Having trouble sleeping?

Apparently, too many of us are, and we’re wandering the planet like the walking dead.

This isn’t good. Sleep is crucial to health, happiness, and good looks. I know this from experience.

During my mother’s illness and after her death, I went through a period of insomnia, which had gotten so bad my brother-in-law shouted at me, “You look like you’ve aged 10 years!” My sister, who loves me, urged me to “get a prescription.”

But I didn’t want to go the drug route, not only because I feared becoming dependent, but because I didn’t want it to interfere with my inclination to enjoy a glass of wine. And, besides, who knows what those chemicals are going to do to your brain in 30 years?

Enter Alison Held, a nutritionist-slash-holistic health counselor. We’d become acquainted at a networking meeting, where she offered to help me get over my fear of public speaking through Emotional Freedom Technique, a method she uses in her practice. (I talked to Alison for a SWR podcast in November. Listen here.)

We met for the session at Panera Bread (yeah, really; Panera Bread), and I confessed I hadn’t slept well the night before. Hadn’t slept well for over a year, in fact. Alison said, “Maybe we should forget about your problem with public speaking and focus on getting you some rest, then.”

We set to work. EFT did the trick. Immediately. I slept through the night that very night. Since then, I’ve used the technique independently whenever I’ve had trouble sleeping — to excellent effect (last summer, when the care of the elderly aunt took a toll on me, EFT rescued me once again).

EFT has been successful for a number of afflictions other than insomnia. Check out the list here. Download the free instructional manual, if you’re so inlined.

For other tips on getting to sleep and staying asleep, take a look at 20 Natural Tips to Stop Tossing & Turning from the folks at ecosalon.