GO BY THE HOUR: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day-both on weekdays and weekends.

MAKE A RITUAL: Come up with a daily ritual before sleep-reading a book, listening to soothing music, drinking a cup of warm milk. The body recognises sleep cues.

DRESS WELL: Be careful what you wear to bed. Natural fabrics, such as cotton, allows your body to breatheand sleep better.

CALM DOWN: No tv, no tea or coffee a few hours before sleep. Brain stimulants can keep one from sleeping. Try meditation.

DARK MATTERS: Make your bedroom as dark as possible. Also make sure there is no noise to distract you.
20 minutes more sleep is needed by women than men per night, say scientists.

It seems women, in particular, can't function well if they don't sleep well. Feminists, supported by scientists, are spreading the good word. Studies indicate that women are more sleep-deprived than men, and are twice as likely to have difficulties falling or staying asleep. They need 20 minutes more sleep than men per night. New research from the UK suggests that women tend to work their brains-especially the cerebral cortex responsible for intelligence, language, memory and consciousness-harder. Simply because they multitask more. And the cerebral cortex needs deep sleep to work efficiently. So lie in, or at least, take a nap.

Scientists from the University of Michigan, US, say sleep quality influences the ability to enjoy one's day more than household income and even marital status. They studied 900 women to measure how activities were experienced through the day. An extra hour of sleep had more impact on how women felt through the day than earning more money a year.

What's stopping women from getting enough sleep? Not just balancing home and work. It's also the new beauty premium at the 21st century workplace. Economists estimate that eye-candies typically earn more than their plain colleagues because they are seen to have more positive attributes: smarter, happier and more confident. A recent survey by global research company Synovate shows 55 per cent in India think they can get away with less work so long as they look good, 80 per cent feel immense pressure to look good, while 40 per cent want to look well-groomed all the time. The fallout? Women end up spending hours on looking good-from daily blow-drys to salon visits, at the gym or the spa-instead of catching up on sleep.