4. Take a hot shower or bath before bed, or get up and do so if you are unable to fall asleep within 15 minutes.

5. Take some sleep food for brain. Before going to bed eat 1 ounce of protein, 1 ounce of cheese and 5 grapes or equivalent.

6. Get out of bed if you have not fallen asleep within 15 minutes. The brain is quite easily programmed. I don't want your brain to associate "bed" with "awake."

7. Once you're out of bed do not watch TV, get on computer, listen to stimulating music, turn on a bunch of lights or do anything else that stimulates your brain into high gear.

8. Once out of bed do sit quietly, meditate on emptying mind, listen to quiet, soothing music or do some "light" reading. The research shows that deep meditation is as restorative as sleep and takes less time than sleeping for 8 hours.

9. Purchase a Brain Entrainment CD and some ear buds (they are most comfortable to sleep on). Make sure CD is designed for sleep. I won't go into all scientific details here. Just know that brain needs to be in delta wave state 60 minutes for you to wake up feeling fresh. My favorite is "Sleeping Through The Rain" by a company you can find at www.hemi-sync.com. Don't try this on just a boom box. The ear buds are very important to make this work.

10. Make sure your bedroom is dark. Lights out!

11. Exercise regularly. Exercise does a fantastic job of regulating sleep cycles. The only catch here is do not exercise within two hours of bedtime, as this can activate mind and body systems that will keep you awake.

12. Drink Chamomile Tea an hour before bedtime and take Valerian root with it. If you open up your first bottle of Valerian root and it smells like rotten socks, don't throw it away, it's supposed to smell like that! Can you believe it!? ;-)

13. If worse comes to worst, consult a doctor. There are many effective medications used for sleep which can be prescribed by your doctor. Some of these include Ambien, Temazepam, Sonata, Remeron, Benadryl (non- prescription), Melatonin (Don't take this if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder) Trazadone and others.

14. Stay away from alcohol as a sleep aid. Many will argue that alcohol gets them to sleep, but brain wave studies show that once asleep, an individual does not reach restorative level of sleep that results in feeling well rested in morning.

Too many sleepless nights can lead to what feels like a psychotic break, so don't push yourself over edge. Good self care is so important. After just 2 nights without sleep, intervention is necessary! Please take care of yourself. A great night's sleep after not sleeping well for a long time can be an absolutely wonderful gift to give yourself.

I welcome you to more restful nights!

Diets that advise you to eat a low amount of carbohydrates have gone part of way to increase awareness of differences of carbs. The Glycemic Index has also helped us to determine that all carbs are not created equal. Some kinds of carbohydrates help promote health, but others actually increase risk for diseases like diabetes and coronary heart disease.

What should we eat?

The general rule is that highly processed carbs are not as good for us as natural carbs. How can we get away from highly refined foods - it's everywhere you look!

Here are some techniques for buying food:

1. Educate yourself. learn to read backs of packages of food and know difference between a processed food and a natural food. (However, if it's packaged in a box, bag, or can - chances are it's processed.) 2. Go to store with a list. 3. Do not go to store hungry. 4. Do not go to fast food restaurants. instead try out diners or restaurants that boast home cooked meals. 5. Get your fruits and vegetables from farmers markets or farm stands whenever possible. Not only will you save money, you will also be getting better quality produce.

Read more about The Glycemic Index: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates.html

Need help counting your carbs? http://www.NutriCounter.com The NutriCounter is right device for helping you monitor your carbohydrate intake. It stores and tracks nine nutrients including calories, total fat, saturated fat, protein, carbohydrates, sodium, cholesterol, sugar, and fiber. It's available in Palm OS and Pocket PC software or as a hand held unit.

Renee Kennedy is the editor of the monthly ezine NutriCounter Update. Come and visit the NutriCounter web site at http://www.nutricounter.com/news.htm for an extensive selection of articles on health, nutrition and exercise.