Try the old ticking clock trick. Set an old fashioned clock that ticks near the crate. You might also try tossing a light piece of fabric over it - being sure you leave enough open for ventilation - to darken it and make it feel more like a den.
If it's not already, it might help, too, if the crate was in your room. Some people say to have it in a separate room, alone, but dogs are social creatures and if you think about it, their natural state is to sleep near others. Mine have always slept in my room with me - not necessarily on the bed, although I've woken up many mornings with a German Shepherd beside me! Bimmer is quite happy as long as he's got a soft place by the foot of the bed. My spoiled girls sleep in the living room on the sofa, although sometimes we wake up and all three of them are piled up on the bedroom floor.