Oh do me.

My New Years resolution is not to be such a pill popper when it concerns sleep. Over the years, I've alternated between Tylenol PM, Magnesium and the go-to favorite, Ambien. I don't have to use them all the time, but I carry them around with me just in case. They have their own bottle in the bottom of my bag, right next to those frayed tampons. I am always packing, so to speak. Packing because there is nothing worse than not being able to fall asleep. Talk about things that make us bitchy, this is numero uno for me.

For Christmas, one of my good friends gave me a sleep eye mask. Not the sexy, laced-edged silky one, but a black lightweight one made of foam which has concave eye pockets. It effectively blocks light and allows you to open their eyes as well. A little creepy when you first put it on, but less claustrophobic for your eyelids. A major plus, especially when you get to that lucky stage of REM, and your eyelids start to do the shuffle.

I recently learned that darkness permits the brain to convert serotonin, which is secreted when a person is awake, into melatonin, inducing sleep. Therefore it is essential to keep the light out when one is trying to get some sleep. 

I know that this sounds crazy, but I'm not trying it until New Years. I've gotta get the "mind-set" thing going. It's like the diet thing...if you know what I mean.