Every year I go through months of bad sleep. Either I wake up incessantly or I can't seem to get comfortable. Nothing helps - coffee, naps, thinking about it, not thinking about it - so I went in search of any products that might help.

I found three that just might do the trick for you and give you the good night's sleep you so need and deserve.

I tested these with the help of my friend and neighbour Allana, who has long has sleep troubles. I enlisted her help as we all respond differently and require different things. Also, she wasn't sleeping at all it seemed at the time, so she was game for anything that might help.

Warmest wishes and sweet dreams,

Stephanie

Stephanie Dickison
Publisher & Editor - the knack

Glo To Sleep

I enjoyed the Glo to Sleep, which "uses a precise pattern of blue glo, inside a custom eye covering, creating a natural way to get to sleep quickly."

How it works is you put on the soft, foamy mask, open your eyes, look at the soft blue "glo" and breathe deep. Because you are concentrating on your breath and the light, whatever you are thinking about that may be keeping you up gently dissipates. You become more relaxed and hopefully fall asleep.

The Glo is comfortable to wear and extremely light. I enjoyed looking at the soft blu glo and letting my mind rest. My body soon followed. Allana found it somewhat soothing as well.

The Glo to Sleep is a good option for those who can't turn your thoughts off and that's what's keeping you up. It also blocks out any light and sunlight, so if that's an issue for you, it works on that level too!

Sleeptracker Pro

It looks like a watch and acts like a watch - at least in the alarm department - but it is so much more!

You wear the Sleeptracker to bed, like a watch. While you sleep (or toss and turn, as the case might be), the Sleeptracker works to find your own individual best waking moments. So if you've just traveled to Japan and back and can't seem to get back on schedule, put on your Sleeptracker:

"By monitoring your sleep cycles for optimal waking moments during the preset ALARM WINDOW, Sleeptracker finds those almost awake-moments and gently wakes you when you're most alert. The result? You wake up refreshed instead of groggy. Waking up has never been easier."

Allana liked this as it takes her awhile to feel fully awake in the mornings. I think it's kind of like a little extra confidence - science is telling you that you've had enough sleep, so who are we to argue with scientific facts based on our own individual bodies?

And I like it because although I strive to go to sleep between 11 pm and 1 am, because of last-minute deadlines, story changes and phone interviews between varying time zones, I go to sleep at different times of night, making it hard to get into a good sleep schedule/cycle. I feel like the Sleeptracker Pro keeps its eye on me and allows me the sleep I need when I need it.

Which is better than I'm able to do on my own. It's really like having a scientist working at your bedside, watching your REM cycles and monitoring your own individual patterns. And with the Sleeptracker Pro, you can download the data to your computer and see the results for yourself!

I love the idea of waking up feeling alert and energetic - feeling rested. While I can't always get the amount of sleep I need, I can let the Sleeptracker Pro to figure it out and wake me when it's time! Brilliant!

Now if only it came with an automated coffeemaker...

StressEraser

Both Allana and I have fairly stressful, interactive jobs. She works at a hospital and I am a journalist. We have been on walks together where the bulk of what we talk about is what's stressing us out, so we were both keen to try the StressEraser.

The StressEraser was created because "the average American takes 13 breathes a minute, yet to feel relaxed, you need to breathe closer to 6 breaths a minute."

Uh oh. I was in trouble. I am a horrible breather. I know because every time I go to the doctor for a checkup and she says, "Okay, now take a deep breath," as she presses the cold stethescope pad into my chest," I take this shuddery intake of breath that takes all of my energy and willpower. Also, my performance in meditation and yoga classes has shown that I'm more a "wheezer" than a good breather.

But I am pleased to say that with the help of the StressEraser, I was able to work up to breathing like I imagine regular folks do - steady, deep and slow.

What happens is that the StressEraser uses biofeedback to allows you to watch your breathing affect your stress rate. You put your finger into the StressEraser and you try to slow your breath down so that the peaks that occur on the screen become flat lines. You actually see how your breathing rate affects your pulse rate.