Brush my teeth, take out my contacts, wash my face, and moisturize. I usually do this while my daughters are brushing their teeth. If I don't sometimes I fall asleep with my contacts in and then I can't open my eyes the next day. LOL.

I try to get at least 7 hours sleep a night, but I can't guarantee it, since my son still doesn't sleep through the night (he's 6 months old). I also work 24 hour shifts, I have a call room and some nights I never get paged, other nights I am up all night at work, there are no guarantees there either.

I read. And I often have a mug of Natural Calm, a magnesium supplement that is supposed to be good for sleep, stress, mood and headaches.

I have heard that watching TV before bed is not great for a restful sleep, so it might be helpful if you eliminated that part of the routine. I read. It's such a part of my routine that I'm not sure if I could fall asleep without reading first! Sometimes it might be only two pages if I'm really tired, other times I'll go to bed early just because my book is so good and I want extra reading time!

I also do the contacts out/brush teeth/wash face thing.

I keep intending to add a "scrub" or some kind of exfoliation once a week too, but I keep forgetting. It's supposed to be so good for your skin and my skin is a disaster this time of year.

After entering menopause :(, I was only getting 3 to 4 hours of restful sleep at night. After a few months of that, I could barely function at work (could barely keep my eyes open). Had no trouble falling asleep, but would wake up after 3 or 4 hours & couldn't fall asleep again. I started taking one benadryl at night. That has made a world of difference. I also read a little bit before falling asleep. I find that watching TV does not work as well for me as reading does. I need 7 hours of sleep per night in order to function well at work. I also do not drink anything with caffine in it after 4 pm. Oh, I always floss before bedtime and I bring a glass of water for my bedside table. I also do not have a clock that tells the time staring me in the face. If I really want to know the time, I have to sit up & look on my husband's bedside table.

DH goes to be MUCH earlier than me...he goes in to watch his dumb programs then goes to sleep at least 1 hr before me. I usually use that time to surf the web, or more rarely, watch TV.

Then it's: feed the cats, let the dogs out, stock the woodstove, run either the dishwasher or the washing machine, let the dogs in, make sure the vehicles are locked up, lock up the garage, let the dogs out again, use the toilet, let the dogs in, pet the cats. Then I can go into our room, turn on reading lamp on my side of the bed, make my way to the bathroom (turn on alarm clock and then shut the armoire doors where TV is hidden), then do my nightime routine in the bathroom...brush teeth, brush out hair, kick out cats, moisturize. Return to bedroom check the window (either open or close, depending on the temp of the room), kick out cats laying on the bed, sweep off my side of the bed, pick up pillows DH has tossed to the floor in his thrashing, kick out hidden cat who came out from under the bed. Fix the bedding, slip in, turn out reading lamp (no reading was done). Reach over and let in cat scratching at door (the one that was NOT hiding in the room). Roll over, hug DH, plump my pillow, say my gratitude mantra and fall asleep.

Whew...I'm wiped out just reading this!! I really need to do a lot of this earlier in the evening.

I don't fall asleep easily and when woken tend to stay awake so I often don't get enough sleep (wind storm last night, power on and off, I didn't sleep well!)

Normally at 9:15 we bring DS (4) up to our bedroom to watch 45 mins of thomas video's and let him wind down. He does NOT go down easily when he is taken right up from playing. We're working on that being earlier now that he's in school a couple of days a week, but for now, I spend that 45 mins surfing the net and sitting with him watching thomas getting his jammies on etc. Last night I redecorated the room LOL Sometimes the mood strikes. I should have a gallon of paint in here...I'm pretty productive in that 45 mins.

Then DS goes to bed. I often spend another hour up while he goes to sleep, sometimes with DH sometimes not (he commutes from Alaska). Often I have a small night cap and we relax together or I read/surf while he sleeps (the man could sleep through an earthquake...in fact often does LOL it's so annoying).

I'm bad about creams and lotions...I put one right by the bed so I'd remember but then moved that night stand so I forgot (and it's there on DH's side now LOL)

I feel for you...when I get on a no sleep jag it's hard to function. When DS was born and was so ill I only got 4 hours of sleep a coupld of days a week. It was mind numbing. I gained weight, lost hair (4 hours a night is essential...less is how they torture people in the milatary). You might try a sleep pill called sonatra (prescription). It helps you fall asleep and stay for about 4 hours of good sleep so that time is at least used well. I often used it that year. It's not habit forming but does get you to sleep. If you're the type who will stay asleep after you fall asleep it would help you get a better sleep overall by getting you down quicker. But it's not so strong as to be debilitating...I had to always be ready to deal with DS at a second's notice and always able to do so even on that (verses something like ambien which can be dangerous if you have to wake up while on it).

