Stephanie Silberman, PhD, DABSM is the author of The Insomnia Workbook

Instead of spending countless hours lying in bed counting sheep at night, take control of your sleep by learning about the common mistakes people make that sabotage their sleep cycles. There are many mistakes that people make when trying to get a good night's sleep. Instead of helping you to sleep better, these mistakes can actually decrease your chances of sleeping well and may even cause you to have more trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

by guest blogger Sara E. Rosenquist, author of After the Stork

Two of the biggest complaints I hear about bringing home baby are No Sleep and No Sex. So what can you expect? And how can you make the best of things during this difficult time. The number one risk factor for depression at any time in life is sleep deprivation. So it should come as no surprise that the sleep deprivation so prevalent with a new baby could cause major upheavals in mood and in the sexual relationship. And when baby is breast feeding in addition to sleeplessness, many women experience sore nipples and touch overload. So what is a couple to do? How do you stay playful and sensual when you’re tired and your body is on overload? The answers might surprise you.

by guest blogger Jackie Gardner-Nix, MD, Ph.D, author of The Mindfulness Solution to Pain .

There are five stages of sleep. You normally “cycle” through these about every 90 minutes as an adult. Stages 1 and 2 are light sleep: it’s easy to rouse you. Stages 3 and 4 are deeper, slow wave sleep: rousing you is harder and you may be disorientated on waking. The immune system is busy repairing your body from the usual wear and tear of your day in those deeper sleep stages. REM sleep is associated more with dreaming than the other stages. Having no, or too much REM sleep is associated with depression, and antidepressants can change the amount of REM. REM sleep is important for consolidating memory.

Excerpt from five good minutes in the evening

If kids can have bedtime rituals, why can’t you? Tonight, be mindful of your bedtime routine and be fully present in each moment-to-moment ritual. Take extra care in brushing your teeth, washing your face, drying your hands, changing into your comfy pajamas, pulling back the blankets, fluffing your favorite pillow, and hugging yourself good night.

by guest blogger Stephanie Silberman, author of The Insomnia Workbook

During the holiday season, many people find themselves sleep-deprived. The reasons for lack of sleep can be positive or negative. Although staying up late at parties, eating and drinking a lot, and having friends and family over at your house can be a significant source of fun and pleasure and something that you’ve looked forward to for quite some time, it can also lead you to deprive yourself of much needed sleep. On the other hand, if the holidays are causing you to feel stressed due to financial concerns, tension at family get-togethers, or other similar reasons, you may be lying in bed at night wishing the holidays were over already so that you could go back to sleeping better. Although it’s quite common to have trouble sleeping during stressful periods of your life, insomnia can easily turn from a short-term problem into a chronic one. Before letting poor sleep affect both your physical and mental well-being, try these simple tips to improve your sleep this holiday season.

by guest blogger Colleen E. Carney, Ph.D., co-author of Quiet Your Mind and Get to Sleep

So you are lying awake and you can’t shut off your thoughts…sound familiar?

You are in good company. Not being able to shut off your mind is one of the most commonly cited troubles in insomnia. But many people do not have effective strategies to deal with this pesky problem.

The most common “strategy” in popular culture is to count sheep. So is it effective? Let’s first consider why someone would recommend that you count sheep to help you set aside your thoughts and go to sleep. While some believe it is an activity that would promote such boredom as to facilitate sleep, there is probably a better explanation.