Sleep Secrets: How to Get a Good Night's Rest

Feb. 21, 2011 — -- Is there anything worse than tossing and turning when you really need some sleep?

Ten percent of Americans have chronic sleep problems, and up to 35 percent have occasional difficulty with sleep, according to the University of Pennsylvania Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program.

But there are some simple things you can do to make it easier to settle down for the night. The new issue of "Prevention" magazine has some great sleep solutions, and the magazine's editor-in-chief, Diane Salvatore, visited "GMA" to talk about them.

The trick is to go to bed every night at the same time and get up at the same time – even on the weekends, Salvatore said. What that does is set your biological sleep clock. It's simple and it really works, she said.

This is the right way to become a sleep detective, so you can find out why you're not getting the right sleep, Salvatore said. The first thing you should do is write down the obvious stuff – when you go to sleep and wake up, and also what you did in the hours before you went to sleep.

Ask yourself: what you were watching on TV? Were you having an argument? Were you on e-mail? Analyze your diary for two weeks to see if there's a pattern, she said. If you want to get a jump start, go to sleepdoctor.com and print out a work sheet and it will describe some of the tell-tale signs you should be looking for.

That's right. Exercise before bed is not good because it makes your body warm, which is not conducive to sleep, Salvatore added.