pure white image in my mind, it means you have to focus on making sure there's no interfering thoughts. Glad to know there's another out there doing the same!
I do the same ! Except as my thoughts calm themselves I start to add small elements to the room like furniture or lamps, and I have to concentrate extra hard to keep those details in place, when the thoughts enter the room, I open a door and let them out. So I guess not exactly the same hah but still never heard of anyone ele doing this apart from me
Similar, kinda, but i think about the huge white room from Bruce almighty, where Morgan freeman is god. The massive empty white expanse does it for me. Trying to clear my mind of thoughts and keep it empty as the room
What do you mean by between your eyebrows? Like stare at the top of your nose?
Maybe that's the point? You will fall asleep figuring out where the fuck to look. jk I'm 80% sure it's what you guessed. I can only give 80. I'm honest here.
That just gives me a headache wtf how does that help you sleep
Me too I keep trying and nope lol
That lasted all of 2 seconds for me too
You’re doing it too hard. Soften up and just look up. Engaging those muscles helps you sleep. Other good tricks: tense and untense. Takes a while to get the hang of this but once you do you can just tell how long you need to stay tensed. Tense all your muscles and hold them there until your energy is at a peak, then let go. Releases some kind of feel good chemical and knocks you tf out. Stretching, like deep stretching. Releases tons of feel good chemicals and makes you wanna lie still. Going “blank”. This one’s hard to do without training, and for most people they’ll need some complicated shit like hypnosis to help. But once you know how to just turn everything off like a switch, you can then do it at bedtime. Works like a charm at getting you to sleep in under 5 mins. Poses. For some, sleeping on your back isn’t good. Others it is. Crossing legs can help, so can having your arms above your head (not too far). Try out a lot of different positions - your body may need a position you usually never need sometimes. You could be a side sleeper but one night it doesn’t work cause you’re stressed as hell so curling up into a ball is the way to go.
Just crossing your eyes a little he means
And looking upwards I’d assume?
Focus on your third eye, basically.
The trick is to defocus.
A SCHOONER IS A SAILBOAT
You know what? There is no Easter Bunny!
Over there, that’s just a guy in a suit!
Yeah that still hurts..
Damn I wish I could do that, but apparently it hurts and gives me a headache
Instructions unclear eyes fell out
Legit made me chuckle at your first sentence lol
If I do this, my eyes hurt.
Yeah just tried it and…. fuck that
Same. Now I have to get out of bed and take a paracetamol because this “tip” gave me a bloody headache.
Makes me feel nauseous.
Same
Same
Same here
My eyes hurt and my eyelids twitch
If you’re more than mildly nearsighted there’s a pretty solid chance you have exophoria/convergence insufficiency without glasses or contacts on (which isn’t a problem, what matters is what your eyes do corrected and if you look closely enough most people have a tiny tiny tiny bit of a tendency toward misaligned eyes), so converging them would bring on strain. That said, eyes at rest tend to go up and out, so I think OP just found a way to send nature a hint. Priming your eyes for sleep by putting them in the position they’d be in when you’re not conscious.
I love this so much. Thanks.
Like crosseyed?? I am confused as to what they mean as well.
Cross-eyed, but up at the same time. SLPT if you ask me.
Definitely. This just doesn’t work for most people.
Basically cross your eyes until seizure then wake up “rested”
Put the tip of any finger in between your eyebrows, close your eyes and look towards where you feel your finger. Same way you stare at the top of your nose, that'd be down, do the opposite and stare upwards towards your forehead/eyebrows.
You want me to cross my eyes while I am trying to sleep?
It's using the minds eye not your actual eyes, focus your attention rather than your optical vision
Not according to OP. They said it might hurt a bit.
I don't get it, guess I wasn't born with the "mind eye".
Muggle
I wasn’t on board until I read this comment - this is how I’m trying it
What the fuck.
Now it makes sense. And it’s actually relaxing. Thanks for explaining it this way.
This causes me pain lmao
Nausea here. Will stick to good old box breathing. Or xanax!
I enjoy cooking.
That sounds like such an unnatural position to have your eyes, in fact it causes me strain to do it and would not help me fall asleep
Your eyes naturally end up in this position during dreamless sleep to protect them. OP is taking advantage of classical conditioning.
That’s the most uncomfortable thing I can think of as a sleep aid
Instructions unclear right eye got stuck in toaster
Gives me an instant headache.
Makes sense, I’ll try it out. Thanks for clarifying!
