Hey I'm not a scientist, I'm not a doctor, but I AM a sixteen year old who has struggled with insomnia from a very early age because of ADHD, medicine side effects, depression, the like. If you're genuinely wondering about this, there are multiple things that go into it but the one that helped me the most was: I was spending too much time in my room/on my bed not sleeping.
When you're in your room for 12 out of 24 hours of the day and only 7 of those hours are spent sleeping, your brain can get confused. It stops thinking of your bed as "a place to sleep", and stops consistently making you tired when you go to bed because it thinks the bed is a neutral place instead of a place you go to specifically for sleeping. My best advice based on personal experience:
1- start doing things like reading or being on your phone in a different room, or even just in a chair next to your bed instead of ON your bed.
2- exercising before bed will not "tire you out" in any sort of helpful way if you have insomnia. You'll either be kept awake by adrenaline and dopamine or you'll pass out and wake up even more exhausted and sore the next day.
3- routines go a long way. It can even be something fun, like making a cup of a warm drink. Though make sure it's not caffeinated (unless you're like me and caffeine doesn't do anything to you because of your weird ass brain). It can also be something productive, like laundry or dishes, though again, exercise is not the move. You want to be winding down, not forcing your body into unconsciousness, because that never really works long term.
4- laying in bed for longer than 20 minutes trying to sleep will only make everything worse. Try not to watch the clock, but if you know it's been a while since you started trying to sleep and you're still awake, get up and go do a neutral/passive activity in dim or low/warm lighting in ANOTHER ROOM— preferably not something that involves your phone or a tv.
5- accept that your sleep schedule will not always be perfect, especially if you are neurodivergent or have struggled with insomnia for a long time. You will have days where your mind just won't settle down, and maybe they'll be few and far between, but they'll be there. But if you know what works best for you, it will always be easier than it was last time to pick yourself back up again.
This was all based heavily on personal experience, so if anything I said is wrong or misleading, feel free to let me know. But these tips are what got me sleeping regularly again every time my sleep cycle got fucked up.
And hey, if you're ever struggling, just remember, it's not your fault that capitalism prioritizes productivity over healthy sleep schedules!
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