We all know that a good night’s sleep is essential to our well-being and can affect our performance greatly during the day ahead. But for many people a good night’s sleep is just a distant dream. Obviously there are many reasons why we sometimes don’t sleep as well as we should but a recent survey revealed that many people put ‘worry’ at the top of their list of reasons for a bad night. They found that although they were tired enough to go to bed, the minute their head hit the pillow, their mind would start racing- planning the day ahead, trying to solve problems, making mental ‘to-do-lists’. If you fit into this category breaking the habit of ‘night-worry’ can be difficult. Cutting out stimulants during the later half of the afternoon onwards can help. Make any ‘to-do0 lists at least two hours before bed and avoid any computer work and television for an hour before bedtime. Reading is still considered an excellent bedtime relaxant- but avoid anything controversial or thought provoking, stick to light- hearted novels or magazines for night time. Camomile tea is a mild sedative but it’s important to buy a good quality to get a good strength, or try valerian- more of relaxant than a sedative but has calming effect. Once you are in bed, focus on abdominal breathing, taking slow, deep breaths making the stomach rise and fall. Practise visualisation whilst deep breathing- imagining each part of your body falling to sleep, starting with the toes and working you way up. If you do not sleep within the first half hour of going to bed, then get up and move to another room. Do a simple task- jigsaw, crossword etc then return to bed after a further half hour. Learn to associate the bedroom with a relaxed, sleepy atmosphere- if you must make lists or solve problems, do it in another room.