Breakfast and Book Signing

In the mood for a real country breakfast -- surrounded by gorgeous fall foliage? Take a drive to Frenchtown, N.J., Sunday, Nov. 7, any time from 8 a.m. to noon for the local Masons' community breakfast. $7, Darcy Lodge, 39 Everittstown Road.

And if you or a friend/relative/colleague need a great night's sleep, I'll be selling copies of "Why Count Sheep When You Can SLEEP?" at a special price. It makes a fabulous gift ... Stop by and say hello if you're in the neighborhood.

'Sleep Tight Tonight' Workshop

Hi everyone! If you need a good night's sleep and are in central New Jersey next week, check out my workshop/book signing on Thursday, Sept. 30. Tons of ideas on how to distract your mind so you can relax and go to sleep. 7 to 8:30 p.m., Clinton Book Shop, 12 E. Main Street. $15 fee includes copy of book. Reservations preferred: 908-735-8811, but walk-ins are OK. See you there!

Sleep Tight Tonight

You're lying in bed, but your mind just won't quit. It's too busy rehashing today's disasters or rehearsing for tomorrow's catastrophes. You can't slow down.

What do you do?

Here are some sleep solutions from my new book, “Why Count Sheep When You Can SLEEP?,” which has advice from people all over the world. Every one of these tips has put someone to sleep, so scan below until you find something that works for you (or share your favorite non-drug sleep remedies so others can benefit.)

If you'd like more information about the book, go here:

Real tips from real people that really work. This week's selections:

-- Pretend you’re in a rocking chair or hammock, swaying forward and backward or side to side. Stay with the rocking motion as you whisper a mantra or count slowly to yourself.


-- Imagine a whooshing noise. Make it softer and louder, v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y changing volume. Relax into the sound, wherever it goes. Turn it into a whisper. 350 times. 500. 1,000.

Quietly tell yourself, “I’m going to sleep now. Everything is OK. I’m very tired,” etc. Repeat over and over.

-- Envision a white board with nothing on it and keep that image in your mind.

This Week's Read-in-Bed Insomnia Tips:

from “Why Count Sheep When You Can SLEEP?”

Real tips from real people that really work. To calm a racing mind:

-- Imagine something with small details, such as a flower. Picture it up close, as vividly as possible, and lose yourself in the details.

-- Listen to "ambient music" from the Internet, such as the Hearts of Space channel. This rhythmless, drone-like music is very soothing. Another channel: soma fm -- go to "Drone Zone."

-- Write down what's worrying you in a journal by the bed. Think of the worst that could happen -- and then how you'd handle it. Go to sleep knowing that you're in control of whatever comes up.

Nighty night!

Tonight's Read-in-Bed Sleep Solutions

from “Why Count Sheep When You Can SLEEP?”(www.rosestreetpress.com)

Try 'em! Real tips from real people that really work:

• Pretend you’re floating, like the lone white feather in the opening scene of “Forrest Gump.” Softly tumble to the ground, swirling and flying as long as you can before hitting the sidewalk. Repeat this over and over.

• Imagine the Empire State Building in hot pink, then turquoise or deep purple. Keep changing the colors at random.

• Recite the Fibonacci sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc., as far as you can go. (Each number is the sum of the previous two, e.g., 1+1=2; 2+1=3; 3+2=5; 5+3=8; 8+5=13, etc.)

Two more tips -- "It's curtains" for insomnia

Need help getting back to sleep in the middle of the night?

These tips were contributed by Natalie McCullough. See earlier posts for others, and feel free to add your own below:

-- The best remedy for me is to imagine either two big stage curtains falling and closing, like at the end of a very long play and there are no more curtain calls. Corny, but it really works for me.

-- Another solution is to imagine perfect whiteness. Nothing above, nothing below, just warm comforting whiteness. It relaxes my mind and clears my thoughts. It is like wiping the screen clean and starting over. Not quite meditating, which requires more effort. This is more like putting everything on pause and hitting the clear button.

New Insomnia Tips

Here are this week's tips for getting back to sleep in the middle of the night (from my upcoming book):


When my mind is racing and I’m having trouble falling back to sleep, I try to picture a beautiful lake... I focus on the surface of the water and imagine that all my thoughts are drops hitting the water. At first, it's like a hard rain, and the surface gets really rough. Then, I watch as the rain slows down and the surface becomes very still.

--April Biddle


If you’re having a hard time turning off your mind, repeat some of the following phrases over and over and over and over...Say them slower each time, while imagining yourself drifting off into a dewy fog…

“My head is very heavy.”
“I’m very tired.”
“I’m going to sleep now.”
“I’m very sleepy.” (Try to yawn each time you say it.)
“I’m so tired.”
“I’m a good person.”
“Everything is going to be OK.”

-- Tracy Ivie

Got any tips to share? Please add below, and thanks.