In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: About half the caffeine you consume at 7 pm is still in your body at 11 pm. Caffeine is a stimulant and can be found in coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, non-herbal teas, diet drugs, and some pain relievers. Limit how many cups of coffee you have several hours before bed, or try to eliminate caffeine in your diet all together. Alcohol also prevents deep sleep and REM sleep. It will keep you in the lighter stages of sleep, causing you to possibly wake up easily and have a harder time falling back asleep. Avoid consuming alcohol one to two hours before bed to ensure you get a good night’s sleep and don’t oversleep in the morning. The best time for a nap is usually mid afternoon, before 3 pm. This is the time of day you will likely experience afternoon sleepiness or a lower level of alertness. Naps taken before 3 pm should not interfere with your nighttime sleep. Keep your naps short, between 10 to 30 minutes. This will prevent sleep inertia, which is when you feel groggy and disoriented after a nap that goes on for longer than 30 minutes. This will also prevent you from oversleeping the following morning, as naps under 30 minutes should not interfere with your sleep schedule. A sleep journal or diary can be a useful tool to help you identify any habits that may be keeping you awake at night and causing you to oversleep in the morning. You may be able to also pinpoint if you are displaying symptoms of a sleep disorder. Update your sleep journal with notes on:  What time you went to bed and woke up. The total sleep hours and quality of your sleep. The amount of time you spent awake and what you did. For example: “stayed in bed with eyes closed” “counted sheep” “read a book”. The types of food and liquids you consumed before bed and the amount of food and liquids you consumed. Your feelings and moods before bed, such as “happy” “stressed” “anxious”. How long it took you to get up the morning, and how often you hit the “snooze” button on your alarm. Any drugs or medication you took, such as sleeping pills, including the dose and time of consumption. Notice any triggers that start to repeat themselves in your sleep journal and see if there are ways you can prevent or limit these triggers. For example, maybe you often get a bad night’s sleep on a Friday after drinking two beers. Try not to drink at all the following Friday and see if this improves your sleep. When you take sleeping pills for a brief period of time, and based on your doctor’s recommendations, they can help you fall asleep. But they are just a temporary solution. In fact, sleeping pills can often make insomnia and other sleep issues worse in the long term.  Use sleeping pills and medications sparingly for short term situations, like traveling across several time zones or when recovering from a medical procedure. Using sleeping pills only when necessary, rather than on a daily basis, will also prevent you from being dependent on them to help you sleep every night. Many of the side effects of these drugs can have adverse effects on your sleep patterns and daytime alertness. Common medications that can disturb your sleep include:  Nasal decongestants. Aspirin and other headache medications. Pain relievers that contain caffeine. Cold and allergy medications containing an antihistamine. If you are taking any of these medications, try to reduce your dosage or stop taking altogether. These medications are not meant to be taken on an ongoing basis. Talk to your doctor about alternative methods to treat these issues so you can stop taking these over-the-counter medications.
Summary: Avoid consuming caffeine four to six hours before your bedtime. Don’t nap after 3 pm. Start a sleep journal. Use sleeping pills only when necessary. Be aware of over-the-counter medications that can lead to insomnia and sleep issues.

Problem: Article: Collect past bills, bank and credit card statements, and receipts that can allow you to put together an accurate estimate of how much money you spend every month. Personal finance software is quickly becoming the new trend in finance. These programs have built-in budget making tools that can help customize your budget, along with analytics that help you project cash-flow into the future and better understand your spending habits.  Some popular personal finance software include:  Mint Quicken AceMoney BudgetPulse If you choose not to use a budgeting software, you can determine your own budget by using a simple spreadsheet. Your goal is to chart all your expenses and income during the course of a year, so make a spreadsheet that shows all your information clearly, allowing you to quickly identify any areas where you can spend smarter.  Label the row of cells across the top (starting with cell B1) with the 12 months of the year. Create a column of expenses and revenues in column A.  You can list either revenues or expenses first, but try to group expenses together and revenues together to avoid confusion. You may want to group expense together with category headings.  For example, you might have a category of “utilities” that includes your electric, gas, water, and telephone bills. Decide whether you want to include items that are deducted directly from your paycheck such as insurance, retirement savings, or taxes.  If you do not include them on your spreadsheet, be sure that you list your net (post-deduction) income rather than your gross (total, pre-deduction) income under the “revenue” section. Add all of your expenses and revenues for the past 12 months, using data from your bank and credit card statements to provide an accurate representation of all of your revenues and expenses. Are you on a fixed salary where you know for certain how much you're taking home each week? Are you a freelancer whose salary varies each month? Documenting a year's history can help you get an accurate view of your average monthly revenue.    If you are an independent contractor or freelancer, keep in mind what you bring home is not the same thing as what you earn. For example, you may bring home $2,500 every month, but that's pre-tax. Figure out how much you're likely to need to pay in taxes and subtract that from your monthly income to arrive at a more accurate number. If you are a salaried employee, don't factor in a possible tax refund into your overall income. Your monthly income should reflect only what you bring home after taxes. If you do get a tax refund, you'll get to do with it as you please; if you don't, you won't need to worry about it. What are the bills that you have to pay every month? How much do you spend every week on groceries and gasoline? Do you go out to dinner with friends every Friday night or to the movies once a week? How much money do you spend on shopping? Tracking a year of actual spending will help you develop an accurate view of your spending habits, since most people underestimate the amount they believe they spend every month. If your expenses are greater than your revenue, you are living way beyond your means.  Your budget should be divided into two groups:   Fixed Expenses. These include regular monthly expenses such as bills, insurance, loan debts, food, and necessary shopping items like clothing and household products.  Discretionary Expenses.  Discretionary expenses are unfixed expenses that may be “optional.” Items that fall into this category include savings, entertainment, vacation funds, and other luxuries.
Summary:
Gather what you need to start tracking your spending history. Consider using software to help you budget. Create a spreadsheet. Document your historical budget data for the last 12 months. Determine your overall monthly revenue history. List all of your monthly expenses on the spreadsheet. Analyze your revenue and expenses.