Reclaiming a Good Night's Sleep

I just had a flying dream last night. Do you know what that means? Somewhere in my subconscious, I have at least a grain of happiness. Probably a whole fistful of happy-grains, actually. Flying dreams like, never happen.

And perhaps I wouldn't have attained this fabulous flying dream (with skis, nonetheless, so I could go skiing after I landed in the ocean) if I hadn't made a couple of changes lately. I tried out a new routine. I perfected my sleeping environment.

Eight blissful hours, it seems, are more likely to happen under a few circumstances:
*That you're not stressed out as you go to bed
*That nothing terribly unpleasant wakes you up in the morning
*That you don't go over the worries of the day as you attempt to fall asleep

Give this a try, and let me know if you sleep better:
- Stop thinking about work/performing work-related activities at least an hour (preferably two hours) before bed
-Perhaps alter the lighting in the bedroom gradually as the night goes on, so by bedtime you've only got a lamp or two turned on...and not the fluorescent overhead!
-Invest in an alarm clock whose noise doesn't totally freak you out. I use the "buzz" setting on my cell phone...it's such white noise that I barely even register it, but it always wakes me up.
-Most importantly, in bed, tell all of those nasty thoughts to just shove off! Kick 'em out!! Nothing really gets worked out as you go to sleep, right? So send them away, off into the future, to be dealt with tomorrow. (Or miraculously solved by other forces during the night.)

A good night's sleep makes everyone healthier, happier, less likely to have road rage, and less prone to being completely bonkers. I'm sure we all know this from experience already. But seriously. It's time. Try to get more sleep.