10 tips to help relieve insomnia

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<a class="" href="/1/hi/magazine/7466133.stm">No rest for the busy</a> Having trouble sleeping? Yes, say many of you who responded to writer Lucy Kellaway's analysis of insomnia (see link, right). Here we list 10 of your favoured remedies.

1. Doing easy sudoku puzzles empties my brain of all the day's problems; for me, they must be easy so you have the satisfaction of finishing them correctly - nothing unresolved and then ...ZZZZZZZJudith, Feltham, UK

2. Eat a sandwich, thickly filled with lettuce, about half an hour before going to bed. You should sleep like a log.George Walker, Schwendi, Germany

3. I find listening to the same audio books night after night helps me to get to sleep. I also don't let myself use a computer or anything similar like texting two hours before I go to bed. Michael, Glasgow, UK

4. I use a combination of a long hot bath and a boring book to put me to sleep when I am restless. The best book I ever found for this purpose was a book of legal case studies. I would force myself to read, first in the bath and then in bed, for about an hour. The text was so dull that by the time I got to the third or fourth chapter my mind had turned itself off in protest and I was able to doze off fairly quickly. Sarah, Manchester, UK

5. I sometimes find that when all else fails a good dose of the BBC World Service does the trick. Whilst I am a loyal listener to Radio 4 and also know that there are some very good programmes on the World Service, there's something about "Macrame making in Bhutan" or "Ancient wooing rituals in Polynesia" that can make me drop off at 3 am when all else fails...Delia S, Nr Wembworthy, Devon

6. I once read about counting back from 300 using one digit for each slow breath. Surprisingly it worked for me and I can honestly say that I cannot get past 230. Try it, it may work for you. Simon, Essex, UK

7. I have found the best and most comforting method to aid me to sleep is to keep a note pad and pen next to the bed. Before I go to sleep I write down everything that is on my mind. Whether it's when my next bill is due or what I need to do the next day. No matter how trivial, I write it down. An old friend once told me "Leave your troubles at the bottom of the stairs...They'll still be there in the morning".Laura Caddick, Cornwall, UK

8. Simply close your eyes and focus on one thing, such as a white triangular frame. Draw the triangle in your head against a black background and then draw another inside, the outer triangle will disappear leaving the second triangle as the new outer one. Repeat the exercise and remain focused. You should fall asleep - it works for me. Nico Mo, Warsaw, Poland

9. I am not an insomniac, but when I have trouble sleeping, I find that stretching and tensing all the muscles in my body, holding them tense and then slow releasing them from my feet upwards. This relaxes the body and allows me to sleepSteve, Rugby

10. Do an hour's intensive exercise, such as running or swimming, after you get home from work, between 7.30 and 8.30, then have a nice hot shower and some dinner. Read or watch TV for at least half an hour in the lounge (not in bed), before going to bed. Make sure you have the morning's chores done the night before (sandwiches made, shirt ironed, that sort of thing), and you'll feel more relaxed when you get into bed.Will, London