Good luck....I feel for you!

I really need to get to bed earlier too. I work 4 ten hour days with a 45 minute commute each way. The evenings are a mad scramble to eat something, clean up, and get my little boy in the bathtub. I try to wash my face and apply lotions and potions while he is splashing in the tub. Then we read a few stories, and snuggle till he falls asleep. This process can be 10 minutes or an hour. :) And I frequently fall asleep with him and then have to get back up!

Then I get our clothes, backpack, etc, ready for the morning. Program the coffeemaker (ESSENTIAL), read or surf the internet to unwind a little. I try to get to bed by 11, which is far too late when I have to get up at 5:30.

What I really need is more hours in the day! I stay up too late just trying to carve out a little time for myself.

I know I should get rid of the TV in the bedroom and I often fantasize about it. Truth is I'm too scared that I won't ever fall asleep then! DH never had a TV in the bedroom until we got engaged and moved in together. Totally foreign concept to him until he met me.

I have such rituals and don't adapt well when they change. DH always laughed at the fact that I could never stay awake through the entire opening theme of any Law & Order. No matter what time of day or night it came on as soon as I heard that 'dnt dnt' I was out! He always said it was a good thing that they never played the theme song on the car radio as I'd have a heck of a time explaining what happened to the officer.

I think that I also need to get my own alarm clock instead of relying on DH to make sure that it's set for me. I wake up at 3AM (I get up at 4:45AM) worried that it's not set or something and can never go back to sleep. Then I get in the habit of always getting up at 3AM on days that I work. In 2yrs I've never been late and I've never missed a day of work. This is the first job where I've had to be at work at a specific time in the morning.

Yes - my own alarm clock and 15 minute increments earlier and earlier over a period of a few wks. and my own alarm clock.

Usually when I hit the wall like this I get a prescription and jump start everything but we don't have health ins. and I can't swing the script cost.

I'm also going to check out that tea.

Pesky - I was LOL about the cat thing. I used to go through that when we had 5 cats and they all slept w/ us. I could never get a great nights sleep moving around them. Lots of people told em to kick them out but I couldn't. I decided to be groggy instead until old age got the best of them. I'm so glad we're down to one now!

At 10:15 I floss and brush and have my coffee made and then I watch Conan and sleep seven or eight hours.

I've been trying to get my butt to bed much earlier and it's very, very hard for me to do so. I have no good reasons. I'm also having a heck of a time getting up in the mornings. If I'm really lacking sleep I don't hear the alarm. I knew it was getting bad when I slept through it an hour and 20 minutes of BEEP, BEEP, BEEP... I do not function well with little sleep and feel physically sick. This has become a big problem for me.

I do the normal bush the teeth (start flossing is on my todo list), makeup off, face gunk on. I like to try and read before I hit the light but that doesn't always happen. Of course there's still the other stuff in life you have to do in the evenings that's always fun like make supper, clean up, cats food and water, clean litter, etc.

DH gets up much earlier than me and should be in bed sooner. He normally falls asleep on the couch (or floor) and I'll drag him back to bed at whatever hour I decide to head back. We don't sleep well in bed without the other.

My sister and BIL are really into herbal hot teas and have been trying to get me on the wagon. Don't care for any of them but in time maybe they'll grow on me.

My goal is to have stuff done by 8:00 so I can wind down before heading to bed by 10:00. Most nights we're not home until after 7:00. I need to learn to leave some things go and stop wasting time on other things.

Went to bed at 12:30ish last night. It's not that I can't sleep, it's that it takes me forever to get to bed.

This is a different thread but alllll the above is another reason I'm scared to have kids. Don't know how people do it and have any sanity or have any time to themselves. I really need to get my shiz together!

