If you have trouble falling asleep or getting back to sleep when you’ve waken too early, try this: a humidifier, a cup of hot cocoa, a copy of the New Yorker and an eye bag.  

The humidifier will rhythmically exhale puffs of mist making the air moist to help you breathe more comfortably. The milk has tryptophan in it — and if you believe, it is a sleep inducer. Writers for the New Yorker are not plainspoken; they dazzle readers with lengthy diatribes, acrobatic syntax and boatloads of obscure literary devices.  Frankly, the NY is just a little bit numbing. 

Then, and here is the secret — get an eye bag.

It’s a weighted  fabric pouch that sits across both eyes and completely blocks any light with the firmness of a loving touch. Here is mine. My friend, Joyce, gave it to me. She got it from 1000 Villages, a fair trade store that carries products from under-developed countries.

PS: Don’t get me wrong, I will never give up my New Yorker. I love to read it, I love to carry it, I love to pass it on.

I won’t ever give my up cat eye bag.