It’s healthy to get good sleep. It’s also hard to fall asleep as well as stay asleep.
The following technique was created by the US Navy to help pilots fall asleep anywhere. Hope it helps.
1. Relax your face. Imagine a scanner going across your entire body. Starting at the top, relax every muscle in your face (including your tongue and cheeks). Make sure your jaw is unclenched. Slowly close your eyes and take slow, deep breaths.
2. Release the tension in your shoulders, arms, and hands. You should feel your shoulders sink into your bed. Move down through your biceps, forearms, and fingers, relaxing every muscle on the way. Continue your deep breathing. It’s crucial for this to work.
3. Relax your chest and stomach. We carry a lot of tension in our chest, back, and abdomen without realizing it. When you exhale, make sure you are completely relaxing your abdominal muscles.
4. Starting with your right thigh, start relaxing your legs just as you did your arms. Scan down your leg and let the tension leave your calf, ankle, and foot. Repeat on your left leg.
5. Now that your entire body is relieved of tension, it’s time to do the same with your mind. Imagine yourself lying surrounded by total darkness. If you struggle with this, just repeat “don’t think” in your head (it really works). Also, consider wearing an eye mask for sleep to restrict visible light in your sleeping area. This really works too.
A productive day starts the night before.
For details tracking your sleep, try the app called Sleep Cycle for iPhone (not an ad), it tracks quite a bit of data about your sleep.