I am a real fussy sleeper, so I'll share some of my lessons learned:

If you are trying to go to bed earlier than usual, I'd suggest using some melatonin until the habit is good and set. I have heard that it's not effective with some people, but I works extremely well with me, DS, and my dad (who used it when he traveled for business and had to change a lot of time zones in the process). I like 1-2 pills (3mg. each) taken it around 7 or 8 pm to avoid any morning sluggishness. I'd start with one pill, but considering what you've said about your habits, I'm going to guess it will take two to combat your late night tendencies. FYI, it can make your dreams rather vivid.

I also get my PJs on very early--I go and wash my face and get changed about 7 or 8pm every night. That way, the only thing left is tooth brushing before I hit the sheets. I'll admit, I'm deeply jealous of DH who can just brush teeth and hop into bed. I hate it that he's drowsy when I have such a long "routine" I need to do before I get anywhere near the bed! I also would prefer to read 30 mins. before sleep, but that usually doesn't happen since he's whining "when are you going to turn off the light??" Uggghhhhh!

Another couple of factors that I think are really important:

1) Have good quality cotton sheets on the bed. No polyester blends, sheets with pills, etc.

2) Get rid of unnecessary light sources. Cover the windows well and make it DARK in the room. You know all of those stupid lights that tell you something is plugged in? Cover those up!

3) Keep the room somewhat cool. I use a mattress warmer under the padding but keep the air chilly (no more than 65F).

4) Use a white noise maker of some sort. This summer, our upstairs AC unit died. We bought several big fans and used them all night. I noticed IMMEDIATELY that their noise was soothing and kept me ASLEEP a lot longer. Even now I use ours every night, I just point it towards the corner of the room so I don't freeze.

5) No caffeine after 4pm makes a lot of sense!

6) Set a cut-off time for dealing with life-crap like dishes, vacuuming, bill paying, ironing, etc. Rather, created an environment of calm relaxation after that time. For me it's about 8:30-9pm that I call it quits for the day.

One more piece of advice, set up your mattress how YOU like it. Ours is actually too firm for me so I wound up getting a memory foam topper from overstock and I LOVE it. It feels soooo soft and my joints don't scream at me anymore. DH can't seem to appreciate the difference though. He just says "It's fine" when I asked him what he thought of it after we'd slept on it first. Whatever. I can sure tell it's there!

I am by nature a night owl and continue to struggle to MAKE myself go to bed at a reasonable time. It is worth the effort to do it--persistence is key!! Good luck!!

One more thing: If your room can handle it, get a King mattress. You can always meet in the middle, so to speak, but the bigger bed allows you to have your own "space." We sleep much better on our King :)

Tomorrow - "he's whining "when are you going to turn off the light??" Uggghhhhh!"
Hahaha, yep! :) The funny thing is with my DH, notice I said I have to drag him back to bed because he falls asleep? - On the LR floor with the lights on. Makes sense, huh?

DH has problems going to sleep, especially when he gets thrown off his schedule. After 27 years married to the guy, it's my opinion that people should not get locked into strict go-to-sleep schedules because of the problems this causes when they get off of them. But, we are doing many things right. I don't have a problem sleeping, but these are the things we do, for DH . . . and ultimately for me, as well.

We keep our bedroom cool and crack a window in Spring and Fall; we keep the patio doors open when the weather permits (Late Spring- Early Fall). We always keep the ceiling fan on. I think that cool, fresh air makes for a better, deeper sleep.

I like to read before I go to sleep, but not some hair-raising thriller! If I'm not reading a good before-bed book at the moment, I'll look at a magazine or just daydream for a while with the lights down low. Low lights in the room with a good reading light next to each side of our bed is a must for me.

DH likes to watch the nightly news, but I find that listening to all the bad news in the world ~ or to politics ~ just gets me stressed and/or thinking about sad or scary things. Because of that, I've put my foot down and said no tv before sleep. If DH ever feels like he needs to watch tv then, he can do it out in the family room or in the study. I've noticed that he does sleep better when he doesn't watch tv right before bed, though.

We don't snack right before bedtime either, although DH likes a glass of vanilla soy milk (yuck!). I prefer hot tea or ice water.

Both of us try not to do any thing, like laundry, dishes, cleaning, working out, paying bills, etc. before we head off to bed.

The only light in our room when we sleep is from the moon and stars if they're out. I'm glad we don't need to hang blackout drapes here, but I would if we had lights outside that warranted it.

