{Sleep Deprived}

That's right, I am talking about it since it's 2:30am as I write this and still feeling tired but can't seem to close my eyes and turn off my brain.

(I gotta do something right? Might as well blog about my problem!)

Of course I did some research while thinking about my problem and trying to come up with tricks to help me sleep easier and faster. You see I stay up until ALL the kids are asleep, lately that has been anywhere from midnight to 2 am and William let's me sleep in the morning, but I normally wake at 8:30-9 am
some times it's even until 10 am...(he spoils me!)

I did find an article by Dr. Oz (ya know Oprah's DR. Oz). It was very informative and thought I would share it here with you, because let's face it - counting sheep just doesn't cut it anymore!

So it's super simple and I am going to try some of these and hope to stop the late, late nights so I can be less grumpy during the day and get some energy back that I desperately need.

World-renowned Doctor Mehmet Oz offers six steps on how to get a good night’s sleep every night.

If you get less than six hours of sleep a night, as we just learned, you're in trouble. You need sleep more than you need food. When you're always tired, you actually age faster than you should. Here is your new nightly routine. Sleep tight:

• 1) Dim the lights an hour before bedtime. This mimics sunset. Smack in the middle of your brain is something called the pineal gland. It releases melatonin, the hormone that readies the mind and body for sleep in response to lowered light levels.
• 2) If you've got things on your mind -- tomorrow's meetings, errands, that kind of thing -- write them down fifteen minutes before bed. This sweeps them out of your mind. 
• 3) If you're still awake after fifteen minutes, get up and do something quiet, like reading a book. No Internet, no TV, no exercise. You have to let your body and mind slow down to be able to slip into sleep. If you just lie there thinking about how you're not sleeping, you'll never sleep. (this one could help me alot, my brain hasn't been shutting down lately)
  
• 4) Wake up at the same time every day. An hour extra on weekends is fine, but if you wake up at seven every morning during the week, then sleep until ten on weekends, you're effectively giving yourself jet lag. Monday morning, you'll feel like you just got off the red-eye from three time zones away.
• 5) A little chemical help once in a while is fine. Not alcohol -- it actually interferes with the normal sleep cycle. But Benadryl or one of the combination OTC painkillers or sleep drugs can give you that little nudge into natural sleep. Just describe your symptoms in detail: From a pharmaceutical perspective, "can't fall asleep" isn't the same as "wake up in the middle of the night."
• 6) Sex. (This is the fun one!)