"Sara and I actually have got it down to a large, fresh vegetable juice in the evening. That's all. You sleep better, AND you stay trim. :-)"

Wow. Smug, much?

Does the large juice make you want to get up to use the bathroom at night? I am always afraid of this because once I wake up, it takes me a long time to fall asleep. Unlike my partner who has no problem getting up several times a night and going back to bed and sleeping soundly.

I'm a biphasic sleeper.
Unfortunately, due to my stress level, the deep dark of winter, and my family history, I can't sleep for 8 hours at a stretch without either sleeping medication or having really terrifying dreams. I'm on a sleep schedule where I go home from work, nap for an hour or so on the couch, go to bed around 1 or 2 in the morning, and wake up between 7 and 8 for work. So I get a total of 6-8 hours of sleep, and it works for me.
I've spent the morning looking up information on insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, and polyphasic sleep cycles, so this article couldn't be more timely.

I wonder how many plaid shirts he own...lol

Thank you for your tips, I have heard some of them, but a lot I haven´t tried, so ill try them out!!! :)

Well, kimdog, let's not forget... Maxwell's a New Yorker... he's got the image of his city to uphold!

I find you're absolutely right, especially about light, Maxwell. I sleep so much better since putting a blackout blind over my loft window. Wasn't even a big window either, and it faced North!

As a person who has never been a good sleeper (as a kid I was up until 4 am all the time--drove my mother nuts!), I take this kind of advice with a grain of salt, because individuals are very different. For example, while light does matter for me (and I sleep with a blind over my eyes to keep things really dark) for me sound matters even more. I have very very sharp hearing and am VERY sound sensitive--we chose our current neighborhood because it was so very quiet. Things like loud music make me crazy and once it is in my head, it is very very hard for me to get back to sleep. S, while it is a good place to start, I'd guess everyone's list will be somewhat different.

I developed health issues 5 years ago that completely totaalled what had been a life of easy, solid sleep. I found my lack of sleep to be much more draining and miserable than the symptoms of the health problem! Having never had sleep problems earlier in my life I had no idea how to fix it and all my doctors wanted to do was throw pills at the problem.

I went on a research project and educated myself on sleep and my list of things to do and not to do is really really similar to Maxwell's.

For me two additional items are one, that the balance of fluid intake, and surprisingly carbohydrate intake, had a big effect. I make sure I don't drink too much after 7PM for a 10:30PM bedtime. And I avoid any carbs in the evening. They make me retain fluids that get processed during he night and have me out of bed multiple times to pee.

I also got a 'pillow speaker' and have my ipod playing ambient sleep music to drown out my husband's snoring. These flat little speakers fit into the pillocase or under the bottom sheet and deliver pretty good sound. The gentle music or natural sounds really really help your brain let go and stop processing. It's kind of like hypnotherapy! Puts me to sleep like astone and helps me stay asleep despire the hubby's jack-hammering efforts on the other side of the bed!

Very timely, indeed, I'm always experimenting with ways to fall and stay asleep. I've tried a few different otc sleep aids..sometimes they just knock me out and when i wake it doesn't even feel like i've slept that long, sometimes it doesn't even work.
The BF doesn't like me using these; exercise works for him, but even when I do it regularly, I still have trouble.
thanks for these tips, Maxwell, will def put into practice!

I have never once not had to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and if I drank a large anything for dinner, it would probably be more than once! And sound affects me as much, or more than, light. I sleep w/a fan on - the white noise cuts the city noise - and use earplugs. I am also one of those (rare, I think) people who cannot nap. And no matter how tired I am during the day, I almost always get a second wind around 7pm and rarely can fall asleep before 2am.

Not sure why I am going on about all this...I guess just to add to the comment that everyone is different. I have tried many things to go to sleep earlier/get more sleep, and read anything I come accross. But I am still waiting for the perfect solution (roofies anyone??)