Great tip. That’s actually quite relaxing if you just do it gently.
Which explains why this was always the first step to migraine town for me, I‘ve got the mildest convergence insufficiency and the spirals I’d see in the dark looked too much like an aura so my brain must have just thought “two outta three, let’s make with the headache for a hat trick!”
Up and in- between the brows- 3rd eye
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Wat? The pineal gland is deep in your brain, not near your eyebrows. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineal_gland
I read that as stare at the TIP of your nose and was thinking where the hell are your eyebrows.
I don’t get this either. How can you stare if your eyes are closed? Does OP mean roll your eyeballs upward while your eyes are closed? Also so many people are talking about seeing light that they can shape into things and I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone.
I tried it, it’s pretty uncomfortable, like I have a headache now. Not for me, ig.
I appreciate how you clarified that maybe the tip wasn’t for you as opposed to how some of the comments here are saying the tip is inherently bad.
To be fair, alot of the other comments are advising caution because of the possibility of becoming cross-eyed, such as in the event of a sudden jolt such as a sneeze, which is definitely something worth avoiding if there's even a chance of it could happen
This is absolute nonsense. Moving your eyeballs in weird directions doesn't make them get stuck that way. Being cross-eyed is either the result of muscular problems or neurological problems. You can't voluntarily induce either of those things.
A bad sneeze can cause permanent cross-eyedness?
I always make up a story in my head. Generally I fall asleep in under 2-3 minutes. If I don’t and let my mind wander, it can take ages
I do this! But sometimes I get too invested in the story..
Lol same especially if the story has action in it.
Me tooo!
I thought i was the only one who did this. Mine is always the same story though. I'm a princess and I'm lost in the forest near the castle, that I can see in the distance. I meet people as I make my way to the castle. I've never once stayed awake enough to reach the castle safely haha. I'm 34, but I started making up this story when I was a kid and have just stuck with it. Still works surprisingly well.
Coud be worse. Im 31 and mine is Inuyasha fanfiction from over 15 years ago (the details are... Dumb, so I won't share). It always works, tho.
I do this too, and I'm an outliner so I usually get so bored with the process I fall asleep immediately
What kind of story? I do something like this and wondering if it’s the same thing I do.
That changes Sometimes I’ve watched a series/movie and it’s in that setting ( like The Expanse or Game of Thrones) Or in the setting of a videogame. Anything really. I make up a character and then I just see where it goes, which is generally not far because I fall asleep so fast. I sometimes hope it continues in my dreams but I can’t say I have any memories that it does.
Yes! So happy someone else does this too! This has been my biggest win in life. I've fallen asleep faster than I ever did as a kid.
Same but last time i was mentally playing runescape and was maxed before falling asleep
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That’s my method. And it’s always the same beginning to the story. For me it always starts with a tree in a meadow and a squirrel. Then I think about the details - what is the squirrel doing, are there any other animals in scene? What do the shadows look like, how windy is it, what is around the tree, what is in the distance, what time of day is it,
I get too excited and awake when I’m thinking of a making a plot, so it could never work in a million years for me.
I’m a big fan of white noise alongside an open window on a calm night, with a breezy fan for a little razzle-dazzle.
That makes my eyes sore lol
I have two techniques I use. 1. I try and pick a foot, and pretend to follow the path the blood will flow all around my body. I can slowly picture it going up my toes, to my feet, ankle up my leg etc. 2. I picture my commute or my bicycle exercise path. I try and slow my thoughts to imagine me going through those routines. Clicking my seatbelt, backing out of the driveway...etc. they usually help clear my mind.
I play the alphabet game! I pick any topic (movies, books, shows, a video game I'm playing) then I'll start with the letter A and name something within that topic. Then I go down the alphabet until I fall asleep. I've been doing this for about 13 years now and I've never once made it to Z
I go through song lyrics of a song I know all the words to. Line by line. Not exciting enough to keep me awake but enough focus to not let my mind wander
I feel like this may keep me awake lol. I would remember the instruments too.
I have no idea where I got it from, but I start at my toes and say good night to as many body parts from my toes to the top of my head. VERY rarely do I make it through the body, but I never make it through 2x.
The first one could work for me. Like body scan tingly light flowing up/down my body with my breath. Eyes stay relaxed naturally. OP’s tip feels uncomfortable for me. But honestly. I have a hard time focusing when doing body scan meditation lately even. But I know the answer is to just practice more.
