[mherrmann]

What really helps me is to keep my mind occupied when lying in bed at night. In my case, I try to solve P vs NP. That way, I actually enjoy the "sleepless" time, and am not stressed about not being able to sleep.

One of the imho very interesting aspects of insomnia is the "self-perpetuating" feature. Can't sleep -> stress about not being able to sleep -> even more difficult to fall asleep. I think this is a common feature of several ailments. Another is not being able to get an erection for men or not being able to orgasm for women ("it doesn't work!" -> stress / adrenaline -> it works even less).

Would be interesting to find out what common "pattern breakers" are for short-circuiting the vicious cycle. Does anyone have experiences?

[uoaei]

I'd recommend trying meditation, since it is simply training your mind to introspect so you may recognize these moments of stress and let them go with minimal effort.

But what you do can also be seen as a form of meditation, since it is also an intentional taking-your-mind-off-things.