OR you can continue to live a rich, full, fun life having an actual meal for dinner with wine and then if you must, take an ambien :)

Great tips! My husband and I have been battling the poor-sleep monster recently, and while his was actually diagnosed as sleep apnia (something VERY worthwhile to investigate for poor sleeps who snore- it's a big indicator of the disorder), mine has been solved with an exercise/hydration combo. (the lack of snoring to the left probably helped, too..) SLEEP! :)

This always helps me fall asleep. Shavasana (Savasana) yoga postion. flat on your back, chin almost down, heels together and let the toes fall to either side, hands upward and at your side. Your whole core is open and relaxed and the body is aligned.

Sleep Apnea/snoring, talk to your doctor. This can be deadly. Causes multiple medical problems. If your a diabetic even worse. IT IS HUGE PROBLEM that no one will admit.

Oh man, I have the exact opposite experience of light vs. sound distractions from sleep. Light doesn't bother me (probably from being petrified of the dark as a kid) but noises drive me nuts. The big lifesaver for me is my white noise application on my iphone - I sleep anywhere like a rock as long as that's playing. It's amazing.

#5 is the only one that really makes a difference for me. If I get a good workout in after work, I'm asleep the second my head hits the pillow.

Apparently, melatonin is all the rage amongst the medical set, and is used quite frequently in hospitals as a gentle, effective and safe sleeping aid. Melatonin is the hormone produced by the body to induce sleep, and apparently has no side effects. My sister, a nurse, used to take it to help her fall asleep after her night shifts -- the body produces less of it when it's there's light, therefore people who sleep during the day have less of it.

I've used it myself on a couple of occasions and it works very nicely. I've heard from several sources (including medical ones) that it's safe for children as well.

9 is the biggest deal for me. I bring a 1.5 litre water bottle with me to bed each night and I sleep drink. If it's not there,I will wake up all throughout the night because of thirstyness(is that even a word?)

I find that even a small amount of light (from a digital clock or cable box) will cause me not have a restful sleep. I find keeping out all electronics from my bedroom works well.

Watching tv or going on the internet right before bed also seems to be more simulating. Reading with soft lighting puts me to sleep and I wake up less during the night.

Having less clutter in the room, nothing under the bed also helps especially if you have allergies like myself.

I had a two bedroom rental with small rooms. Once I got my queen size bed in there, nothing else could really fit. With just a bed and a nightstand, I found I fell asleep easily, slept thru the entire night.

I have to disagree with the 'noise does not matter'. I am a light sleeper and the jingle of my dogs collar will wake me up and I won't be able to fall asleep instantly. I ofen use ear plugs when I am not sleeping at home. Light does not seem to be nearly the issue as noise; personally.

I'm also more disturbed by sound than by light. When my husband is on business trips, I just use our linen curtains to have some privacy and leave the shutters open.

I find that the best way to wake up fresh is to let the sun wake you up. I have never slept better than when I was living in a apartment with windows without blinds or anything to darken the room.

Right now, my year-old son is my alarm clock, but when we'll both need to wake up for school, I intend to get one of those artificial sunrise machines: they start by emitting a little light 30 minutes before wake-up time, and the light intensifies progressively. In the end, if this does not wake you up, there's a traditional ringing tone. I'm looking forward to experiencing waking up with the sunrise again !

Things to keep in mind too are, temperature, good pillow for how you sleep (side, back, tummy) and a decent mattress.

My husband is a tornado, he flips and flops all night and is almost dangerous to sleep next to!
But because I eat an early dinner, workout, drink water throughout the day, have a firm mattress with a soft pillow top, in a dark quiet room at the right temperature, I sleep like a log.

Great advice (from the pt of view of an MD who spends a *lot* of time discussing sleep problems and solutions). These ideas are standard (except maybe the juice for supper!) but I'd add a couple of things...

* yes, exercise, but > 2 hours before bed to allow wind-down time
* it takes 10 hours to metabolize the caffeine in a 6 oz cup of coffee, so drinking more and/or later than early a.m. means it's still in the system playing havoc with sleep quality
* the 7 pm rebound is a signal of stress, not energy
* best advice I ever got was to consciously shift my worry time away from bedtime, then to choose happy, boring things (gardening, paint colours) to think about as I drift off...

