Are you one of the millions who toss and turn all night and wish for a solid night of sleep? Sometimes there are medical reasons why sleep comes with difficulty.

Other times there are things you are doing that inhibit sleep. Hopefully some of this information will sort it out for you and give you, and your family, a more restful night.

Last week I introduced you to some ways to go green and save money--some new and other old. This week I will expand on the ideas and give you two additional ways to help the planet and save money too.

As an average American you spend more than $1000 a year on holiday and personal gifts for family and friends. Before you drive to the big city or all over for more "stuff" for someone who probably has more stuff than they need already, think about alternatives:

Gasoline prices are out of sight, our homes aren't valued at what they were two years ago or two months ago, and food prices continue to climb. What can we do to help our personal situations and help the planet at the same time? Think green.

We can save trees in many ways. Starting with our holiday Christmas trees -- buy an artificial tree to use year after year. Each year we cut down 50 million trees for this holiday. If you can't celebrate without a real tree, recycle it -- chip it into mulch for your garden.

It's that time of year again. Time to seriously think about your amount of sun exposure. It's not 1959 any longer and sunbathing is not the "in" thing to do. The key to having healthy skin is to avoid sun exposure as much as possible.

Harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays are all around us. They can pass through clouds and bounce of off snow, sand and water.

Some smokers who are older think they are unable to quit smoking. Some are afraid to quit. One woman, nearly 70, who was widowed for several years, found that smoking was the only thing she had left that was part of her previous life. She didn't know how she was going to spend her time or how she was going to kick back and relax without a cigarette.

Most older smokers know they should quit. If they don't have serious health problems from the 40 to 60-year habit such as lung cancer or emphysema they have some nagging symptoms. They may have hoarseness, a smoker's cough, or feel drained. The cost of cigarettes on an elder's fixed income is great when added up over a year. At a one pack a day habit with the average cost per pack of $4 = $1,460 a year. That is almost $3,000 a year for a two pack a day habit or 25 percent of the average Social Security check. They are controlled by a cigarette that is slowly deteriorating their health and shrinking their pocketbook.

Jennifer has been taking care of her 84-year-old grandmother since she fell and broke a hip more than a month ago. Her grandmother was in a nearby rehabilitation center for two weeks and has been recovering further at home. Jennifer splits her time between her grandmother's place and her own home, where she has a husband and two school-aged children. Besides stating she is "getting through" this responsibility, she has been snapping at her family, and her grandmother and Jennifer has gained 10 pounds.

As a result of her grandmother's injury, Jennifer has altered her usual routine. Instead of having a balanced breakfast with her family, she rushes off to her grandmother's apartment and grabs a donut or sweet roll on the way. She drinks a few cups of coffee while assisting with her grandmother's activities of daily living, nibbles on some of the casseroles neighbors have brought over and before getting home in the evening stops to buy a pizza instead of cooking dinner. She relaxes a few minutes before falling into bed for another restless night, but not before treating herself to a large dish of ice cream with chocolate syrup. Jennifer is taking better care of her grandmother than she is of herself.

Mental health services has always been the greatest weakness in our health care delivery system. Pair this problem up with our increasing aging population and we have a huge segment of our population dealing with issues ineffectively and without adequate professional help.

More emphasis needs to be placed on the mental health needs of older people. Why is the problem compounded in the elderly? Mental health issues are more common in the elderly partly because of the stressors associated with:

Mental health services has always been the greatest weakness in our health care delivery system. Pair this problem up with our increasing aging population and we have a huge segment of our population dealing with issues ineffectively and without adequate professional help.

More emphasis needs to be placed on the mental health needs of older people. Why is the problem compounded in the elderly? Mental health issues are more common in the elderly partly because of the stressors associated with: