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on your side could be helpful. More serious sleep apnea will need medical attention.

Nocturnal myoclonus is a series of little jerks while you sleep. Your muscles spasm and contract, usually for less than ten seconds a time. Your sleeping partner will be very aware of the jerks, even if you aren't! Try taking 250 mg of magnesium at night, as well as 400 to 800 IU of Vitamin E during the day.

If you have nocturnal myoclonus, you may also have restless-legs syndrome. This gives you an irresistible urge to move your legs when you wake up. If you have a family history of restless-legs syndrome, see a naturopathic doctor for a prescription for 35 to 60 mg of folic acid a day. You won't be able to buy such high dosages over the counter.

If you don't have a family history, ask your doctor to check your ferritin levels to see if you have enough stored iron in your body. (This is not blood levels of iron.) If your ferritin levels are low, you may benefit from taking 200 mg of ferrous sulphate three times a day for two months.

As a final note on the physical level, you may of course be too hot, too cold, or sleeping in a bed that is too small for you. Most people know when they're too hot, but don't realise when they're too cold. While you're asleep, your body doesn't do much to regulate its temperature. Try putting a woollen blanket over the mattress to insulate it and see if that helps.

If you're sleeping with someone, a standard double bed may be just too small. It's only twice the width of a baby's cot. A healthy sleeper moves repeatedly from 40 to 60 times a night and makes as many as a dozen full body turns. If you're cramped into the width of a baby's cot, you're unlikely to enjoy a comfortable, restful night's sleep.

It's equally possible that the cause of your sleeplessness is psychological. In sleep laboratories, psychological factors account for 50% of cases of insomnia.

If you have trouble falling asleep, you're probably tense or anxious about something. You're going to have to solve the problem if you're going to get back to sleep. If finances are the cause of your tensions or anxiety, use your sleepless time to plan a course of action. Sit at a table with a notebook and pen, and work out a budget, a career action plan, priorities for repayments, or whatever it takes to turn fears into something concrete that you can tackle.

If relationships are turning sour, write out your feelings in the form of a journal. Don't worry about language or spelling; you're doing

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