The strangest thing I've found as a sleep aid for myself is... non-english language sound. When we had the television in the bedroom, my SO would watch his favorite foreign films... and I was out like a light. Normally it'll take me an hour or more to fall asleep, but when the sound is something I can't understand, I think it wears my brain down. Or maybe my brain's so busy trying to decipher the unfamiliar sounds that it can't run on its usual eighteen-wheeled hamster cycles.

The problem is that sound keeps the SO awake, and we don't have the television in the bedroom, so I'm at a loss as to how to set that situation up again. (Watching elsewhere and then getting up and moving to the bed wakes me back up.) I've considered headphones, but I'm a side-sleeper, so one plug always ends up pressed into the ear or not attached at all. (Not to mention how the cords might tangle once I'm asleep.)

I have no idea yet, but in my recent research, sleeping on wool helps with restive sleep, supposedly minimizing the tossing and turning. We just bought a new mattress and it has a cotton and wool topping. I also just ordered a cotton and wool mattress pad.

Now on night three, my husband appears to be tossing and turning way less. Is it the new, firmer mattress, the wool, or the newness of it all?

Most ironic post to bump into ever. I just woke up trying to scream but was choking on a mouthful of blood. 30 mins or so later and I'm still shaking. I know all the monkey tricks and have tried them all, I'm no spring flower. Some people sleep better from sheer luck, some sleep poor from a spate of bad luck & all the advice in the world changes nothing. A job that brings 6 beds helps, I imagine: cool.

Two things: darkened shades and EAR PLUGS. The plugs might sound crazy but I swear, they have completely transformed my sleep. I have always been a really light sleeper and any tiny noise wakes me up. My mom and sister are like this also and it's always been so annoying because every little sound disrupts our sleep! But after having kids, I was desperate for some solid sleep and resorted to ear plugs so I could nap.

I prefer the gel ones as they work WAY better than the soft squishy ones. Because it blocks out every sound, I can also fall asleep super quickly. Super quickly and super sound = better sleep for me! yay! I do find that I still need at least 8-9 hours of sleep a night (I think I come from a family of sleepers!) to feel refreshed.

Try the plugs, it will feel weird the first two or three nights because you can feel them in your ears. But you will NOT be disappointed by the quality of sleep you get, promise!!!!!

While the tips are nice, I am afraid that this falls under the "We are all different category".

I definitely belong to the people who are more disturbed by noise than by light. I often joke that if a mouse farts it will wake me.
I fall asleep fairly easily but the biggest problem for me (and has been for years) is to remain asleep throughout the night. If I wake up, typically in order to go to the washroom, I often have a huge problem going back to sleep.

I exercise almost every day and I have to say that I experienced many a sleepless night after an exhausting workout (lifting weights etc.), even a double workout (none too late in the evening though).
Also, for me, a full stomach seems to work better than a light meal.
I always have water on my night stand because when I wake up in the middle of the night, I am thirsty (and this is in spite of keeping the heat vent in my bedroom closed because I prefer to sleep in a cold room).

Can anyone recommend a sound machine that works

My boyfriend and I both have this white noise machine and it's WONDERFUL! SleepMate Electro-Mechanical White Noise Machine: http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-SleepMate-980A-Electro-Mechanical-Conditioner/dp/B000KUHFGM

K02 - YES! I listen to Sigor Ros with the sleep timer on my ipod - Soft Icelandic music will make me fall asleep in a matter of minutes - maybe it's because it sooths me as any music should, but because it's a diffirent language,I'm not over thinking the lyrics.

I also make my bed everynight or I will go OCD over the fact that the corner of the sheets doesn't look right, or ifI have more sheets than I do blankets

It also helps if your room is organized and clean. A pile of clothes or mounds of books or magazines can cause stress and prevent you from falling asleep or waking up grumpy. It helps if you put everything in it's place before you go to bed.

