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" Last year, Arianna Huffington gave her friends unorthodox Christmas presents: alarm clocks. Rather than passing comment on anyone&amp;#039;s punctuality, the media entrepreneur sought to nudge them toward better sleep habits. &amp;quot;It was so they wouldn&amp;#039;t be tempted to charge their iPhones by their beds,&amp;quot; she explains. &amp;quot;Because I run a 24-7 media company, I&amp;#039;ve seen the dangers of burnout and addiction to instant access. The results of unplugging and recharging are just immeasurable.&amp;quot; The Huffington Post cofounder discovered her calling as a sleep crusader after exhaustion-related injuries landed her in the emergency room in 2007. &amp;quot;I fainted and hit my head on the corner of my desk, and I broke my cheekbone and ended up having five stitches under my eyebrow. It was really a rude awakening. I had a lot of time to think about my priorities and to learn more about the importance of sleep.&amp;quot; Since then, the self-described sleep evangelist has written op-ed pieces and given speeches urging women to &amp;quot;sleep their way to the top&amp;quot;\u2014literally. &amp;quot;The science behind sleep is pretty unambiguous now in terms of health, productivity, and ability to enjoy life,&amp;quot; she adds. &amp;quot;Women are working harder and have to learn that taking care of themselves should not be at the bottom of the list.&amp;quot; More than half of Americans surveyed in a 2013 National Sleep Foundation poll said they get less than the recommended seven hours of shut-eye on work nights. And the world&amp;#039;s greatest multitaskers may be particularly vulnerable to sleep disturbances, with research suggesting that women are 1.4 times more likely to report insomnia than men. &amp;quot;Women are definitely at more risk for insomnia,&amp;quot; says Allison Siebern, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral science and the associate director of the Insomnia and Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at Stanford University School of Medicine. &amp;quot;Different hormonal changes across the life span increase the risk.&amp;quot; Huffington, who introduced nap rooms to the Web site&amp;#039;s New York headquarters and Washington, D.C., bureau, calls eight hours of sleep a night her personal ideal. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s made me a much happier and healthier human being\u2014much less reactive, much more joyful,&amp;quot; she says. Her tips for getting a restorative slumber include hot baths and silk pajamas and limiting screen time before bed. Personal rituals aside, &amp;quot;sleep is not a matter of luxury, it&amp;#039;s a matter of necessity.&amp;quot; Here she shares some of her favorite tech tools for better sleep. LARK PRO WRISTBAND ($159; lark.com) &amp;quot;This wristband wakes you up with a gentle vibration, as if someone were nudging you awake. Since it syncs to your iPhone, I had to break my no-phones-in-the-bedroom rule, but it was worth it. I woke up each morning to a full report about my night&amp;#039;s sleep: my sleep quality, how long I slept, how long it took me to fall asleep, and how many times I woke up.&amp;quot; JAWBONE UP ($129.99; jawbone.com) and FITBIT FORCE ($129.99; fitbit.com) &amp;quot;I took both of these bands to bed\u2014separately\u2014to monitor my sleep cycles and tell me how much deep sleep and how much light sleep I was getting. This is how I learned that I get my best, deepest sleep early in the morning\u2014it&amp;#039;s now my official conversation starter.&amp;quot; TUNEUP ($49.95; tuneupmedia.com) &amp;quot;TuneUp is a personalized music app that helps you fall asleep and wake up more peacefully with music that you love. But I have to say, it should only be used by people disciplined enough not to look at their data. (At HuffPost, we make it very clear that nobody is expected to check e-mail after hours or over the weekend. Making your bedroom a bit of a separate space, a device-free zone, is key.) If you don&amp;#039;t trust yourself, then I don&amp;#039;t recommend any apps on your phone; just use bands.&amp;quot; PHILIPS WAKE-UP LIGHT ($169.99; usa.philips.com) &amp;quot;I always try to make my bedroom very dark. When I travel I pack scarves to drape over the blinking lights in hotel rooms. This product combines an alarm clock with light therapy, slowly waking you in the morning with light that simulates a sunrise\u2014moving from red to soft orange to yellow\u2014along with a choice of five natural sounds. Consider it if you&amp;#039;re looking to start your day a little more in sync with nature.&amp;quot; Check out Huffington&amp;#039;s new book, THRIVE: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/health/a1790/how-to-get-better-sleep-0314/>