Dorothy Dandridge Baby Sleep Tips

1. Grab some vitamin B5 (see "Your 30s and 40s," above) and wash it down with Gatorade about half an hour before bedtime. British researchers have found that athletes who down a high-carbohydrate drink have a lower exercise-induced cortisol spike than those who don't.

2. Get checked for sleep apnea. If it's just plain old snoring, ask your doctor about injection snoreplasty. During this 15-minute procedure, a doctor will stiffen your soft palate--the fleshy area above your uvula that causes snoring--with an injection of sodium tetradecyl sulfate. Cost: $35, which is cheap compared with a divorce settlement. Results last about a year.

3. Check your medications. A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology found that beta-blockers, a common treatment for high blood pres-sure, decreased melatonin production by 80 to 90 percent. Carvedilol is the only beta-blocker that didn't affect melatonin levels. Another culprit may be Prozac and similar drugs, which can lead to as much as a 30 percent increase in awakenings. Contemplate a switch to Paxil; it may actually help you fall asleep faster.

4. If you're peeing three or more times a night, consult a urologist. Odds are that your prostate is enlarged, a common problem for older men. Before you try drugs or surgery, consider taking saw palmetto. In a JAMA review of 18 studies, saw palmetto reduced incidences of nocturia--the nighttime urge to urinate--by 25 percent. Look for ProstActive by Nature's Way; it's the most clinically studied brand of saw palmetto available.

Dorothy Dandridge Baby Sleep Tips