Question

My brain is over active and I had
problems with sleep. My solution.
Go to YouTube and listen
to sleep hypnosis or sleep meditation.
Works for me every time.

Here are some things I have tried, Some things I know I should try, and things that work sometimes; Cut out stimulants, particularly caffeine, Don't eat after 6. 00 PM. Develop a rutian, get up earlier. Cut out TV and the computer in the evening. Deep breathing, relaxation tapes (youtube) meditation, yoga, Count something, I list the characters in the Simpsons, it works more often than you might think. Get lots of exercise during the day. I take a drug called phenergan. It helps but do not take it too often. I also take Zopyclone, but only in "emergencies". Sex puts you to sleep, so I have heard. This might sound strange but pornography sometimes puts me out. I think I read somewhere don't smoke.

Are you sure you do not just need less sleep? Sometimes, when you can't sleep, you panic and then you become convinced that you can not function. Listen to your body.

Sometimes I just can not sleep and nothing on earth can get me there.

Hope thats some help.

I've actually recently been taught some positional yoga which REALLY works. I've been attending an online meditation class which is kink based ^__^ and super fun. One of the things he taught us is a very cool trick related to head and neck position and it works 9 times out of 10 for me. I'm looking for anything online detailing it, but I'm not finding it.
In short it kinda goes like this... sit on the bed and put your head back until the top of your head touches the bed, but there is a natural back bridge there. You should be able to resy your shoulders and arms down but they arent weight bearing. Stay there for 2-3 minutes. Then gently lay back. tilt your head from side to side a few times and lay on your side. Breathe in for 3x longer than you breathe out (so for me I breathe in 9 breathe out 3). You will be out like a light in no time.

***please pay attention to the fact there is no PRESSURE being put on your neck in the pose. It should never be uncomfortable at all.

Check with your doctor. My wife takes meds to knock her out

Thinking about it there's some BDSM tricks that can help. Especially when it comes to things like mindfucking, breaking, moulding, etc.

Unfortunately these tricks are only really effective with the aid of another person.

Let's start with some none BDSM tips. Sleep only when you're tired. I'm serious, the body knows best. At the same time lie in bed when you've been up for a while regardless. The body will take over. Don't try to dream, just think of fun things. Imagination. Work up a story in your head. Get caught up in it and at the very least you'll have a nice nap.

Thing is with things like work forcing you to go against your bodies nature (seriously, forcing yourself awake/to sleep IS going against nature) means you have to get into some kind of routine. But it simply can't be "forcing yourself to sleep whenever" (or wake up). You need to make the time to BE tired BEFORE sleep. So backtrack a bit. What comes BEFORE sleep? Solve what comes before and what comes after rectifies itself.

Staying awake, obviously. You have to be up for a while. But it's not just "time". It's also "energy". How much you're using or not when you're awake.

If you're up longer but haven't done much you'll probably be sleeping later. If you been up sooner but been active all day you'll probably want to crawl into bed.

Basically, get up sooner, do something that requires energy (computer games need focus and attention too. As does reading. Doesn't have to be physical). Sleep later.

If you're caught between your job and when to sleep for your health, prioritise health. It's simply not healthy to resort to forcing the body into situations long term. Especially when you get into your later years.

I often have problems sleeping and there are a couple things I've found that have helped.

Melatonin is one, it is for the most part natural. Read the ingredients. It comes in both pill and liquid form and I have used both with good results.

The other is about 45 minutes to an hour before bed the TV is turned of, phone and /or tablet is put down and no screen time to allow my mind to settle down.

Lastly I use a meditation app, The one I currently use is called Calm but if you search the app store there are many different ones out there. There are sleep meditations and bedtime stories and they have been tremendously helpful in falling asleep.

JB,

I use a sleep fan app to generate white noise. You can adjust the paddle numbers and speed and volume.

I listen to an audiobook with a half an hour timer. I listen to books that I know well. I fell asleep to Harry Potter audiobooks for years! Then I had to stop listening to them while driving. It's a comfortable routine and the sound of the book just fades away when the time is up.

There are some wonderful posts here and strong evidence-based suggestions that merit consideration.

The things that have helped me (some listed, some not) are these:
1) Very careful light control - even blinking clocks or phone chargers can disrupt early sleep
2) Treating my anxiety/depression - some of these medications are now generic and practically free, but life changing!
3) Use of a repetitive sound. I tried a few apps on my phone but settled on the "Sleep Sounds" skill from Alexa/Amazon. Mostly free, the routine sound truly helps my mind to clear and my body to relax.

Best wishes!

Regarding 2: Anxiety and depression has to be treated with finding the reasons and logic of situations that need to be changed. which obviously can be easier said then done.