Does anyone have tips for falling asleep?

I stick to a nightly routine - all work and studying stops at 8pm sharp. A warm shower, applying lotion, oral hygiene, double bag of extra sleepy time tea, melatonin and watching relaxing YouTube videos are mandatory for me. If I wake up throughout the night I listen to meditations for OCD on YouTube.

I give my brain something calm to do while my trazodone kicks in. Usually, I picture I am walking along the beach and imagine all kinds of interesting things washing up. It keeps the brain focused without being too stimulating.

Has your doctor recommended hydroxyzine? It is NOT addictive. It is an antihistamine which can quell anxiety and help you sleep. Mindful digestion is the alternative mental way to handle it. Easier said than done but it can help

I like meditation to get centered and reading a favorite book to preoccupy my brain until I get sleepy. When my OCD is loud, I use my NERs to respond to it, but not engage — and then I go back to my book. The emotions and fears are still there, but I don’t put my focus on them. It keeps most of my mental compulsions at bay.

Here’s two things I do: 1 is yoga I love it so much I’m not super flexible right now so I have a little goal with myself. Plus doing it by myself is the only way I can do it as I get too much anxiety in class.

Secondly and for me this is incredibly helpful and night time playlist. I don’t know if music could get in the way of you sleeping or not. But I have some of my favorite songs and if I’m dealing with too many intrusive thoughts and can’t quiet my mind putting it as loud as possible while still comfortable really helps me.

It grounds me in something I know and love and eventually I find myself able to drift to sleep.

I listen to Theta waves on the nights where it's hard to fall asleep. It's instantly soothing and I'm asleep within minutes every time.

Do you like any podcasts? Or anyone on YouTube? Some popular YouTubers even have community made videos that are sleep aids. Like game grumps or paymoneywubby. I also like listening to a podcast like ladies and tangents. They talk about silly stuff and serious stuff and it helps me just relax my brain. But yes, sticking to a schedule helps a lot. I also just got a salt lamp and having that as my light before bed instead of a normal lamp helps because it’s not blue light!