meditation and sleep

The reason sleep is blissful and meditation is meant to be blissful is because when you set yourself off to sleep, you consciously stop the aggravating thoughts which keep you awake.  At least I do, I just turn off the light and get into the sleep position, shut my eyes and heigh presto, sleep comes.  So, I had a little look at how this happens and I am pretty sure that I have programmed myself to stop thinking.  When I started meditating today, I watched carefully, and adopted the same conscious choice to not think that 'I do' when going to sleep, and it was good.  I noticed that as in deep sleep, there are no emotions running counter to the state of being and that was good too.