It’s no secret. We the people of the United States of America, and other countries too, are sleep-deprived. Some people work too much. Others have brand new babies. Others just can’t fit it all in and would rather use the little free time they do have watching TV or surfing the net instead of getting those precious zzzz’s. Nobody is getting enough sleep. Including me.

Personally, even though I have ample time for it, I have trouble sleeping. I can’t fall asleep. Or I wake up in the middle of the night and I can’t fall back asleep. Or I toss and turn and never fall into that deep REM sleep that is so important. Maybe it’s my Type A personality. I’m a worry wart. Or maybe it’s just in my DNA. My mom has trouble sleeping too, although she says that nobody her age sleeps well. I have my fingers crossed that isn’t true.

I’m not yet 30 (although that date is rapidly approaching), but I’m doing what I can to manage this insomnia before it gets out of control.  So what does it take for this (non)Working Girl to get a good night’s sleep?

• Don’t wear lipstick to bed like the beautiful lady in the picture above. OBVI.
• Have a nightly ritual. I know this is pretty obvious, but your body knows when you’re getting ready for bed. For me it’s floss, brush teeth, wash face, apply night cream (okay I’m not doing this yet but I bought some today and I totally plan to – gotta stave off those wrinkles that are coming for me) and then STRAIGHT TO BED.

• Make the bedroom a place to relax. An oasis if you will. A place where it feels natural to take some deep breaths and let your worries float away. Occasionally I’ll spray this Deep Sleep Dreamy Pillow and Body Mist around my bed and on my pillow. It is lovely and calming.

• Keep the room dark and silent. I like it pitch black, so I try to cover excessive alarm clock light, windows, etc. In addition, this may appall some of you, but I sleep with earplugs every single night. I have for years. I like Mack’s Kids Size Silicon Earplugs because they are smaller and fit in my delicate flower ears.

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• Limit caffeine and sadly, alcohol. I know if I drink too much of either of these delicious substances, I won’t be able to sleep. Sometimes a nice glass of wine or three is worth the lack of sleep, but not always.
• If I do wake up in the middle of the night and can’t stop my mind from racing, I make mental lists. I find that I typically worry about the same things over and over so I pick one problem, focus on it and choose a course of action for the next day. Then, when my mind comes back to that problem, I know I’ve already got a solution in place, so I don’t have to worry about it anymore.
• GET OVER IT. Some nights, I’ll have trouble sleeping. And I just have to accept that. I know I might be a little fatigued the next day, but worrying about how I can’t sleep isn’t going to make things any better. Usually it just makes it worse. So I put on my big girl panties and just get over it and enjoy the extra time I’m awake. I read. I pet the dog. I think up new blog posts. And the next night, I’m sure to sleep like a baby.