[suzzer99]

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I can't believe you medicine-happy Americans can't think of anything other than drugs.

It sounds cheesy, but eating healthy and working out will go a long way. I'm one of those types that always has bags under his eyes, trouble falling asleep, feeling ridiculously tired in the morning regardless of whether I slept enough etc.

The best period in my life sleep-wise was when I was in wrestling. I ate healthy, busted ass in practice, and fell asleep at nine PM, to wake up well-rested the next morning.

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I think I agree with this. IMO way too many people in this country are taking medications when what they ought to be doing is tweaking their daily routines.

suzzer, I've got some questions for you:
How many caffeinated drinks do you drink per day?
How long before bedtime do you have your last caffeinated drink?
Do you watch television/go on the computer shortly before going to bed?
Is your mattress comfortable?
Do you read before going off to bed?

My sleep got much better after I stopped drinking colas right before bed (now I avoid caffeine four hours before bed) and shut off the TV 20 minutes before bedtime. Some reading is just enough for me to start nodding off. Now instead of laying there for an hour, I'm typically asleep within fifteen minutes.

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2 large coffees per day generally. Usually latest one at 6pm or so (I work til 8 at least).

Television before bed. I fall asleep on the couch, then wakeup and go in the bedroom.

Matress is awesome.

Not usually but reading knocks me out if I do.

My problem usually isn't falling asleep, it's sleeping really lightly when I do. I wake up at the slightest sound and I usually have to pee 2 or 3 times. Every now and though I do something that mentally exhausts me all day, like watch some kids, and then I sleep like a ROCK. That is what I would like to try to replicate if it's possible. I feel so much better the next day after those nights.

Physical exertion doesn't really do it. That either makes me wake up more, or has little effect. Also stuff like heavy computer programming just makes me more wound up and hard to sleep. It has to be that certain kind of mental exhaustion you get from keeping track of kids, or maybe other stuff. But that's the one that comes to mind. I'm guessing it uses some parental part of your brain that takes a lot of juice. Probably also why new dads have that permanent look of mild confusion on their face.