I am a huge advocate of sleeping well. Over the years I have read a number of articles about it, and try to practice what I've learned.

I can't do everything they suggest however, it's just not practical. For example, I can't sleep in a totally dark room. There are a number of things in my bedroom that have lights on them, and I just don't think it is practical to either remove them from the room or cover them before heading off to bed.

Specifically I'm talking about a light on my land line phone that indicated it is charged. Two lights on my clock that indicate that two alarms are set, a light on my PAP machine that indicates it is turned on -- which it is supposed to be when I am in bed and using it!

But these are all just little red or green lights, and I figure that if I close my eyes, I don't see them...

I think the thing that works the best to calm my brain and get me ready to sleep each night is a pre-bed ritual that includes taking a nice hot bath -- often reading in the tub. (And yes,I do use this time to read the books I review for the NABBW. And yes, now and then one or two of them have accidentally fallen into the tub. Thankfully each one has been able to be reclaimed and finished!)

I just read an article that says about 70 million Americans suffer from sleep problems. It specifically notes that good sleep can be harder to achieve as we age.

I know my next door neighbor, who's in her 80s, also takes a hot bath each night. She uses hers to ease her aching back, while the genesis for mine was restless legs. (I refused to take the meds the sleep specialist wanted to give me. And by chance I discovered that a nice hot pre-bedtime bath works great to still my legs. And no chemicals involved!!)

So I'm just curious: does anyone else have trouble sleeping? Does anyone else have personal tricks to share that help them sleep?

I'd love to hear what others are experiencing. Especially since the article says that a 2011 study found subjects with insomnia incurred 75% more in health-care costs than those without insomnia.

So here's to health inducing sleep!!