How to Fall Asleep: Learn How to Use World-Building Techniques to Help You Deal with Sleep Problems

By Rui Oliveira

Are you familiar the feeling of being awake late at night, desperately searching online looking for clear instructions telling you exactly what to do in order to shut down your intrusive thoughts and fall asleep, and yet all you find are useless and repetitive pieces of advice that do nothing to improve your situation - or, even worse, actively worsen it by terrifying you with claims of how much you are missing out on by still being awake, somehow causing you to be even more anxious and distressed than you already were?
I spent about 7 years of my life in the above predicament, until I came to the unfortunate conclusion that, although most authors seemed to have a tight grasp on pre-bedtime rituals and the consequences of sleep deprivation, not many of them had any advice regarding exactly what to think about once you are in bed. There seemed to be an enormous bag between closing your eyes and falling asleep, as virtually nobody explained what you were supposed to do during that time.The pre-bedtime techniques worked in the sense that they got me tired, but as soon as my head hit the pillow my brain would suddenly ignite into all kinds of negative thought patterns, essentially dropping me back to square one.

I decided to embark in my own journey to find how I could best fill my mind during this down time to guarantee my brain would not be hijacked by random thoughts demanding my attention so I could relive the worst part of my days or become anxious over the days to come.

In this short yet practical book, you can immediately start practicing the techniques that taught me how to...

• Crush my anxiety around sleep.

• Looking forward to going to bed instead of dreading it.

• Be able to sleep even if I’m not tired.

• Easily control and manipulate my sleep schedule.

• Sleep amidst disrupting sounds and distractions (TVs/radios/people)

Disclaimer: All of the information in this book is for entertainment purposes only. In no way does it seek or proclaim to be a replacement for medical advice. The reader is encouraged to seek professional healthcare advice if dealing with problems regarding his sleep or lack thereof. The information on this book is based solely on my opinions and experiences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rui Oliveira
• Release date: Feb 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005240950

Book preview

How to Fall Asleep

Learn How to Use World-building Techniques to Help

You Deal With Sleep Problems

Rui Oliveira

Published by Rui Oliveira at Smashwords

Copyright 2021 Rui Oliveira

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

This book is also available in print at most online retailers

Disclaimer

The information inside this book is for entertainment purposes only. In no way is it a replacement for professional medical advice. If you are feeling overwhelmingly tired and/or you feel like your sleep deprivation is having a toll on your professional or personal life, or putting at risk your safety or that of others, please contact your family doctor or a professional specialized in sleep disorders. This book is based mostly on my personal experiences as a former insomniac, and although the advice in it has worked for me and for various friends, acquaintances, and other people I have contacted solely for the purpose of trying these methods, I can offer no guarantee they will work for the reader.

Contents

Part One: The Basics

My Story

The Method

Why People Count Sheep

Sleep Anxiety

How This Book is Structured

Part Two: The Fundamentals

The Cockpit

The Lobby and Its Inhabitants

Rooms, Alarms and Security

Emotions

How to Move Through the Ship

Part Three: Second Floor

Inhabitants and Visitors

The Dream Room

The Production Room

The Courtroom

The Auditorium

Part Four: Getting Distracted

Part Five: Adventures

Part Six: Annoyances and Problems

Part Seven: Other Strategies

Part One: The Basics

It’s late. You go to bed. You have to get up early tomorrow. You have to sleep.

And you can’t.

You try again. It should be quite simple, simpler than this anyway. You start trying out hypothesis. Maybe you’re on the wrong side of bed. You roll over so that you are now facing the other side of the room. Clearly that was the problem all along. There is a certain sense of pride and accomplishment as you consider the calm, quiet night that lays ahead in front of you.

You close your eyes.

And yet, you are still awake.

You slowly begin to realize you have been lied to. It is obvious you are missing some crucial piece of information.

You take out your checklist and glance over it. Be tired. Check. Shut down all the lights and go to bed. Check. Close your eyes. Check. Sleep. There must be an additional step. After all, you are still awake. And you have no idea how to fix it.

Brush it off. Try again. This time you try to hold on longer. You roll over to the other side. You are now back to your original positional. Good. Close your eyes. Are you asleep? No. It’s ok, keep trying. Think of something to help pass the time

Did you pay the rent yet? How are the car payments going? Little Johnny is not doing so well in college, I hope things work out for him in the end. Now that I think about it, you really did seem like a fool in that conversation. Gosh, was that awkward.

This is not helping.

Let’s restart. Roll over to the other side. Close your eyes. Think of something pleasant this time.

You know you are getting promoted. It is only a matter of time. You did ace that presentation last week. It is coming. What car are you going to buy? Maybe something more practical to drive around town. Some kind of small car. You are not good at parking anyway. Hell, why not something more luxurious? It’s a big promotion after all. And big promotions don’t come around often… Have you finished preparing that file? You would look so professional if you turned it in tomorrow morning. Why are you even in bed? You are not even sleeping, I bet you could find a more useful way to spend your time. What if you don’t