I sleep well - always have - and barely follow these rules. Which is to say I'm very lucky. That said, when I started to work from home as a designer (and sometimes working on the computer right until bed time), it took me a while to figure out how to not bring work to bed with me - i.e. continuing to work in my dreams. I discovered it was about de-stressing all day long, not just before going to bed.

I also disagree strongly about #10. I can sleep through most sounds, but my brain still hears it and if I am subjected to excess noise during the night, I will wake up either cranky or with heartburn in the morning. Likewise, if my room doesn't have an uncovered window to let in the morning light, I'll wake up with a heart-pounding start, followed by a headache. Go figure.

The main theme here is that we *are* all different. Light is much more bothersome to me than sound, and I can fall asleep with techno music blaring from the apt next door with no problem.

Staying asleep is my personal hell. In addition to the standard stuff, I found that taking calcium in the evening helps tremendously.

I always have a glass of water on my way to bed, read something relaxing for 15-30 minutes, and go out like a light. The worst waker-upper for me is alcohol, especially red wine.

Can't say I've heard of the no dinner thing - and IMO it seems that the negative effects of not breaking bread with friends and family would be much worse.

When I was having trouble falling asleep, my doctor suggested removing all stimulation from the room. No TV. No music. No reading. My brain needed to know that when I was in the bedroom, only one thing was happening - sleep. Worked like a charm.

Light doesn't disturb me at all. We have transluscent blinds and I could even sleep with the lights on. But noise drives me crazy.

I drink a lot of water and have to go to the bathroom at least twice every night. What's important: keep your brain switched off. Just head to the loo and back to bed.

But one thing really makes all the difference to me: open windows. I sleep like a baby with at least one partly open window. When it's too cold (freezing) to open a window, it is as if I can't breathe and I'll get a headache.

Hard (HARD!) mattress and a firm pillow that supports the head also help. Me.

Sounds funny? Well, I think we are all very different. :)

No dinner or drinks at night? But a person's got to live!

When my number's up I hope I'm enjoying a good beer.

For me it is the number of hours, but whether the number is a multiple of 90 minutes. Most people sleep in, approximately, 90 minute cycles. So I can feel just as rested with 3 hours, as with 6 hours or 9 hours. But if I get 7 hours or 8 hours then I am toast.

It has something to do with the natural cycle; with the goal being to get out of bed when you find yourself awake naturally because it is the end of the cycle. This also helps me determine when to go to bed, so that my desired waking time is at the end of one of the 90 minute cycles.

I read about this in a book about the brain, and it has changed my life.

Has anyone gone to a sleep clinic? I feel like I'm self-diagnosing my insomnia, and I'm wondering if going to a sleep doctor has had positive results for anyone.

I sleep long, deep, perfectly in a hotel bed (sans partner). It's like being drugged.

It's the darkness.

(for me)

Wow! Vegetable juice for dinner huh? No don't think so. When you wrote light dinner, thought you meant a salad with a little piece of meat perhaps. But you keep drinking that kool-aid uh I mean juice if that's what helps you.

I appreciate the "hamster on the wheel" comments. When I can't turn off my brain I've found writing down the things I am thinking about is a great exercise. And a practical one. Use the list the next day to take care of business. I keep pen and paper by my bed. I guess your mind settles knowing there is some stuff you have control over and some you don't. Anecdotally, I know this works for lots of folks.

Also, a bit of yoga or stretching before bed gets the kinks out. And done in bed before you get up or by your bedside provides a boost of energy and good outlook in the morning. Try a single move that doesn't take too long so you'll actually do it, like the Sun Salute. Here's a simple demo: http://www.yogasite.com/sunsalute.htm

Interesting to read these comments. The only time I don't sleep well is when I don't get enough exercise for days on end - maybe stuck at a desk working a lot of OT and readying for exams during the same few weeks. I have odd sleep habits - in the winter I must have a light on in the room or I get too cold - in the summer it must be dark so I don't get too warm, and the ceiling fan must be on low because I cannot tolerate still air. Noise doesn't bother me - unless it is obnoxious loud repetitious noise like a dog yelping 2 houses away over and over and over. I actually look forward to spring when I can sleep with windows open so I can hear the frogs and night sounds and the birds. Fantastic to hear owls hunting at night! I cannot sleep with my head at an exterior wall, as well. But otherwise I eat and drink what I want (but I am a very light drinker of alcohol).

