What's the best kept secret in in your personal "sleep kit"?

By far the one thing that's made the most difference in the quality of my sleep has been using a sleep mask. I'm still amazed at how fast I fall asleep when I slip that soft little sleep mask over my eyes.

It used to be that my husband had to turn out the lights at the same time I did, or else go to bed hours later, so that he wouldn't disturb my sleep. If I had to get up especially early, I'd make him sleep on the guest bed so that he wouldn't wake me up when he came into bed. I've been such a neurotic sleeper over the years!! But that one simple improvement, the padded, completely light blocking sleep mask has been enormously successful in allowing me to get a good night's sleep. These days my husband can read for as long as he wants after I've fallen asleep. Or he can come into bed, turn on the light, rustle around in the bedroom, and I don't wake up!!!

Exercise is the second greatest tool in my sleep kit. Most of our days are activity filled to be sure, but often contain precious little demanding physical activity. You have to get your body tired too, and the only way to do that is through exercise. People often tell me that they don't have time to exercise. I always wonder how they have time NOT to exercise. To quote one of my favorite books, "The Seven Habits of Higthly Effective People, exercise is one of those highly leveraged, "Quadrant II" activities. In Covey's words,

"What one thing could you do in your personal and professional life that, if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your life? Quadrant II activities have that kind of impact. Our effectiveness takes quantum leaps when we do them."

40 Blinks, Winkin' and Nod

Winkin, Blinkin and Nod. Remember that nursery rhyme? About the misty sea, nets of silver and gold, twinkling foam of the sea, rivers of crystal light? It just takes a wink and a nod and you'll be off to sleep with Bucky's light-as-sea-foam mask.

40 Blinks is the name of Bucky's ultra lightweight premium quality foam mask. You can use it to darken the room while sleeping, or to get a quick catnap. It's also great to use while snoozing on the plane.

Talk about great colors -- it comes in some really upbeat colors like fuschia and ebony, which is actually a black and white floral pattern. It also comes in basic black, always a classic choice.

You'll love how light it is on your face. It's contoured so it doesn't even touch your eyes.

Enjoy the full rhyme Winkin' Blinkin' and Nod. It may well take you way back, as it did me, to that time when sleep came as easily as counting to three.

JoyfulSleep SimplySleep Blog Launch

Like many people, I've struggled with sleep for most of my life. At times it's become an obsession. I've worried about it, counted the hours I slept, counted the hours I didn’t sleep. I've tried all kinds of things to improve the quality of my sleep, some have worked really well, some haven't worked at all.

I started this blog about all things sleep for many reasons. To be a place for people to access useful and credible information about sleep and how to improve the quality of their sleep. To find resources you can use to know if you may have a sleep disorder. To share information with fellow sleep-obsessers about what works and what doesn't and why. To to provide information on natural remedies for sleep problems. To share quality information about dreams and dreaming. And to be a place tell your own sleep stories.

In the coming weeks I will be posting on all kinds of sleep related topics. I invite you to join me on this journey -- my first foray into the blogosphere -- and make it a rich and interactive one for all.

After all, a day well lived deserves a joyful sleep.

Do Sleep Masks Really Work?

Well, I have to say that they do for me. I discovered my first mask, a lightweight, silky number, while shopping in a beauty supply store. We had just moved into our Spanish Revival house circa 1927. I loved eveverything about that house, with one exception – it sits on a very busy street with a streetlight in front. I’d always wanted one of those old fashioned street lights, just not in front of my house shining in my windows keeping me awake at night.

It did help to replace the disintegrating thin shades with wooden shutters but they still didn’t keep out all of the light. I used the silk masks for a while but they didn't hold up very well and I had to keep replacing them. Then I found Bucky sleep masks. They are absolutely fabulous sleep masks. My favorite is Bucky Shades which is soft cotton with a velour exterior. It's padded inside around the eyes so that it completely blocks out all light.

Here's a diagram of the Shades mask:

Bucky also makes a lighter foam mask called 40 Blinks which I will write about next.

Bucky Shades Sleep Mask Diagram