Counting powers of two up to 1,048,576 then starting again.

Counting sheep.

Relaxing every muscle in the body in turn starting with the feet.

Post-hypnotic suggesting signalling relaxation by slowly raising right forearm from elbow.

Meditation techniques like mindful breathing.

Whisky.

(I usually get to sleep OK, but none of this really helps when I wake up at 4AM and can't get back to sleep.)

I take a calcium tablet. I take a drop of skullcap tincture in water.

I count backwards from 99.

I listen to the radio--BBC News, usually.

If certain things are worrying me, I envision "putting them away"--into boxes, trunks, etc, and closing up the container. (I know they'll still be there the next day, if they are important.) If this doesn't work, I make a written list of what's on my mind.

Pharmaceuticals. It's about all that really works for me. I do happen to be potently neurotic, though.

I listen to lectures, usually about history or religion. Or I read in bed for a little bit.

Reading, mostly. And I find that when I'm in that "tired and worried and can't sleep" place, it usually means I'm not getting enough exercise, so I try to start going to the gym more regularly.

I don't do it as much anymore, but when I was young and learned to count in French, I would count backwards from 300, in French, whenever I couldn't fall asleep. The language difference made me have to focus a bit, and French numbers are longer to say than English numbers, so it took a while. Counting backwards made it seem like a concrete project. I usually fell asleep between 200 and 100.

Daydream about winning the lottery, living in a log cabin, living on a deserted island. If that doesn't work I get up and read.

If I am stuck worrying, I move my eyeballs back and forth in sets of ten for about three or four sets. Seriously.

It reboots one's brain.

Then I fall asleep listening to music.

Recite the alphabet backward in your mind, slowly. Whenever you make a mistake, no matter how small, even a slight hesitation, you have to start over. Eventually you'll get really good at reciting the alphabet backward, but in the meantime it's a really good way to focus your thoughts and relax.

Crossword puzzles, or sudoku. I always have a book of each plus a novel on my bed. (Reading can keep me awake even longer, though, if it's a book I'm enjoying.) The reason this works for me is that, while my natural inclination is lights off for sleeping, my husband prefers a light on... so I moved into the light, and thus can just nod off while puzzling without having to break the spell by turning off the light.

Stories. I tell myself stories and put myself to sleep. Often I'll imagine I survived a ship wreck and washed up on a desert island. I'll imagine building a shelter, and all kinds of Robinson Caruso stuff. I have a very vivid, creative mind, and for whatever reason, this soothes me and before I know it, it's morning. 'Course, this could be why I believe I dream nearly every night, though I don't always remember them.