Key tip for getting a good night's sleep: Send the children to Gramma & Papa's house!

I never knew how much sound kept me from sleeping (always had a hard time falling asleep) until I lived on party-heavy street in Santa Barbara for college and started using ear plugs to block out the music, people, drunkards on school and work nights. I'd wake up in the morning amazed that I didn't even remember falling asleep it happened so quickly. I usually would pull the plugs out in the middle of the night, if they didn't fall out themselves, so missing an alarm was never an issue for me. I also like it to be very dark and very cool, with warm covers to control my temperature. Though, now that I've moved in with my boyfriend and our combined three cats, I can't remember a night when I didn't wake up at least once from some creature crawling on me or fighting for bed space and covers. It's worth it, I suppose, but sometimes I long for the days when I would lock my cat out of my room and have the bed to myself :-)

sadly, i sleep better when my husband isn't around. he snores like a freight train, and thrashes around. i have to push him to get him onto his side so he doesn't snore. HE gets a solid 8 hours every night and wakes up chipper.

I am a career insomniac. I can remember as young as the age of 6 being awake all night. Honestly, if it was just about having juice for dinner don't you think everyone would be doing it?It's sort of insulting, really.

wow, the "juice for dinner" thing got everyone fired up. it seems like just a suggestion and example, not something you need to follow to a "t".

I feel there's also a difference between eating dinner early vs. late and sleep patterns (for myself and most people i know).

regardless, not all of these tips will help everyone, i don't know what the fuss is about.

For people who need something besides good "sleep hygiene" to get a good night's sleep, try L-Tryptophan supplements (Source Naturals is a good brand). Also, magnesium taken right before bed can help tremendously (preferably powdered, it's easier to absorb - Natural Calm is a good brand). Most people are deficient in mag, anyway. It's a natural muscle relaxant. You can also get magnesium oil, just rub it into your skin before sleeping (google Ancient Minerals mag oil).

These tips are good to follow in general, but to break a really bad sleep cycle, sometimes people need a little "outside" help. I don't see, however, why anyone would criticize this guy for posting this list. It's a good reminder of simple, drug-free things we can do. I didn't find it smug or insulting at all. Of course everyone is different, I don't think he'd argue otherwise.

I have never been able to get up easily. I would have a bedtime 8 hours from waking up time, fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, and still be exhausted in the morning and throughout the day.

Now, I sleep for 9 or 10 hours. It sounds like I'm sleeping my life away, but my quality of live is much improved. I wake up about 5 to 10 minutes before the alarm every morning.

I tried all the other stuff... curtains, foods, temperature. But I just wasn't getting enough. And now I'm more productive that I was before, because I'm well rested and don't spend the first half of my day in a fog. So, you might add to this list trying MORE sleep.

Setting a wind down hour and going to bed at the same time are both great suggestions for getting better sleep. At http://wakemate.com we have seen people increase their sleep quality by over 30% when they do not use any electronics an hour before bed. Another great tip is to map out your sleep cycles and see at what times you get the best quality sleep, so you can set your bedtime at the most effective time for your body's individual rhythms. This is one thing WakeMate is great at helping with - check it out

FYI...not everyone who snores has apnea!! Geez, so alarmist!

Small dinner....not NO dinner! And I'm having a glass of wine, dammit!

ko2 you need a pillow speaker!

Does anyone know what he heck knifemouth is talking about???

i highly recommend the Philips GOLite Blu for helping regulate sleep patterns (among many other things). since i started using it, my body shuts down at night like clockwork around 10:30 and i sleep through the night for the most part. i'm battling some separate body pain issues that thwart truly good sleep and keep me waking up in bed and somewhat unrefreshed, but for daytime energy and shutting down effectively at night, the blue light is fantastic.

less caffeine and an earlier bed time have been key to me. I also play audiobooks and radio at very low volumes to help lull me to sleep. It's always a delicate balance since indistinct "babble" soothes, but I can't help but to become more alert if I start actively listening.

