Eli5: Why cant we just signal to our brain when we want to fall asleep?

Question

When we lay down at night why our brain does not recognize it and make us fall asleep much easier? Interesting that we have control over so much things but not our own body.

In: 93

Answer 1

You can create a signal or signals to help to fall asleep.

You create a regular routine, perhaps reading a novel, or thinking about a story in your mind, something similar. It’s why we read bedtime stories to children.

It takes time or multiple repetitions, but it works, I fall asleep in 20 minutes 95% of the time by lying down with my phone on night mode (no blue light) and read a story yellow letters on black screen, brightness down to minimum, no lights on in the bedroom. I read every night.