What do you do when you go to bed to help you fall asleep/sleep well?

greetings friend. i had almost two weeks of insomnia, the feeling was terrible. i tried working for the whole day without break, i tried not sleeping for the whole day (i would fall asleep at 5:00 and then sleep till 12:00 at least). drinking warm milk before sleep, i tried literally anything.
what helped me in the end was listening to podcasts. i haven't even listened to podcasts before. then i finally got to sleep at 2:00 and gradually restored my routine.
just choose one whichever suits you, you have plenty of choice.

I've always had trouble getting ( and staying ) asleep.

Reading is usually a good way to put me to sleep, but it usually results in me losing my place in the book, and I have to read back a few pages where I wasn't paying attention fully, so I don't like it so much.

The preferable method these days is to put on a tv show or movie, something that I have seen a hundred times, but not something I'm bored of. If I'm not engaged with it, if it's not something I'm interested in watching, my brain will wander and I wont drift off.

So, a random Columbo or Ancient Aliens episode. Nothing too exciting, or loud or jumpy.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it but I like listening to ambient noise when I fall asleep specifically from https://asoftmurmur.com/
I am obsessed with the site, have been for a year or so now, there's an app for it too. Good stuff, I highly recommend it.
I'll usually set mine at rain, thunder, waves, fire, and the singing bowl then click on the meander setting so that the volume on all the sounds I chose go up and down randomly so it's not one constant stream of the same noise.
It also helps that I like falling asleep in cold rooms so I'll have the fan pointed at me and it'll give the room a chilly feeling like on a rainy night and that soothes me quite a bit.

Big thanks to everybody participating in this discussion. You guys suggested so many ideas that I guess I'll need a couple of nights to try them all haha. I only reply to comments that I actually have something to say to but I've read them all and will continue reading them. I really appreciate it and I guess (and hope) I'm not the only one who learned something new here. Just wanted to say that.

Sleep well guys! :)

Visualize yourself relaxing in an exotic place and packing all your troubles in a box to be stored away in a closet.

Taking a shower right before bed.

Also, using allergy encasements for both mattress & pillows can help for people who have trouble falling asleep. Apparently, it's pretty common for people to be unable to sleep with dust mites from their who-knows-how-old mattresses & pillows climbing through and crawling all over their skin. (The reality is it's their poop that most people react to.)

Only one thing never fails me, leave all lights and devices on and try to stay awake waiting for something and close your eyes just for a sec to rest them.

Normally Reading something on my Kindle.

Been reading Tragedy books lately and its kinda not helping me sleep. (Flowers for Algernon currently)
I do that tell i feel ready to go to sleep.

Also , yawning really helps me go to sleep. i mean like force yawning even if i dont want to.

I watch twitch streams

Insomnia has been a huge part of my life since I was a kid (not kidding, I had no-sleep nights when I was 8). Worked some late night jobs because of it, which probably didn't help my internal clock. Things did improve tremendously when I started sleeping close to my lady (I just relax around her like I never did with anyone or anything, including weed) but her work and my work don't always sync so I still have bouts with insomnia. Anyway long story short, a friend of mine uses this trick of putting a few drops of cinnamon essential oil on her pillow. Reminds her of her grandma's house. She says it makes her relax.

So I tried it with my almond oil. Reminds me of my lady's shampoo 😎. Works like a charm. Most likely it's just because I breathe more deeply and it helps me relax and fall asleep and since it's purely reflex, my brain doesn't fight it (like it does with counting tricks and other things I tried). So maybe find something that smells pleasant to you, put a few drops on your pillow or a tissue near you and give it a try. Hope it helps

clear mind

I browse Reddit on my phone until the sleep deprivation kicks in like an elephant tranquilizer

I only have this problem in the morning, when the puppy wakes me up and I can't get back to sleep. I don't have a solution to that one.

i just close my eyes and fall asleep almost instantly. what you do during the day and the sleep/woke cycle is more important than what you do in that specific moment.

Try not to sleep for a day ;D