You Are Feeling Very Sleepy: How to Get Your (Midlifer) Beauty Sleep

Let's do a little time travelling back to when you were in your 20s. It seemed so easy to work all day, hit the gym, go out to dinner with friends and then stay up until all hours of the night because "Broadcast News" was on at midnight.

Sure, you might be a little bit tired the next day, but you were like the Energizer Bunny.

You just kept going and going.

Cut to Midlife, when just one night of messed up sleep is devastating. You're exhausted the next day. Your skin looks dull and tired. Your eyes are bloodshot and there are bags underneath them that don't say Chanel or Gucci.

I travel a lot for work, but now when someone wants me to take a Red Eye, my standard answer is: "I'm a little bit past my Red Eye years."

Last holiday season, I had the amazing opportunity to go to Paris, France to interview Johnny Depp. The trip was fabulous, but the trip over not so fun with Mr. Pointy Elbows next to me stabbing me in the ribs all night long.

One sleepless night plus a few times zones meant some zombie-like feelings for the next two days.

Now, let's consider skin care for a moment. Skin pro Jillian Wright says if you want to age yourself then burn the candle at both ends. "Two easy ways to look older are stress and lack of sleep," she says. "You need to relax and sleep. During your sleep is when your skin repairs itself."

Without naming names, think about younger stars who are in their 20s, but suddenly look 40 because they party until dawn more often than not. Now imagine what lack of sleep does to someone in their 40s, 50s or beyond.

Over the years, I've worked on several books with medical pros who insist as Midlifers we still need a good 7 or 8 hours of solid sleep – not stops and starts, but continuous zzzz's – each night. The rub is as we hit these ages, many of us have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

Here are a few tips I've learned from the pros when it comes to How to Get a Good (Midlife) Night Sleep:

*Cool it With the Drinking. That means no more coffee or soda drinks packed with eye-opening caffeine at least 3-4 hours before you want to drift off to la-la land. But also cool it on the water. The last thing you need if you have a touch of insomnia is the middle of the night bladder issues. Whatever you do….don't swig water before you go to sleep and you will avoid the 3 a.m. call of nature.

*Make Your Evenings Drama Free Zones. Save the tough business call or the fight with your mother until the morning. Make it your mission to unwind. I'll never forget that Jodie Foster once told me, "After 8 p.m. is for me and my family. The rest of it can always wait until the morning." It was good advice.

*Turn Down the Heat.  Many of us in the cold winter months crank up the heat and then crawl under a huge comforter or several blankets. Excess heat will make it hard to sleep, so turn down the heat and think about a thinner comforter if you find yourself constantly a little too hot or even a little bit sweaty at night.

*Get Rid of the Electronics.  Somehow our offices are starting to seep into our bedrooms. Research proves that your brain kicks into overdrive when you sit in front of a computer screen or scan your cell phone, which is really a mini computer now. Make it a rule to get your laptop out of your bedroom or plug your cell phone in …in the kitchen. That will reduce the temptation to constantly wake yourself up with a quick check of electronics.

*Get Rid of the Bedroom TV. Every expert around says that you should take the TV out of your bedroom. It's better for your love life …and your sleep life.

*Can't Sleep? Don't Worry.  There's nothing worse than tossing and turning while staring at the clock and thinking about the ten zillion things you need to do tomorrow…when tomorrow is only a few hours away. Try the Chinese practice of qigong to calm yourself and then fall asleep. Just sit on the edge of your bed. Rest the heel of one foot on the opposite knee. With your palm, rub the bottom of your foot back and forth from heel to toe 100 times. Then do the other foot. The idea is to stimulate the energy meridians that induce sleep. The other "rub" here is that this activity will shut off your mind because you'll need to concentrate.

Happy Zzzzz's. 

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