Sideswipe: February 18: Yoga Joes

The ubiquitous GI Joe Army men give up war and strive for inner peace. Available on Amazon.

Ways to get to sleep

1. A recording of a couple of rashers sizzling in the pan may well lull you off to sleep. This kind of comforting, repetitive sound triggers Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) – a combination of positive feelings, relaxation and tingling sensations, all of which encourage peaceful slumber.

2. "At 87, I count backwards from 100 in sevens when I can't get to sleep, and so reassure myself that I don't yet have dementia."

3. Try alternately tensing and relaxing your toes for a count of 10 each time. This draws tension away from the rest of the body, helping you to relax.

4. Cheese can contain high levels of the amino acid tryptophan, which aids sleep. But avoid high-fat cheeses late at night, as the fat can disrupt your rest.

5. "To get to sleep, my husband counts the number of people he knew from work who were divorced. He gets over 100. He is a retired police officer."

Kids' cough syrup based on what?

Your personality explained by your annoying household habits

Soaking dishes in the sink: Your ability to make life more difficult is unmatchable. If an easy solution is available — and I mean a mind-numbingly obvious one — you decide that maybe the fix can't be so simple and that you'd better let things marinate for a few days, at which point, yes, they've now become the nasty thing that you imagined, seeped in a rancid cesspool of indecision and procrastination (and, literally, rotting food). By the time you get ready to take any form of action, someone has come along and done the cleanup for you, which is what you wanted all along.

Leaving one bite or sip: Greedy glutton? No. Self-absorbed free spirit? No doubt. You leave a spoonful of banana pudding in the bowl and a swig of orange juice in the bottle because you're too busy with your own life to think about anyone else's. You're fun as hell to be around because you live for the moment, but, when faced with the unfortunate consequences of your actions, you claim "it's not my problem", when in fact you, my friend, are everybody's problem.

By Nicole Rose Whitaker. Read more here.