I've always been a night person since childhood and it was a big shock at 35 to realize I just couldn't stay up as long as I was used to or even wanted to at times.

Even when dead tired, I still get a second wind around midnight, but I had to change my habits after I had started sleeping through alarms.

Horses for courses folks, if it works for you great. I'm still trying to figure it out. I need to try some of these ideas, and no idea what knifemouth is talking about.

For 2 to 21/2 hours before bedtime, I limit the amount of blue light I get (TV, monitor) by either wearing amber goggles or putting amber plexiglass over lights and TVs. I have been able to eliminate one of my sleep meds and solve a long-standing and seemingly intractable sleep problem. Blue light inhibits the body's production of melatonin. (Melatonin hasn't been studied as a long-term sleep aide and children appear at the ER with overdoses)

I keep "Soothing Music for Sleep" on the CD player in my alarm clock, looping all night, and I wear eye shades. All of this may sound odd - but I wake up every morning having slept solidly and grateful for having done so.

I teach teenagers and spend a lot of time discussing what is known as "sleep hygiene" with them (behavior and environment that may precede sleep and interfere with it). Most of the stuff I have read indicates the importance of getting exercise, eating and electronic media exposure DONE 1-2 hours before going to sleep. There are dawn simulators (alarms that gradually brighten your lights to enable you to wake up more naturally), that also have a "sunset" type feature where the lights in your room become gradually dimmer until they go out...which can help people with falling asleep problems.

Also, to posters who are chronically waking up to drink water all night long, excessive thirst can be a symptom of serious illness such as diabetes. You might want to get it checked out.

I'm going to second the advice for magnesium right before bed. I'm taking it to help prevent migraines, but a pleasant side effect is that my sleep has vastly improved.

I considered also trying earplugs, but I became so worried/tense that I wouldn't hear my alarm... I figured any benefit would be cancelled out. :)

I also love to have a big glass of juice for dinner. Except mine is fruit juice. Grape. Fermented :)

Interesting read - hadn't known about blue light so will wean myself off surfing channels and read a book. Tried ear plugs but the psuedo-sound of the sea keeps me awake - the white noise could be a goer. I need 10 hours sleep or I'm a zombie.

for gantineauhills - what is the 7pm rebound?

The problem with children showing up at the ER with melatonin overdoses isn't the melatonin... it's the parents who weren't able to follow their doctors' instructions and use common sense.

I also agree with laurakz... sometime *more* sleep in the answer.

I have always been a famous sleeper, but I don't sleep well when I am in pain, and as I age I have more and more pain. I have been thinking of changing out my old mattress, because I thought maybe a good quality mattress could help alleviate some of the pain. I have been following the year in bed project to see how the mattresses stack up. However, I have never slept on a mattress as comfortable as my old one anywhere. So I take ibuprofen before bed.

A moderately tough crossword puzzle does it for me most nights. I replaced reading in bed with puzzles. Seems the cognitive effort clears the worries, without overstimulating. Works about 95% of the time..

Wow, there sure are some grumpy commenters here! Go to bed!

I found that keeping the bedroom strictly reserved for bedroom related stuff (sleeping and sexing only!) is helpful. It allows your body to keep work and daily stressors separate.

I personally loved the juice comment. A good majority of our country could benefit from that one!

I'd just like to say how adorable that picture is.

Good night.

I started using breathe-right strips every night. Partially due to allergies, and now exacerbated by pregnancy, my nasal passages are slightly swollen much of the time. I didn't realize how much if was affecting my sleep, but I was breathing with my mouth open and then waking up thirsty.

