I lose sleep thinking about that...

sex

try tea made of melissa officinalis

Some weed + National Geographic/Animal Planet always does the job. Plus, you learn tons of interesting & useless facts :)

Count sheep, but for every sheep, take a shot of vodka.

I have been trying the Nat Geo and Animal Planet method, but missed out on the weed. So, that's the secret eh?

Finished the Meerkat Manor series - great stuff.

Try to control your breathing. Consciously think one, two, for inhale/exhale. It works occasionally.

@flashman - Here's to Flower: Mother of an empire. It was sad when she died though.

To get to sleep, if sex doesn't work for you, try a glass of whisky every 20 minutes until morning. But try sex first - you don't get a hangover.

That Flower ending was definitely emotional. I got quite drawn in... Bloody snakes!

I reccomend as an almost infalible cure for insomnia:

The Book of Disquiet or The Book of Disquietude depending on the translation, by Fernando Pessoa.

One of the two books I could never finish reading, the other one was Barefoot in the head, by Brian Aldiss (Although I wouldn't reccomend THAT for insomnia)

Large glass of imperial stout.

"Some weed + National Geographic/Animal Planet always does the job. Plus, you learn tons of interesting & useless facts :)"

Quoted for truth.

"Count sheep, but for every sheep, take a shot of vodka."

Quoted for plagiarized truth. Cyanide and Happiness! =D

"Try to control your breathing. Consciously think one, two, for inhale/exhale. It works occasionally."

Worst idea. This is one of the things that keeps me up.

I find that listening to a recorded lecture or studying drops me dead. Even if it's in the middle of the day. But yes, the infallible cure for me is weed.

I read course catalogs for advanced studies in fields that I've never bothered to learn anything about. You know, like Korean literature or computer engineering. ZZZZZ.

@Chrisp... I thought a C+H fan would say something sooner :-p

Anyone who smokes weed on a regular basis knows that, after awhile, it actually keeps you awake. So, go that route at your own peril.
However, tossing one off usually does the trick.
(a.k.a. - Choking the Chicken, Beating the Meat, Shaking Hands with the Governor, Abusing the Usual Suspect, The One-Handed Humpty Hump Love Pump, Wiggling your Worm, Zipper Surfing, Yanking your Yam, Launching the Hand Shuttle, Flogging the Bishop, Burping the Worm, ...

Making Gravy for the Buiscuit?..

Choking the Sheriff and Waiting for the Posse to Come?..)

Have you tried watching snooker?

@Ukla

The NHL playoffs are underway. In honour of this.....

Pulling the goalie.

I tried one of the above cures and it has not worked...

I also pulled a very hard day's work (six lectures back-to-back with no food)... Still buzzing around this keyboard and suffering Meerkat withdrawal.

stay away from comptuer screens,tvs etc and read a book under a low light (one thats a struggle to read with but not enough to strain your eyes) you will fall asleep

studying a ridiculous boring subject, or listening to music

@Warsprite - The problem with a large glass of stout is bladder capacity, especially as it seems to be at its lowest at around 5AM.

I have to agree with Ukla's method.

I suggest Ethical philosophy.

One page of Kant and you'll be out like a lightswitch

I disagree with Ukla et al, as this sends a whole load of hormones rushing around your body!
If you don't mind being perpetually hung over/liver failure, you could try drinking until you pass out... other than that, I've got nothing sensible - if I did, I'd be using the idea myself!

Like I said: 200 push-ups.

I have mild insomnia and will be following this thread very closely. Any suggestions? I don't trust sleeping pills or warm milk.

I often find it really difficult to sleep, so I just give up trying.
Generally start trying to sleep around 11:30, so I don't bother worrying until midnight. However, quite often I'm still wide awake at this point so I just get up and work for a bit.
Saying that, I've found swimming 2km, starting at 9pm, with a walk home after, normally works quite well.
Oh, and although I know its just what you're not supposed to do I found chocolate etc actually works quite well! My parents always told me (how many bad sentances start with that?) I should eat carbs etc if I was hungry in the evening, not sugary foods, because it makes you hyperactive. This is true to an extent, but when the sugar wears off sleep seems to drag you in very quickly.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear if anyone's got a method that works (and doesn't leave you feeling horrific in the morning!)

@diplomat1824: You "don't trust warm milk"? What, scared it's going to stab you?