Trying to force yourself asleep is the bedtime equivalent of flooring it when you’re stuck in the mud. If you’re willing to try something unorthodox, a recent story from Time explains how a change of scenery could help. According to “Can’t Sleep? Try Getting Out of Bed,” sleep specialists recommend a counterintuitive reset called stimulus control. Once you notice frustration or racing thoughts, leave the bed and do something calming until drowsiness returns. Getting up interrupts the cycle of hovering between wakefulness and sleep, allows sleep pressure to rebuild, and helps preserve your brain’s association between bed and rest. Choose a screen-free activity you enjoy, such as reading, knitting, or browsing a cookbook, while avoiding work, bills, or other stimulating thoughts. Return to bed when you start yawning, and repeat the process as many times as you need. This advice reminds us of another recent oddball sleep experiment, “How to safely lower your body temperature for better sleep,” which suggested chilling a pair of lightly damp socks before bed during hot weather. For a strategy you can try without leaving the mattress, “Use the Military Sleep Method to Fall Asleep Within 2 Minutes, Starting Tonight” recommends relaxing your face, shoulders, arms, chest, and legs in sequence, then clearing your mind with a calming image or repeating “Don’t think” for ten seconds. The method reportedly takes practice, but Navy pilots swear by its efficacy once you get the hang of it.

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