Like many of my friends my age, I can have trouble falling asleep at night, especially when I wake up in the middle of the night. Nocturia, or having to get up one or more times each night to urinate (which is common in older adults) can make the situation worse. This can cause problems when falling back to sleep, especially if you have a "busy brain" and don't know how to switch off.

A few years ago I got advice from a dear friend on how to solve this problem and it worked well for me and I try to pass it on to friends who have this problem. It helps if you know how to meditate. You don’t have to be great at it, you can be a beginner (I give beginners tips on meditation here). Most people with "busy brains" find that their brains don't want to cooperate with meditation, but want to jump from one thought to another (or one worry to another). Another problem when meditating is falling asleep. This is where the advice from my friend (who is also a meditator) comes into play. You don't want your meditating mind to think falling asleep is the lesser of two evils. It feels like a champ to me.