Sleep
When I feel my Aspergers is at its peak sleep is my Holy Grail. However, as it’s my Holy Grail it can seem elusive despite my need. Because of this I have experimented with different methods to try and help me sleep. As with anything, trial and error may be the best method to find what suits you best when trying to get to sleep, but the suggestions I’ll make have had relative success for myself.
Reading
It sometimes can be hit and miss for me to read a book to try and settle for sleep. If I can read enough, I reach my saturation point quite quickly and find sleep achievable. On the other hand though, I can quickly tired of reading so it’s a case of which comes first. If I choose to stick with reading I’ll often re-read previous chapters of a book. As it’s not new information I don’t have to give as much thought to it, which allows me further reading. As a supplemental bonus, any information I perhaps didn’t pick up 100% the first time around I have another chance to upon reading again.
Watching a familiar film/program
As anyone will know with Aspergers, or someone who knows anyone with it, routine works. So a familiar film or program that is known inside out is perfect to start watching and to then become background noise. It breeds a good routine through the repetitiveness that doesn’t require any real attention, plus if you do choose to pay attention you get to watch something you enjoy.
Listening to music
As easy as this may sound to get it right you may have to play with your playlists to get it right. My problems with music arose when I was drifting off and then realised I was singing along to a song. Even worse, was when I’d be drifting into a nice relaxing slumber and then a JARRING song would ring out. Not the best thing to have happen when your defences are down. I’ve tried soundtrack of nature such as whales, flowing water and camp fire noises but they were more of a distraction to me. For the sake of trying them though they’re not that expensive to pick up and may work a treat.
Night Projectors/lights
So I’ll admit that my conviction to the projectors hasn’t probably been the best due to my wallet’s funds being needed elsewhere. I’ve used some of the cheaper end of the market and found that in theory they would be great, if my room were a shoebox. There are better ones out there but do expect a high price for quality. It’s hard to say if it’s the next best thing as it’s personally preference, but fairy lights are a soft light alternative to the one your room will have. You can have the lights on a timer switch too so you can relax and not worry about having to turn them off yourself.
Personally I'm a very light sleeper and will often wake multiple times during the night. depending on its frequency I can actually have worked up the need for a mini feast. As you're probably aware making something to eat isn't the quickest of activities, so by time I'm done it takes a while to settle back down. That's why I've now started to prepare myself some treats to take to bed with me, along with a drink. Doing this allows me to quickly gorge and then get back to sleep without having to turn my attention to chef duties.