Get Rid of Your Sleep Vampires

The following list is the most common reasons why sleep suffers.
Eating too close to bed time.
Exercising too close to bed time.
Coffee consumption too close to bed time.
Alcohol consumption.
Nicotine ingestion.
Watching TV or listening to radio in bedroom.
Lights or lamps on in bedroom.

Now these are pretty general and mainstream. You may have already eliminated these in order to increase sleep quality and quantity. More individualised problems I have identified from clients after a little more probing are as follows.
Working on computers till just before going to bed.
Outside light beaming into the bedroom - street lights.
Clock radio, stereo lights and mobile phones near the bed.
Not slowing down in the 3 -4 hours leading up to bed time.
No routine before going to bed.
Showering just before going to bed.
Stressing and thinking about problems and concerns.
Filling your head with thoughts and ideas.

A general theme has becomes more evident to me after these investigations. In summary I think you need to become more organised (get proactive) and plan your routine so that at least 3 hours before attempting to sleep, you start winding down. This may mean reading, listening to relaxing music, meditating, stretching or completing a brain dump where you record your worries, concerns and ideas onto a piece of paper. Go over your list, address what you can then and there, if the rest is out of your control, delete it, you are wasting time thinking about it. Keep that piece of paper by your bed and any new ideas or worries that arise, write them down. By doing this you have cleaned out another sleep vampire. Next day you must address the concerns on your list otherwise it'll be back for more sleep sapping duties. Keep all radiation production out of your room - Phones, computers, radio alarm clocks as far away from your bed as possible. And keep everything as dark as possible.

All of these actions will eradicate a number of sleep sapping vampires from your life. Oh and don't take a shower just before bed, the water will freshen you up. Again get proactive and shower earlier.

And if you can't sleep, get up and do something peaceful for 20 minutes and try again otherwise you will toss and turn yourself into a frenzy in bed.