Solving Sleep Problems

"Her sleep problems may have been initially caused by an external trigger, but over time the sleep problems become self-propagating.Eventually she became conditioned to become anxious about her sleep." Some things that might help: • Cognitive behavioral therapy is often used in cases like this, and the experts agree that it could help Meredith.To no avail, Meredith has tried myriad remedies -- warm baths, hot milk, a glass of wine before bed, no food before bed, relaxation techniques, and prescription and homeopathic medicines.

"Her sleep problems may have been initially caused by an external trigger, but over time the sleep problems become self-propagating.Eventually she became conditioned to become anxious about her sleep." Some things that might help: • Cognitive behavioral therapy is often used in cases like this, and the experts agree that it could help Meredith.To no avail, Meredith has tried myriad remedies -- warm baths, hot milk, a glass of wine before bed, no food before bed, relaxation techniques, and prescription and homeopathic medicines.

She lies in bed with her brain in high gear, eventually giving up on sleep and getting out of bed at 5 a.m. Expert advice: "She is spending too much time in bed," says sleep-disorders specialist Susie Esther.

Brooke should establish a standard waking time (and stick to it seven days a week), then work backward to figure out what her bedtime should be.

She also suffers from restless legs syndrome and frequently talks in her sleep.

Sleep medications help to some degree but leave her feeling drowsy the next day.

Most of us have experienced those maddening midnight moments when, no matter how tired we are, we either can't fall asleep, can't stay asleep or our sleep is of such poor quality it feels as if we were awake.

For anyone who has tossed and turned at night, here's some expert advice for solving nine sleep problems.

She even tried taking the medication when she woke in the middle of the night, but that left her too groggy in the morning.

Real Simple.com: Easy ways to unwind Expert advice: "The good news is that Meredith's insomnia seems to have a clear precipitant -- the breakup," says sleep-medicine specialist David Neubauer, M.

Although she typically falls asleep easily around p.m., she is wide awake three or four hours later.

She falls back into a fitful sleep, then gets up around 6 a.m. "I never wake feeling well rested, because it feels like I don't get more than about four hours of truly deep sleep," she says.