Tense and release the muscle groups starting at your toes. This technique is known as progressive muscle relaxation, and "reduces tension and calms the sympathetic nervous system," Blum writes.

Aric Prather, a sleep specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, turns to "The Office," "although some of his patients turn to the cozy nostalgia of 'Frasier,'" Blum writes. Familiar content keeps your brain occupied without pulling you in. 

While it may sound silly, the nutrition label "has enough information to occupy your mind, but is boring enough to coax you to sleep," Blum writes. Reading a nutrition label can also help you get out of bed easier, breaking the association between your bed and anxious tossing. 

Pick a word like "bedtime," and think of other words that start with that first letter. These random words will "help stop your brain from cycling through anxieties or trying to problem-solve late at night," Blum writes.

Picture the details of a space you know well. "This occupies your mind with a task that is focused, but also familiar and bordering on boring, which could help you nod off," Blum writes.

White noise "can drown out any distracting sounds that are keeping you awake" and offers a consistent, low-stimulus backdrop, Blum writes.

Countdowns offer simplicity that can be soothing, especially when trying to fall asleep, and force you "to focus on the numbers while distracting you from any of the worries that might have kept you up," Blum writes. 

Kim Hutchison, a neurologist at Oregon Health and Science University who specializes in sleep medicine, said that a cold washcloth "may help cool your body down and trick it into thinking it's still early in the night and that you're getting ready to go to sleep."

Inhale for four seconds, hold for another four seconds, then exhale slowly for eight seconds, and repeat five more times. This simple breathing technique "activates the parasympathetic nervous system, a network of nerves that play a critical role in relaxing the body before sleep," Blum writes. 

These ambient noises give "your brain something to fixate on as you drift off," Blum writes, "but the sounds are subdued enough that they won't keep you up."

Doing these light, simple exercises in bed or another dimly lit spot in your home "can help relax the nervous system and reduce stress hormones," helping you fall asleep faster, Blum writes.  

Neal Walia, a sleep specialist at the University of California at Los Angeles Health, listens to an audiobook he's heard several times before, because "the audio distracts him from his racing thoughts without keeping him awake to hear what happens next," Blum writes.

Having just a few sips of ice-cold water can "help lower your overall body temperature, mimicking its natural decline before you sleep," and reinforce the reset, Blum writes. 

Prather said one of his patients recommended Dan Jones' Sleep Stories and Hutchison recommended the "Sleep With Me" podcast. These are "soothing (and often boring)" by design, Blum writes. 

If you wake up hungry, experts recommend eating a "very small snack" such as "a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts" and focusing on each individual flavor and texture — a task that "can help calm your mind until you feel sleepy enough to return to bed," Blum writes.  

A step up from the usual countdown, this one "requires a bit more concentration" to steer you off the worry path, Blum writes.

To accomplish two goals at the same time — cooling off and getting out of bed — sit by a fan to help you break the association between your bed and falling asleep.