Kriyat Shema Al HaMitah

Order of the Kriyat Shema Al HaMitah

1. It's a מצוה to say קריאת שמע על מטתו even if your read the three פרשיות at the right time , so then you say only the first פרשה, however it's better to say all three with א-ל מלך נאמן b/c there are רמ"ח (248) letters and then saying this is a שמירה for all 248 bones in your body.
2. You also say the ברכה of המפיל, and you add pasukim and מזמורים after it. One should follow the order of the siddur of one’s minhag. Some say that you say this ברכה before שמע, some say you say it at the end of all the תפילה. Some say that you should say it right after שמע. The Sephardic minhag is to say the Bracha before Shema.
3. If you are sick you don’t need to say the whole order of קריאת שמע שעל המאה, it's enough just to say the first פרשה of שמע and then say the ברכה of המפיל.
4. You only need to say קריאת שמע על המטה and the ברכה of המפיל once a night, so if you fall asleep and then wake up and you want to go back to bed you don’t need to say everything again.

The Bracha

1. Sephardim shouldn’t say the Bracha of HaMapil with Shem UMalchut unless one goes to sleep before Chatzot (midnight by halachic hours).

Not speaking after Kriyat Shema Al HaMitah

1. Once you have said קריאת שמע על המטה you shouldn’t speak, eat, or drink. Before one said the Bracha of HaMapil, if one needs to eat, drink, or say something really important there is a possibility to be lenient, and one should repeat Shema. However, if one already said the Bracha of HaMapil one shouldn’t make any interruption.

Position it should be said

1. It's good to read the שמע on your bed sitting or standing, if you already laid down you don’t need to get up rather say it on your side, but it is אסור to say it while lying on your back or on your belly, בדיעבד any way is יוצא.

Other practices prior to sleep

1. It's good for a person that before he goes to bed he should look at all the things he did that day and if he finds that he did עבירות he be מקבל on himself that he won’t do those again, and also it's good to be מוחל anyone who might have sinned against you.
2. One should sleep on one’s side and not faced up or down.

Sleeping alone

1. It’s forbidden to sleep at night in a room by oneself. However, if there’s others in the house and not the room, one should leave the room door ajar at night (unless a man is sleeping alone in a room and the only other person in the house is a women in which case it’s forbidden to leave the door open because of Yichud.) .