Why Can't I Sleep? Would Wine Help? Does When I Go to Sleep Matter?

Q. What's the trick to good sleep? Will a glass of sangria before bed help?
-- Susan, Cleveland, OH

A. When you're looking for ways to get to sleep, a little wine before bed sounds like a great idea, right? Not so much. In fact, for most of us, it backfires. While alcohol is sedating at first, which helps with falling asleep, later in the night it tends to do a 180 and wake you up; in extreme cases, 20 times! Instead of feeling energized and refreshed the next morning, you're bleary-eyed and tired. Alcohol also seems to mess up your most restorative sleep.

Timing counts. For most people, allowing an hour or two between a drink and bedtime avoids problems. Unlucky ones need a 6-hour gap. Is it your mind, not your body, that can't fall asleep? Watch this quick video.

How can you drift off faster than a new puppy? Here’s our 20-second recipe for falling asleep:

• Reserve your bedroom for sleep and sex (no computers, no TV, no bill paying, no nuttin').
• Figure out when to go to sleep (the time you actually need to be in bed to get 7 to 8 hours of rest).
• Divide the 30 minutes before that time into three parts: 10 minutes for next-day things (making a list, packing a lunch), so you don't lie awake thinking about them; 10 minutes for washing, flossing, and brushing; and 10 minutes for some quiet deep breathing or meditating (try it; it's easy).

Works way better than wine!

Do you wake up in the middle of the night? Try these 3 tricks for falling back to sleep fast.