FOUND: HELP FOR HOLIDAY SLEEP LOSS

If you're tossing and turning a lot more this time of year, you're not alone: New research shows Americans lose nearly 40 minutes of sleep each night over the hectic holiday season. To the rescue: Experts share simple tips to transform sleepless nights into sweet, sugarplum dreams, including the strategy that works for 9 in 10 people

- KRISTINA MASTROCOLA

HUNTING DOWN the perfect gift, wrangling in-laws, decking the halls, trying to re-create your mother's famous Christmas cookies...and on and on. Your formidable list of holiday tasks would make even Santa look like a slacker. No wonder you're tired. In fact, women are a whopping three times more likely than men to say they don't sleep as well over the holidays, according to a recent survey. The reasons for this disparity include the usual (and notso-usual) suspects, from good oldfashioned stress-44% of women report a spike in their anxiety levels during the "most wonderful time of year"-to increased alcohol consumption, which doubles from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

"There are so many factors preventing us from getting to bed and waking up on a consistent basis during the holiday season, from a packed social calendar to financial stress," confirms sleep doctor Michael Breus, Ph.D., author of Sleep Drink Breathe: Simple Daily Habits for Profound Long-Term Health. His research reveals we lose an average of 39 minutes of sleep each night this time of year. "If you normally get 6.5 hours, but now you're getting 5.85 hours, that's a big difference," he says. "Once you go below 6 hours, it gets very difficult to make up for the deficit."

It's safe to say sleep is on all our wish lists this season. Keep reading for a few doctor-approved strategies shown to help you dodge three common holiday sleep saboteurs and get the restorative Zzzs you deserve.

Swap wine for tart cherry juice