This has been working for me, so here it is:

1. When you’re ready to fall asleep, pick a five to seven letter word (it can be longer if you can keep track of the letters). (e.g. - “Candle”)

2. For each letter, pick an animal. (e.g. - “C is for Cat”)

3. To the best of your ability, try and picture that animal in as much detail as you think is appropriate. (e.g. - “It’s seated but not laying down. It has cinnamon-colored fur, short. Its nose is pink, etc.”

4. Move on to the next letter and do steps 2 & 3 for each letter.

5. If you finish a word, pick another word, and repeat the same process.

Apparently this mimics the random-ish thought pattern that precedes sleep, and supposedly signals to your brain that the environment is safe enough to sleep.

I forget where I picked this up. This was just one of those things where you go, “Oh - that sounds interesting. I’ll guess I’ll give it a shot if I happen to remember it when I’m trying to fall asleep.” It wasn’t something that I ever really expected to work for me.