How to sleep well

TL;DR I used to have really bad insomnia and it completely stopped by my second week in the MTC which was in January 2013. I've never had it for more than a day since. 

I still wake up frequently during the night, but that's good for lucid dreaming attempts anyway, so I actually prefer it. And I fall back asleep super quickly. 

This is what worked for me:

• For like the first 6 months of my mission, I took melatonin right before getting ready for bed. After that, my brain finally got the message of when it was supposed to fall asleep, and I weaned myself off of it. I still take Sudafed every night though. 
• I installed the app f.lux on my PC, my laptop, and my iPhone. This turns my screen gradually more red as the night progresses. "But how do you do art like that?" Just choose your color schemes before like 7 pm when it starts to turn red, lol. Then use your eyedropper tool. Easy. There is also Movie Mode which I use when I want to watch cartoons before bed. Fun fact: You can be on the internet right before bed. As long as you have f.lux and you don't post something controversial, it will not affect your sleep! You don't need 30 minutes without electronics and I will die on this hill! Also blue light glasses work but why pay for them when you could just install f.lux? 
• I sleep with earplugs and 2 fans every single night. 
• I meditate and daydream while sitting in bed, right before turning over as I fall asleep.
• I drink as much water as I need, with my Hydro Flask on the ground next to me. A glass is an accident waiting to happen. I use the restroom as often as I need to. 
• If I can't sleep, I just daydream instead, or meditate while lying down, and then I inevitably end up falling asleep. 
• I am involved in a ton of activities and pursuits so I'm always exhausted by the end of the day.
• I don't exercise after like 6 PM unless it's a nice walk. 
• But I exercise a ton otherwise. Anywhere between 0.5-2 hours in the morning, aiming for 2. And I take two afternoon walks, and sometimes an evening walk. I also swim in the afternoons during the summer, maybe twice a week or so. 
• I don't allow any work to creep in past 8:15 PM, unless it's a Saturday night (my one late night that I'm allowed). I also don't stay out any later than that. 
• Also by 8:15 PM, I have the mindset of "I care about nothing else". I timebox my emotional investment. If I start worrying about how far behind I am in X or Y, or how frustrated I am with Z, I do my best to timebox it and worry about it in the morning. By the morning I'm usually too refreshed to care. 
• I follow the same routine before bed every night, and I don't skip any piece of getting ready for bed. Not flossing is gross, people, PLEASE do it every night. Etc. 
• My routine is basically 
• Stop working at 8:15 pm
• Fix Trello boards and update dream journal, cut off at 8:30 pm 
• Get dressed for bed 
• Brush teeth
• Clean retainer
• Floss
• Use Crest 3D white mouthwash (generic brand is fine) 
• Put in retainer (no exceptions)
• Wash face with cetaphil
• Wash face with benzoyl peroxide
• (twice a week) exfoliate
• gold bond
• retin-a
• journal
• scriptures
• meditation routine
• bed.
• If I want to sleep in and it's light out, I just stick my covers over my head. 
• I move as much as I need to. Seriously. I adjust my pillow as often as I want, too. A lot of times as a kid, I couldn't sleep in hotels with my family because my parents would get mad at me for moving around too much. Even turning over my pillow was too much noise for them. So I'd sit there for hours in agony with an itchy head and a hot pillow. Similarly, drinking water or using the restroom was too much noise for them too, so I couldn't do that, and this would make things worse. The idea is to give into certain impulses, so your body will be less resistant to shutting down. Willpower is a finite resource, and you have to CHOOSE where you are going to invest it. 
• Going along with giving into impulses: I blow my nose as much as I need to (bad allergies), get water, adjust the temperature, change my sleeping position as much as is needed -- I just do whatever it takes to get comfortable. 
• I sleep with a pillow in between my legs since I'm in the fetal position usually and it's just more comfortable. I usually hold a second pillow as well, but not always. 
• I sleep in my own room with plenty of privacy and the door locked. 

If all else fails, I'll pop a Benadryl. But you don't want to take too much of that or else you are going to start seeing the Hatman. 

In the extremely unlikely event that my sleep cycle gets whacked again, I simply take melatonin for a week or two. Then my body gets back on schedule. It's less about the time of day, and more about the placement of taking it in your routine -- i.e. every night right before you brush your teeth. And I sure hope you're brushing your teeth every night because if not, ew. 

The only time this doesn't work is when my annoying neighbors are setting off fireworks. Then yep, can't sleep. It makes everything super bright and it's SUPER loud because of how close they are. Similarly, thunderstorms make sleeping difficult for me, because of the way the room lights up.