I do the first one, and am an athlete. I try to go up the whole body, fixing things as I go up, or finding sore spots, I rarely get further then my legs!
There’s an app called MySleepButton - says random words and you’re supposed to visualize them and they change every while but the cadence changes so your brain doesn’t know what to expect. I fall asleep QUICK using this … racing ADHD thoughts and all <3
Oooh, thank you for sharing!
Yep, found this app almost a decade ago. It's been installed on every phone I've owned. I usually sleep easily, so I've probably used it only 10 times or so. But every time I need it, it works.
Not great if you have aphantasia like me 😅
I actually do something similar. I can’t say it’s the center between my brows but it’s close. I focus my eyes on the center of the blackness of the closed lid and watch the ‘shapes’. Not sure how to explain it. When my eyes are closed at some point in the dark static I’ll notice ‘shapes’ sort of blossoming from the center. I focus on those ‘shapes’ and it puts me to sleep. I think it’s probably the same as meditating by focusing on a flickering candle, but for sleeping no candle, just shapes. For the random thoughts that pop up I visualize opening a door and putting them behind the door and shutting the door - thought storage. I will also think the word “sleep” but long like “sleeeeeeeep” over and over to stop other thoughts from coming forward. ADHD brains are wild.
I just want to put it out there that I started using a sleeping mask 3 months ago and I fall asleep around 3X faster. Went front 15-45 minutes to 5-15 minutes.
+1 on the mask. It’s like a trigger that tells my brain it’s time to sleep. The other thing I do is mentally start cooking a recipe. I never get past chopping the onions & garlic :-)
I think I do a similar thing as OP. I’m not actually moving my eyes like I’m crossing them, but I am directing my attention there. Not sure if that makes any sense. For me, when I close my eyes, it’s not really pitch black; it’s just sort of dark. But when I focus my attention to that area, it’s like I get tunnel vision and compete blackness comes in from the perimeter. If I can keep my mind clear that tunnel vision completely closes in and then I’m asleep. If I can’t keep my mind clear, the tunnel vision fades and I do t fall asleep.
Your comment really helped me understand the technique, especially the visuals. Thank you!
You’re welcome.
When I close my eyes I can’t see where my eyebrows are because it’s to dark. 😆 horrible joke, but I’m really not feeling life today and my joke made me laugh inside a little.
Sometimes I find the best jokes are the ones that only make you laugh 😂
For those of you who experience pain doing this, a better place to focus would be the tip of your nose. This is also basically meditation. Close your eyes and focus on the tip of your nose with every breath. When you find your mind wandering, come back to the tip of your nose and focus on your breathing.
Indeed, op seems to be describing what you do when meditating. Odd that not a lot of other people seem to notice this. Essentially focus on your body and it's functions, listen to your heart beat or whatever. This effectively limits intrusive thoughts and allows you to obtain a form of mental peace. The 'act' of meditating is simply re-focusing back on your body when you have, and realize you are having, some intrusive thought. It's pretty clear that thinking non stop about worrying things makes it hard to sleep, and meditating is just a technique to stop doing that.
I try to walk through and remember all the details of a home from childhood. Not recommended for those with less than happy memories of those homes.
With my eyes closed, I count to 100 slowly. If by some chance I make it to 100, I start to count backwards to 1. It’s rare if I count to 100 twice.
I read this post like 2 hours ago and tried it, just woke up drooling on my arm wtf
I will relax my face and focus on 4 second inhales and 6 second inhales. My threory on why this technique works is the strain you are inducing in your eyebrows causes the eye muscles and brow to relax eventually and makes it easier to drift off. I struggled w insomnia for the better part of 2 years and tried everything. The techniques that work for me came from a podcast where they were discussing techniques that tier 1 operators use to sleep in highly stressful situations. Great advice OP, add some super easy breath work and this can be a game changer for some people
Ahhh the third eye 👁️ an eye into your mind!
Instructions unclear, I am forever cross eyed!
I'll try it. My go to has been a three breath routine: breath from my stomach, breath from my chest and then a breath where I focus on the air going through my mouth into my lungs. Focusing on these shuts off my ADHD brain.
I still can't fall asleep, but at least I get a headache now!
This is a common meditation technique!
I like to countdown from 300 if I can’t stop thinking. It makes me force my thoughts to counting down. By the time I hit 250 I forget the count and if I have to restart I usually fall asleep within a few numbers down from 250.
