I also find that putting in either a 2-hour workout at the gym or a 20K run also does the trick..... But sometimes it is too physically tough to do after 12 hours of trading....
I saw this on a science channel. The idea is, there are two type of sleep disorders, getting up too early, and not being able to go to sleep. The idea is very very simple, we all have an internal clock, and that clock can get out of sync. It can also be fooled. The internal clock is regulated by light. What you do depends on your condition: a) If you have trouble going to sleep, what you do is put on sunglasses in the early afternoon. This tricks the internal clock into thinking that it has been night longer, and the brain will do it's job of getting you to sleep "earlier". b) on the other hand, if you are a person that wakes up to early, you put on the sunglasses on in the morning, and then take them off in the afternoon. This will cause you to fall asleep a little later and therefore waking should also occur later. Then there are things that have been known for a while, like don't drink caffeine after 5:00 PM, etc. I don't have sleep disorders, but I decided to experiment on myself and tried a) to see what would happen. It worked!!
Additionally, it may be helpful to listen to ZZ Top while employing this method: When you get up in the morning and the light is hurt your head The first thing you do when you get up out of bed Is hit that street a-runnin' and try to meet the masses And go get yourself some cheap sunglasses Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah <(cheap sunglasses) Hmmm.....(Yawn).....I think I'm getting sleepy.
It's all about the brain. I could write thousands of words on why I picked this up and what the outcome was, but the long and short of it is that you can influence yourself to do almost anything mentally, and putting yourself to sleep most certainly is a "mental thing". Yoga is a great example of how one uses their mind to accomplish an objective. Yoga's more extreme then what I'm talking about here, but along the same lines. Try this for free: Lay in bed with your eyes closed and think of the most calming experience you can imagine (sunset, autumn leaves, etc). Exhale completely. Inhale slowly while counting to ten nice and slow so you fill your lungs to capacity. Hold it for ten seconds, then exhale slowly counting to ten slowly. Count to ten again, then breath in again counting to ten. Do this ten times and your heartrate and blood pressure will be much lower. Why this works is because most people use 10%-30% of lung capacity. The objective is to up that percentage making you healthier and calmer/ subdued. Once you get it going your body will continue to take in more oxygen then it otherwise would had you not done these deep breathing exercises. You'll sleep better. When finished with the breating, just think to yourself with certainty that you're going to sleep and what time you're getting up. If you wake up in the middle of the night, stay away from things that will wake you up. No lights. If you don't have to go to the bathroom, don't head that way and stay out of the kitchen. It's best to stay in bed and just do your calming imaginary experience and breathing again and tell yourself you're going back to sleep and tell yourself what time you're waking up. Do this several nights in a row and before you know it you'll be able to just go to bed, be alseep in five minutes, and sleep until it's time to get up and you'll feel great when you wake up. I can sleep anytime anywhere and wake up when I want with no alarms. It costs nothing to try. Good luck and let us know what works or doesn't work for you.