What do you do when you have to be up in a few hours but cannot, for the life of you, sleep?

happened to me last night. I went downstairs, turned on a boring tv show and was out in 5 minutes. I have the most awesome couch to sleep on though.

Some sleep is better than none. Even without REM it’s relaxing and recharging.

I’m just like @cazzie, I have to be distracted to fall asleep at that point. Otherwise I keep figuring how much time I have to sleep and rethinking what I have to do as soon as I get up.

I did that yesterday. I drank coffee,no naps,exercised and was out like a light when I finally did go to bed.

I did that yesterday, also. Then I fell asleep for a nap after I had done what I needed to do, and I totally mixed up my sleep schedule. Needless to say, I was up again last night, flopping around the bed wide awake.
If I have to get up, I go for the coffee. I don’t trust myself to wake up after only a few hours of sleep. That may just be me, but sometimes if I haven’t gotten enough sleep, I don’t even hear the alarm, let alone wake up and get out of bed.

I always lie down and watch tv, my eyes get tired and it helps lull me to sleep. I agree with @funkdaddy some sleep is always better than no sleep.

This.

Usually, I just try to lie quietly with my eyes closed.

If it comes to it, sorry to be blunt but I’d generally knock one off… :-/
If that doesn’t induce sleep then I’m snookered…. I’ll either come on here or if it’s a clear night, set up my telescope & catch up with our astral cousins…….. At least for a while, hopefully I’ll drop off in my chair… :-/ not fall off it!
Then you can guarantee I’ll sleep in…..

Go for a ten or so mile run. That’ll wake you up before your morning coffee pot is drank.

I get a jump start on the day. It would be useless for me to try to go back to sleep as I will be worse than just staying up.
First make a pot of coffee, then: run, ride bike, walk dog, laundry, cook, relax, read, scrub the toilet, look in on my daughter and watch her sleep like a princess,

I do what @marinelife does. After years of insomnia I found the best thing to do was to just lie still with my eyes closed. Before that I tried reading, getting up and cleaning, and watching tv and all of those options made me super tired the next day. If I just kept my eyes closed I could function reasonably well.

If I cannot sleep I put the TV on quietly and wrap myself in my duvet on my sofa. The change of room usually helps as, if I just lie in bed, I tend to get frustrated. The TV lulls me to sleep. Usually works a treat.

I lay quietly in bed with talk radio on. After a few minutes, out go the lights

If i get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I sometimes have trouble getting back to sleep. I will toss and turn, blankets on, blankets off. I may start thinking about work or whatever. What happens is I will fall back asleep as I am supposed to be waking up, usually around 5:30 or 6, when the sun just starts turning the sky from black to blue. Then I may wake up late and be late for work. I just am late for work and don’t sweat it.

I resign myself to the inevitable, and plan for lots of coffee.

I find that being in bed and pretending to sleep is the best remedy for me. At least I get some rest.

I posted this and passed the fuck out like ten minutes later :) sometimes it’s just a matter of getting into bed.

I get one of our cats and pet him on my lap for a while. Somehow the cat and its purring draws all of my stress out of me. Then I go back to bed and usually go right to sleep.

I’ve discovered how my body reacts to Melatonin, then use that when the problem comes up. It really leaves you satisfied, I find, to the point the day goes well enough not to suffer. Strictly short term use though, more than 2 consecutive days and your body takes over. Also, I use vitamin B50 in the same manner, with similar results. Coffee helps the initial wake-up period, but just causes other problems in excess. It’s important to prepare with no booze or soda, just water. Waking to urinate is a free alarm.

masterbating may help.

I usually lie quietly with my eyes closed. If that doesn’t work, I will take one Benadryl (and only one; two will knock you out!).

It depends on you really, can you make it through the day with no sleep at all without passing out at your desk?
I try and get those three hours of sleep if I’m having a bad night since I go really dizzy if I don’t. Also it depends on how busy you were the day before, even if your mind is too active your body might need the rest, so lying still somewhere can be good.