The clock reads 1:44 A.M. and you've already been in bed for an hour. Tomorrow (Christ, TODAY!) is barreling toward you as the minutes fall away. 1:46. (What happened to 1:45?!) It's too late for Ambien, so try these tactics instead.

  1. Ignore the ClockCounting minutes is a form of panic—and when your body senses panic, it instinctively stays wide awake.

  2. Do Some Light JournalingPerplexed by a work issue? Stop trying to solve it in your head. Instead, jot your ideas in a bedside notebook so your mind can finally let it go.

  3. Head to the CouchStill wired? Get out of bed to take your mind off how you're not sleeping. Read a magazine (like this one).

  4. Avoid Stories About InsomniaLike this one.

  5. Don't Try to Turn Off Your BrainIt's a trap. If you try not to think, all you'll be thinking about is trying not to think. Instead, let your mind drift to vague general topics, like baseball or yoga or Ben Carson's foreign policy—anything not related to sleep.

SOURCES: UCLA behavioral-sleep-medicine specialist Jennifer Martin, Ph.D., and Rafael Pelayo, M.D., of the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center