Facts about sleep

The other night I was having such a hard time staying awake so I decided to stop fighting it, and I went to bed at 8:oo pm. Todd and I had both been staying up later than we should have for no good reasons. Todd ended up going to sleep at like 8:30 and we didn't wake up until our alarm went off at 7:15 in the morning. I believe we both have sleep debt {where we are spending too much time awake opposed to sleeping}. I read an article on "sleep debt" and what it does to people. It makes them not be able to remember things, harder to concentrate, it may cut your life short, causes premature aging, taxes the immune system, increases level of stress hormones, and disrupts the body's metabolism. Researchers think that sleep loss may be a cause of weight gain because it increases levels of a hunger hormone while decreasing levels of a hormone that makes you feel full. I never knew a lack of sleep could cause so many problems!!!

At WikiHow it gives some tips on how to fall asleep...I will just share some that I think are most beneficial/insane.
1. Eat a banana or two before bed. The magnesium in the banana will help your muscles to relax. Other foods that will help you fall asleep are: Cheese (but this may give you nightmares), Mustard, Pickles, Lettuce, Turkey. They have natural chemicals that work with your brain to send a 'calm' message over your body.
2. Give your brain an exercise. Count as high as you can. Get a picture of as many sheep on a field as possible. Try counting all of the sheep in a dim light. This makes your mind focus on one easy thing. Also, try doing mathematical calculations in your mind, for example, think of two or three digit numbers and add them up in your mind.
3. Think of Impossible Things Think of the most strange impossible things as fast as you can and don't stop. For example, imagine purple twinkies walking on the walls then they grow red wings with yellow fishhooks dangling from them.. etc. Just think of the most weird strange thing you can and let the thoughts keep getting more and more strange and make less and less sense. You are guaranteed to fall asleep fast. This works, try it.
4.Make up an imaginary friend and discuss your days events with them. talk about your feelings etc. Think of what your imaginary friend can say back. It's calming and very good for troubled minds.

I think #1 & #2 are good suggestions but #3 & #4 are just weird. If anyone has some good tricks for falling asleep please share!