I agree, it takes practice. I can't let my mind wander though. If I want to take a nap in the middle of the day I have to consciously visualize something. The visualization that has worked best for me over the last year has been sitting in my childhood home, assembling the tail section of a scale model Su-24. The end product looks a lot like this one: http://paperwings.orgfree.com/su24/index.htm (except I never finish it, just doze off)

The sleep is worth the practice :)

Well there is a right and wrong way to let you mind wander. The right way is what is taught in Mindfulness meditation. It requires hard training, and I'm not very good at it (yet I hope).

The "trick" is to let you mind wander without intentionally thinking about anything, but just letting thoughts float on by without getting attached to any one of them. Just notice all the different things your mind is bringing up, and let it happen, without grabbing hold of any one thought.

My big problem is that I have a strong inner voice that is explaining or narrating almost all that I do. This voice if focusing my thoughts, so I need to stop talking inside my head for this to work. I kind of just need to shut up and watch my thoughts instead :)

Just a note: that inner voice is also a thought. A strongly habituated one, certainly, but still just a thought. You don't need to stop 'talking', just take a step back, so to speak, and watch that voice and it will gradually dissolve on its own (over time, it will get less demanding on your attention).

This has sometimes worked for me when I'm trying to fall asleep. When I'm successful, it's like I'm letting go of the narrative of my own thoughts, and instead just seeing it unfold. Eventually, I start to feel as if the thoughts are drifting into a dream, as I start to feel engulfed in my thoughts rather than just observing them unfold.

> I can't let my mind wander though

I force myself to. I just simulate what happens when I really start falling asleep. I create random thoughts and I chain them as fast as possible.

Example:

If I break the ice with my hammer the calendar will fall on monday, but I have to escape from a huge mountain today, etc... Works super well for me. If I really need to sleep I'll use that technique, if I'm not sleepy I can do that for like 20 minutes, I have to focus not to think about something and just think about those random and nonsense stuff and I will fall asleep eventually.

When I finally manage to fall asleep, I can't remember the next day how I did it.

I've noticed it is often preceded by having some thought, then 5 seconds later realizing that the thought I just had makes absolutely no sense. I guess that's the reality testing switching off.

For me it was refinement. I was always an easy sleeper (> 3min i could be a sleep). But when stress piled on, it made my mind more of a clutter. So I started picturing a black background and drawing a number 1. But i had to draw the most perfect 1 I could visualize. Serifs, font what ever you want, just perfect. I would time it to my breathing. So 1 would be done in one breath (inhale and exhale). Then 2, then 3 etc.

The catch? if i had stray thoughts, i would have to start back at 1. I never get that far (101). But i always managed to clear my mind and fall asleep.

After reading about other people's techniques, it seems i stumbled on things like breathing and visualization.

> It just takes practice.

In the same way pole jumping without arms or legs "just takes practice".