This and many of the other recommendations given here have helped a lot. One other thing we noticed: our DSL modem and wireless router are in our bedroom, and the glowing lights (even behind a room divider screen) were surprisingly bright. Covering the lights helped.

weed.

a tip i heard (somewhere?) awhile back that has helped immensely w falling asleep when i cant shut off my brain: starting w small words (3 or 4 letters) think of the word & then spell it backwards. as u get good at it increase the amount of letters- it should b challenging but doable... i swear in the morning when i try to remember how many words i went thru i can never remember more than 10- it makes me fall asleep FAST & i have struggled w insomnia my entire life... it has something to do w the fact that the part of ur brain that is used to spell backwards cannot b used @ the same time as the part of ur brain that goes in circles over & over- it literally shuts off ur racing mind. try it- it works! (i have no idea what knifemouth is talking about, either, but it is my favorite comment & my favorite user name...)

Your wife is a food writer and just has vegetable juice for dinner? Wow, you must have had really bad sleep problems. Not a habit I'd like to have to start...and I'm not the world's greatest sleeper either!

Thanks for the many very useful ideas.

I agree with the juice idea. Our family has started juicing and doing a lot of green smoothies. And we have found that not only is it easier to consume a lot more greens (kale, spinach, collards, dandelion greens) that we wouldn't typically eat - it's so easy to disguise the taste by mixing them with other vegetables and fruits! Not to mention - you don't have to spend all night cooking and cleaning. Instead, we have time to take an evening stroll as a family and head home for an early bed time.

The days are so much easier when your nights are full of peaceful sleeping.

And eating well isn't anything to be smug about - it's something to be proud of. It's tough to get started, but once you get into the groove - it's amazing!

1. Overdoing magnesium can cause diarrhea and, if that's the cause, then reducing magnesium intake will improve it. 2. A complete annual medical exam may uncover problems that hurt sleep. A correct diagnosis is half the battle.

@curryfamdc - you make it sound like cooking and eating are chores! I enjoy preparing and eating dinner with my partner. It almost sounds like Willy Wonka's meal replacement gum!!

Our family uses a Marpac Sleep Mate for white noise and we love it, although almost anything will work for that: fan, humidifier, iPod white noise track, etc. The Marpac is nice, though, because it's extremely adjustable and extremely boring to listen to. I find myself nodding off if I have it on for even a few minutes. I imagine it's like being in the womb... whoooooosh. My husband sleeps beautifully in almost any situation and has literally fallen asleep on a wooden floor in a lighted room on more than one occasion, but he also snores, so the white noise is mostly to drown him out and to help our kids to sleep.

Heat is a pretty big issue for me when it comes to falling asleep. I need some amount of fresh air and a relatively cool room.

I also need a dark room, although I've resisted this for years because I my night vision isn't the best and I prefer to be able to see the room I'm in even if I'm trying to fall asleep.

The other stuff I mostly agree with, but I ain't giving up fatty meals with good beer late at night. As a self-proclaimed Epicurean, I feel that limiting these activities to only weekends would seriously impact my overall quality of life. I'll take a random rollicking evening over a good night's sleep any day of the week.

I know if I only had juice for dinner, I'd be waking up with a growling tummy for sure.

Lol lorrelei!!!

the sound of a newspaper hitting a driveway at 5am is enough to wake me up. I started sleeping with earplugs a few years back. Best thing I've ever done for my sleep. And yes I can still hear the alarm every morning.

Light bothers me a lot at night as well. I've got blackout curtains (wonderful), and also an alarm clock with a dimmer on it, which has been just wonderful as well. And when I visit people and have to sleep in rooms with their electronics, I throw towels over any equipment lights.

After 4 days and nights of "Action Over Load" I paid the price on Monday at work. Thought I would fall asleep and land on the floor during a business meeting. It has been YEARS since I felt like that and it reminded me of why I made such an effort to get the Sleep Habits in check. #1 temperature is very important, the cooler the better. #2 a clean, neat bed with comfortable linens and blankets. #3 keep up with clutter in the bed room. #4 avoid ALL electronics at least 1 hour before bed. #5 keep it dark. #5 stretch out, let your body relax before turning on your side or curling up. #6 don't be afraid to sleep 9 or 10 hours if you need it to rejuvenate your body. #7 I found this pattern has eliminated the need for a nap after work. If I am more tired than usual I just go to bed earlier.

