My sleeping habits have always been weird. Some nights I'll sleep for almost twelve hours and some nights I won't sleep at all. That's the way it's always been for me. Because of these sleeping complications, I've come to some conclusions. I've found that sleeping for long amounts of time is easy. When you can't sleep, however, is when things get hard. You lay there awake, willing yourself to sleep, and you just can't. As a result of these sad nights, I've had to get creative with things to do when I can't sleep. Counting sheep never worked for me, so I tried these instead.

1. Count backward from 100

Sometimes I can't sleep simply because my mind is all over the place. Some people would suggest that you count sheep, but I find that weird to imagine sheep and count them. Instead, I count backward from 100. It makes me focus on one thing long enough for my mind to settle and go to sleep.

2. Work out

On the contrary, sometimes I can't sleep because I'm just not tired. On these nights, I like to do a mini workout in my bedroom floor to tire me out a little. My go-to is usually a short ab workout.

3. Shower

Showering relaxes me to the point where I'm ready to sleep. I have no idea why, but something about showers at night makes me automatically sleepy. It works almost every time.

4. Read or watch something

When nothing else seems to work, I read a book or watch Netflix until I feel tired. Focusing on something for an extended period of time leads my brain to want a break. Warning: you should not watch or read something that you know will have cliffhangers because you may stay up all night as a result.

5. Write down your thoughts

My very last resort before I give up on trying to sleep is writing out my thoughts. Sometimes I can't sleep because I have too much on my mind that I need to talk about with someone. Unfortunately, not many people are awake and wanting to talk at 3 a.m. As a result, I resort to going to the notes section of my phone and typing everything I'm thinking about. It's very therapeutic and will relax your mind so you are able to sleep.

It can be really hard to fall asleep when your body doesn't want to, but these 5 things help me in those situations. Hopefully, they can help you too. Sweet dreams!