within the past 2 years ive given birth to two lovley baby boys and anyone who is a parent will know once you have kids you never sleep the way you did befor you had them, well i worked fulltime till the day before i had my first son and two nights a week up until i had my second son who came 10 months and 3 weeks after my first. i went back to work 11 days after having my second son and when he was 15 weeks i started working 4 nights a week wich is now, i feel so very tired but no matter what i do i just cant get to sleep i take about three hours to wind down after work wich leaves me with only having 4 or 5 hours sleep a night. Does anyone know of a way i can wind down quickly or get to sleep fast witout drugs and hot drinks and having a shower doesnt help?

You could use liquid or capsule Skullcap, you could use Melatonin (excellent for sleep, really) or you could use Valerian. You should be able to find these in the organic section of your grocers, at any supplement store or at the pharmacy in the supplements section.

None are medication and all work with your bodies natural processes so you can relax and get some sleep. You also may want to try a gentle yoga practice after the kids go to sleep. Shiva Rea has a fantastic dvd that features a Lunar sequence. Very relaxing and not at all strenuous. It's also pretty short and has a small meditation (guided) component to it. Good luck and try one of these. I've used melatonin for a very long time as I've always had difficulty sleeping. Really helps. But anything above is good. dont use any sleep medication, i have trouble sleeping sometimes too. READING helps a lot, try it and you will get tired, just read while you are laying in bed and it helps you sleep. i also bought a cd that has water sounds on it and i play that at night while i sleep. try some of these and if you just cant sleep, take a few days off of work and try to get to bed without anydistractions, go to a spa. get a massage, relax. and please do try to read either meditation classes or a good meditation book. You can learn to "force yourself" into a deep sleep. it is wonderful. Also, a single glass of red wine is good for you. You can always add some poppy seed to it also. hi there, i have a similar problem but with three kids!! I use something called sleep now which is an all natural sleep product and it is great. I sleep peacefully but dont have any tiredness in the mornings, I use it with the relax now tablets and they are so good. I am sleeping better than ever. There are no side effects from either. the sleep tablets are passion flower, melatonin, lavender and hops based. They really do hel you get a good nghts rest. I order mine online from myhealthabcmall.com, the service is prompt, i usually get three months supply at once to save on the shipping costs every month. I hope this helps. I tried so many things until my doctor of all people told me he used it! So I thought why not give it a try. Lucy If you arent getting good sleep than you should definatly try using binary beats (sound therapy.) Binary beats synchronize your mind with sound frequencies and change the frequency of your brain into either alpha-creative/relaxed theta-dreamy or Delta-deep sleep (headphones are required.) I listen to delta frequencies every night. If I only get six hours of sleep, I still feel like I got at least 8. Also, my dreams are amazing.

If you want to try this effective method than I would recommend Brainisync found at http://www.brainsync.com/ (10 dollars to download, but its worth it) You might try Valerian. Many people find it helpful for relaxation and rest.