I also find it tiring as he keeps calling down to ask what noises are etc. so DH and I don't feel like we get much of an evening (which I expect when they are teenagers, but not at this age)!
This made me giggle. I FEEL your pain. DS5 comes out of his room for every little noise. Sadly we live in a ranch (never again!!!), so he's closer to every single noise, laugh, etc!
When I was younger, I was the same way. My mom always told me someday payback for "tell me something I don't know" (my nightly ritual with them) would be at least double the "trouble" it was for them. They were right.
I can't shut my brain off either, so I sometimes pretend I'm in a room where the four walls are closing in on me. I always seem to fall asleep before I get squished. Of course, I wind up thinkin' about the Star Wars scene where they are trapped in the garbage dump and the walls start to move in (or was that ESB?). I've heard others think of water rushing over them (like in a shower or waterfall), and that helps them.
Good luck in whatever you try!
