Everyone needs a good night's sleep...here are a few ideas (that I am going to try!) and maybe will help you too

It seems that every morning I wake up exhausted, drag myself out of bed and into the shower.  Slowly I get ready, eat breakfast and pour myself into my car.  Then run around all day, searching for coffee or green tea, to energize myself.  I arrive home in the evening, exhausted and hungry, I try to work out, give it a half hearted attempt, shower, make dinner, do some work, and get a second wind around 9pm, which takes me until 11pm or so to wind down, which of course sets me up for failure when my alarm sounds sweetly around 6:30am...and it happens all over again...I need to break the cycle.  I am willing to try just about anything to break this horrible cycle...

Sleep, or good sleep is counted in REMs, not sheep.  You first enter a light sleep, then a deep sleep and then a dreaming or REM sleep.  The cycle lasts about 90 minutes and repeats itself four to six times throughout the night.

1) Skip the snooze button.  Experts state that while it is tempting to try and squeeze every last second out of your sleep time, it takes a lot of energy to try and fall back into a deep sleep, that you do not recharge what you expend.

2) Work out first thing in the morning. It gives you a shot of energy and decreases levels of stress hormones making it easier for you to wind down and fall asleep.  People who worked out for 30 minutes at 7am significantly improved their sleep that night resulting in 75% more time in deep sleep vs. a workout at 1pm or 7pm.

3) Take a breathing break mid-day.  It allows your brain to relax and process information which would otherwise keep you awake at night.  Otherwise, when you lie down at night, it is like a fast-moving car slamming on the brakes and everything in the back seat flying to the front.

4) Stop intake of caffeine around 1pm.  It takes about 4-7 hours for caffeine to leave your system. And not just coffee, watch out for soda, tea, and chocolate.  A cup of coffee has 95mg of caffeine, coffee ice cream has 48mg, one can of diet coke has 47mg, tea has 40mg and dark chocolate has 25mg of caffeine.

5) Around 3pm, take a quick, fast walk, get some sunshine.  It allows your normal hormone pattern to reset itself.  This is essential if you are not able to get your workout in first thing in the morning.

6) Eat dinner around 7pm.  It takes 2 hours to fully digest a meal, 3 hours for a larger meal.  Eating close to bedtime makes it difficult to for the body to wind down.

7) An hour before bed have a protein-carb snack.  It aides the body to produce melatonin and serotonin.  (I hope that beer & almonds count!)

8) A half hour before bed, start winding down.  This allows our bodies to transition from fast pace day to sleep mode.  You can wash your face, brush your teeth, dim the lights, turn off the tv and computer, meditate, read, or some other soothing action to send a signal to your brain to prepare for sleep.

9) Get into bed, breathe deeply and stretch.  Take a few deep breathes and lightly stretch (30 seconds or so), reach for your toes, or another light stretch.  Up to 20 minutes to fall asleep is normal.  If you fall asleep immediately that means that you are sleep deprived.