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Related Discussions
In need of a morale booster- Insomnia interfering with the LSAT
I'm in need of a morale booster. I feel bad about the feb lsat. So, I had been extensively studying for a retake in Feb, and furthermore had shown a lot of improvment (especially in LR). I was consistently getting the number correct on each section ( and often even more) that I needed for my goal score. However, I had major insomnia the night before the lsat, and that threw me off on test day. My brain was not as quick as normal, and I'm really worried that all of the improvement that I made got thrown out the window. I left on a bad "feeling" but I know that's not necessarily a good predictor of your score. I know that I improved leading up to the test- I'm just hoping that one day didn't ruin all of that. Hopefully, I improved by at least a couple points 
Comments
Have you considered taking melatonin? It is a natural sleep aid and it should put you right to bed.
I love melatonin! I take it sparingly, and especially only for situations like before an LSAT.
Also, do with this what you will, but I once read this study where psychologists "tested" the sleep of a bunch of subjects. Afterwards, they chose a randomly selected group and told them that they hadn't gotten very good sleep (this wasn't necessarily true). Afterwards, the group who had been told that they didn't sleep well reported feeling more tired and less aware, even though many of them actually had gotten good sleep.
But anyway, from someone who's often had trouble sleeping, I feel you! Like @westcoastbestcoast said, melatonin is awesome. Other stuff that might work include earplugs, sleeping mask, gravity blankets, warm milk, no electronics 1 hour before bed, and taking a hot shower then going into your cool room (the temperature drop helps to signal to your body too). Good luck on the next one! I feel ya!
Also to add onto to this. It can be true to sleep may make you seem sluggish in the beginning but test day nerves and adrenaline will and should keep you alert. Most of what you do in the exam should come automatic after having done so much practice. Extreme analogy but even with lack of sleep one knows that one plus one equals two. You should try to get to that point with LSAT where everything seems second nature. Also the tutor I worked with only got a couple hours of sleep but still pulled a 180.
@westcoastbestcoast Thanks that helps. It did seem kind of natural just because I have been doing lsat prep for so long- it just too me longer to do each lR question than normal. Oh well, guess I just got to wait until Wednesday to see how it went!
No worries. I hope you scored within your desired score band. If you didnt, think about what you did wrong. Focus about what sections gave you hard time.
I have exactly the same problem. I took the last few weeks to sulk, but I'm going to retake this summer so it's mid-day. Not much else you can do beyond RX sleep aides. I realize some people swear by melatonin supplementation but it's largely been shown to only be good for reseting sleep schedules (for example after a long flight). It's completely worthless for my own sleep.
Good sleep hygiene is an obvious must and meditation can help, but when you add in the pre-test anxiety, it's hard.
I slept on-and-off the entire night before my exam--this is pretty normal, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I probably only had 2-3 hours of uninterrupted, restful sleep. My advice is to have as flawless a sleep schedule as possible in the weeks leading up to the test. That's really all you can do. I would not recommend melatonin and ESPECIALLY not a prescription sleep aid the night before the test--you're playing with fire there.
This may be reason #1 why honing meditation skills is so important.
Don't use a new RX sleep aid for the first time before the test. Like... obvs...
OP used the word insomnia, so I read it as being a more chronic issue, but even if it's just an issue with nerves before the test, using a sleep aid may be the best option in this particular case. You should get a few weeks experience using it before the actual test, and I would try doing some timed PT's on the same schedule you would be taking your retake. So, try taking the pill at a set time, wake up when you would for the test, start the test when you would (providing for ID check and instruction time on test day), etc. See how you feel.
Only try RX options if they've prescribed to you, but Unisom or another OTC option can be a real boon. Some people don't jive well w/ meditation and sleep hygiene is a good long term option, but not really a fix for an acute issue. Everyone's bodies are different. And we all perform differently on a lack of sleep. A portion of the population has been shown to do quite well in a sleep deficit, while others, like myself, basically die. You've got time. See what works for you.