I'm a horrible sleeper, and so am always looking for things that trigger issues.
1. movement in the bed...whenever hubby rolled over or moved, I'd wake up. We just bought an eco-memory foam mattress...upsized from queen to cal king, and it makes a huge difference. the bed doesn't move!
2. temperature...we go to be about 68-70 degrees, but let the house cool overnight, so it's down to about 60 by morning. if it stays warm, I find I have nightmares and wake up.
3. the computer, even if i'm just surfing, has to end at least 2 hours before i go to bed, or I can't fall asleep. TV doesn't do that, nor radio, books, just the computer.
Stress, pets in an open floorplan house (no doors), snoring from the other side of the bed, etc., are unfixable, but at least i've found some things that can be fixed. this has given me some other ideas to think about.

oh, and light is tough, but I also have to be able to see a clock, or I wake up a hundred times wondering if it's time to get up yet. apparently, I can register the clock without fully waking. I just keep it as dim as possible.

Instead of a sleep noise machine, go to simplynoise.com for free white noise. I plugged in my laptop, turned off the screen light and let it play all night. Fabuloussssssszzzzzzzzz......

love magnesium ... it comes in a powder with calcium (which helps your body absorb more calcium) so double benefits :)

You can better understand Knifemouth's comment after reading Knifemouth's profile.

Thanks for all the great tips - I am an earplug, white noise, cold & dark room gal myself!

Someone asked about sleep clinics..my mom went to one a couple of years ago - she was a wreck and was having panic attacks from lack of sleep. They had her staying up until midnight and setting an alarm for 5 AM - no naps allowed. When she could fall asleep and stay asleep on this schedule she could set the alarm for later - small increments - then she could go to bed earlier. If she couldn't get to sleep or stay asleep - 20 min max - she had to get up and go in another room to read. It was really hard - trying to stay awake and not nap - but after several weeks it worked. It isn't magic - she will always have some trouble - how she is made - but it did help tremendously.

My 2 cents:
Melatonin is a hormone your body releases in darkness, so though you might not notice it, thats what your body is supposed to do in darkness. For people that have a very difficult time I have heard of light boxes and therapy using such...as mentioned about the blue light vs. orange light. Finally, I think that you can still enjoy a great dinner, but it should be early, if not, like the author said-a juice is the way to go. And definitely not Taco Bell @ 4th meal-haha. I think the French were/are on to something when they have their largest meal at the middle day instead of the the end. Personally, I think this is a great article for those that don't have medical issues and just need to rule out some things for some more restful sleep!

Alcohol was used in some psychiatric hospitals to induce sleep (historically) - until it was discovered the effect was temporary. More recently, alcohol has been shown to disrupt sleep patterns severely damaging sleep maintenance.

@Taureg and the others who mentioned monitor and TV keeping you up at nighttime: There is a software called F.lux - http://stereopsis.com/flux/ (for Mac/Win/Linux) - that automatically tints your monitor yellow when it's getting dark outside.

Also, what hazygirl said: Experimenting with sleep lengths, it turned out that I can be a morning person. I just need a sleep length of 90 min * n to wake up refreshed (e.g. 6, 7.5 or 9 hours), everything else like 8 hours disturbs me in the middle of a sleep cycle, and I am a zombie throughout the first half of the day. Biggest revelation ever, and biggest sleep quality improvement since :)

There are thousands of blogs and websites providing the same nature of information again and again, I guess they copy it from one another. Anyhow, the piece of information you have provided is something different and unique. Keep up the good work.

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comfortable mattress really helps in comfortable night sleep.

If I drink too much alcohol I know that I will fall asleep quickly but wake up in the middle of the night dehydrated with leg cramps & tossing & turning for hours. When I finally do fall back asleep it's not very sound & I wake up with a head & stomachache. So my advice is that if you have a problem sleeping drink in moderation or avoid alcohol completely.