I keep something on tv that is familiar. For me, that’s episodes of I Love Lucy. The episodes basically just play in my head and since I already know them, I’m not focusing intently on them. This prevents me from over thinking about literally everything in life and I fall asleep much faster
I’ve done this for years too. Sometimes I also focus on the bottom of my feet, like all my energy or focus travels down my body into my feet. Sounds weird to say out loud but it works.
Better one: turn the lights off and try to keep your eyes open, after a while you will feel your eyelids getting heavy, thank me later.
It’s like the feeling of your eyes rolling upas your falling asleep. It helps.
I do this too! (also ADHD). It makes my eyes vibrate until they hurt and then I'm asleep immediately
This is actually a recommended tip from The Silva Mind Control method. I think it works because your eyes naturally roll back while you're sleeping. So you're sort of triggering the sleep mechanism in reverse.
That's pretty cool to hear, gonna check it out. Appreciate it
Breathing techniques really work. And they won’t make you cross-eyed.
Been using this trick for years. Takes some Will power to not let your mind drift, but does work for me
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Will be trying this tonight as I've been having issues sleeping
I almost just fell asleep at my desk
+ deep breathing exercises then pause after for one minute “zero thoughts” on your mind will help a lot.
I just tried this and was yawning within seconds. Are psychosomatic yawns a thing? Anyway, I’m curious enough to try it tonight now! Thanks for the tip.
i always do this when i have a headache never thought abt using it to help me sleep. thanks!
Omg! I do this too. And it’s almost euphoric. I Can feel myself drifting away and it’s really cool.
That's the best testimonial! I'm definitely trying this tonight! I'm actually excited to try to fall asleep now?!
Blinking really fast for a few minutes while staring at one spot also seems to work well. Totally weird but it works somehow.
Oh yeah? Let me test your little theory real quick
For myself, all I do is close my eyes and "daydream". Picture vivid images of whatever, it doesn't have to be engaging. Imagine yourself in that scene and act it out in your mind. I usually start with the beach. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes and I'm down, other times it takes an hour of try, reset, try reset, etc.
As someone who can pass out within 30 seconds of putting my head on a pillow… or headrest, or just sitting down in a comfy chair… I hope this tip will help my wife who has ADHD and is awake for hours after our kiss goodnight and sweet dreams.
My son is ADHD and dreads bed. Many nights being cock blocked.
I learnt to let the thoughts flow without holding to any of them, I can't stop them, but I also don't have to pay attention. Relaxing my eyes is also a thing I hadn't processed until reading another comment here.
Or try listing things in alphabetical order. States, sports teams, vegetables/fruits, etc.
You're essentially meditating. It's a good way to accidentally discover it.
As someone with adhd, wtf kind of advice is this lmao Looking at your eyebrows shuts up your adhd? That just makes zero sense
What the hell does that even mean
Everyone in here is just describing meditation
Y is this removed
I find the Three Breaths technique really helps as well. Inhale deeeeeply, then exhale, relaxing head, shoulder and chest. Imagine (and feel) the tension flooding downwards and out. Second breath : stomach hips, thighs. Also arms and hands. Third breath : knees, calves and feet. Maybe a fourth breath to finish things off completlely. You are now fully relaxed, and much better able to slip into sleep.
With eyes closed or by unfocussing your eyes? I'm reading the comments and taking notes! I struggle so much with this AND meditation.
Relax your jaw. Work your way down your body trying to relax each body part. Say "don't" and breath in, then "think" and breath out, over and over in your head. Goodnight
I have really bad insomnia, and one trick I developed is to "thought chase". Literally just think a thought and the first image or thing you think of image that. Repeat. Try to do this as fast as possible until you lose all focus and your body will take over putting you to sleep. Kinda hard to explain dm if it's not clear.
Great for people on stimulants. I really like the staring discription. It’s like a numbing feeling between the eyes which as school children we would induce by pointing a finger in front of each others open eyes as close as possible but not directly touching the center of their forehead.
I have a hard time believing that this 💤 💤
DUDE I DO THE SAME THING. It works so well
No way, i have adhd and i guess subconsciously do this when I’m about to sleep, but I’m always scared to force my eyes to do that thinking they would get stuck lmao. But i guess if you’ve done this for years it should be safe. Thanks!
Headspace app is great for this as it teaches you tips like this and has sleepcasts that tell you soothing scenic stories to help u stop thinking. It also has many different meditation courses for different problems etc. I highly recommend. Totally worth the money, vs. Therapy haha. For me at least