Quiet: we live in the mountains and the only sounds we hear at night are the crickets and occasional coyotes. I've never allowed our kids to fall asleep to music or tv. I've read that falling asleep to tv or music can be counter-productive to getting a restful sleep and set you up for a lifetime of sleeping problems. That may not be true in all cases, but it made sense to me and it works for my family and myself.

I've heard that a warm, relaxing bath or shower also helps you relax before bed. When my kids were young, I always gave them their baths right before bed and then read them a story or two in their rooms with their lights down low before putting them to bed.

From all that I've seen and heard over the years, we are our own worst enemies when it comes to problems sleeping. Saying/believing that we have to do certain things or can't do other things in order to be able to go to sleep only reinforces our sleep problems, IMHO. I know that it's hard to break that downward spiral. Perhaps a hypnotherapist could help. Or maybe your family doc could prescribe a mild sleeping pill for a very short while to help you break your sleep cycle? Whatever you do end up trying, I think the most important thing you can do is stop saying "I can't . . . . " and start believing that you can.
Lynn

I usually go to bed 10-11pm. I take the dogs out and then put the ones who are ready for bed in the room with me. Usually that's Ana and Tatyana +/- Sergei and Max. Nunyette usually stays up with Daddy on the sofa. I kiss my hubby goodnight and go into bedroom.

I get out my clothes for next work day (not so much on weekends), brush teeth, wash face/remove makeup, moisturize face, take off clothes, set my alarm (again, not on weekends) and go to sleep. Takes me about 30 minutes from declaration of going to bed to actually getting there, and a very variable time to get to sleep.

Dave usually comes to bed 11-12pm or sometimes later if he is doing well in a video game. Sometimes he wakes me up and sometimes not when he kisses me goodnight- usually that has more to do with moving Tatyana out of his spot in bed than anything else. He uses a flashlight in the bedroom so he doesn't have to turn on the lights except in the bathroom.

Thanks for your insights - I've already begun implementing some of them!

So far so good. I know it's only been 2 days but I got to 4AM this morning instead of my usual 3AM.

I too am a natural night owl so I am struggling w/ this whole going to bed earlier thing.

My changes so far have been the 15 min. increment. Last night I had to make DH go upstairs w/ me at 10:45 which is quite unusual. He's usually chomping at the bit to get to bed early!

I put my moisturizer and eye cream on the bedside table.

Since I worry so much about the alarm going off (or NOT going off as is the case) I took my own alarm clock upstairs w/ me and set it as a back up in case DH's doesn't go off for me. It doesn't have a backlight so the time is not staring me in the face when I wake up.

I'm going to get some tea this wknd. Amy - I'm going to look for that Natural Calm - thank you.

Making sure that my last cats nose is clean and free of boogers before going to bed. If I don't do this she gets really stuffy and snores.

We keep the upstairs at around 62. If I could sleep w/ a window cracked I would but the periodic noise from living in town drives me nuts.

If anyone can recommend a good sound machine I'm open to suggestions. I had a great one that finally broke after umpteen yrs. of my kids dropping it and I haven't found a decent replacement. I got a Homemedics one to replace it but the sound was so 'tinny' and it broke w/in a few months. The one I have for DD's room doesn't have white noise which is what I'd like. I always put all of our kids to bed w/ a sound machine turned on white noise when they were babies. Worked like a charm to get longer stretches of sleep from them.

You know what's so sad? When I wake at night and start getting 'running thoughts' sometimes I think about decorating! Really? Is that how addicted I am? I think about how I'm going to decorate the spot that the TV was in when I get the gumption to move it out.

Still contemplating moving the TV out of the bedroom.

You made it till 4am? YAY, good job!!! So tonight it's off to dreamland at 10:30? Sweet.

If you can't find a sound machine, let me recommend my fan. It has a lovely, deep, LOW sound which drowns out the little house sounds (like my neighbors fighting in the driveway next door) but it's not like having a jet engine in the room either. Additionally, this one tilts and moves a lot of air in the summer. I have it tilted up and towards the corner right now.

Decorating insomnia?? I feel ya!! I've done it many times too, unfortunately. That's why I don't let myself look at magazines before bed anymore. ONLY NOVELS for me, LOL! Or an accounting text book...yeah, that might do it :)

Here is a link that might be useful: best fan ev-ah

White noise like a fan can really help...and do move the tv out. You'd be amazed how a book can be much more relaxing.