"To sleep, perchance to dream" sounded a whole heck of a lot easier before kids. We can only imagine Shakespeare wrote this before his three children — including a set of twins! — were born.

Creating an inviting environment in your bedroom is a key to getting good sleep, according to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation. A good mattress, comfortable pillows and soft bedding are important. A dark, cool, clean room also helps people go to sleep.

In general, we spend about one-third of our lives asleep. But the exact amount of shut-eye you need is actually unique to you. Some people need six hours of sleep a night, while others need nine. Sleep experts say you'll know you're getting the right amount when you wake up on your own feeling refreshed. No kidding!

Here's what our Mommy M.D.s — doctors who are also mothers — do to get sleep.

"I take a calcium supplement at night before bedtime," says Nancy Rappaport, M.D., a mom of three grown children, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, an attending child and adolescent psychiatrist in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, public schools and author of "The Behavior Code." "I think it helps me to sleep better. Think about it: For generations, people have been drinking warm milk to fall asleep!"

"I turn off my laptop and tablets by sundown," says Sara Gottfried, M.D., a mom of two daughters, a board-certified gynecologist and the author of "The Hormone Cure," in Berkeley, California. "They disrupt your melatonin production. I take an herb called ashwagandha and a supplement called phosphatidylserine to wrangle cortisol at night."

"If I don't get a good night's sleep, the next day won't be what it should be!" says Pam D'Amato, M.D., a mom of two daughters and an interventional pain management physician with University Spine Center in Wayne, New Jersey. "I occasionally take a melatonin supplement to help me fall asleep. I don't take a lot: I break a three-milligram tablet in half. I find that helps me to sleep better."

"I'm a big believer in the medical school philosophy, 'Sleep while you can,'" says Edna Ma, M.D., a mom of two, an anesthesiologist in private practice in Beverly Hills, California, and author of the bilingual Chinese children's book "Travel, Learn and See." "If I'm very tired, I'll take a nap. I make sure that someone else is watching my son, and I use sensory deprivation techniques, such as wearing ear plugs and eye shades."

"I limit the amount of water I drink before bedtime," says Eva Ritvo, M.D., a mom of two, a psychiatrist and author of "Bekindr: The Transformative Power of Kindness" in Miami Beach, Florida. "Otherwise, I have to wake up to go to the bathroom, and it disrupts my sleep."

"If I'm ever having trouble falling asleep, or if I've had a stressful day and fear I might have trouble falling asleep, I'll take a shower or bath before bed," says Sonali Ruder, D.O., a mom of one, an emergency physician at Coral Springs Medical Center near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a recipe developer and blogger at The Foodie Physician. "That relaxes my body — and my mind — a bit and helps me fall asleep."

"It is well recognized that insufficient sleep and an irregular sleep schedule lead to fatigue," says Elizabeth Berger, M.D., a mom of two grown children, a child psychiatrist and the author of "Raising Kids with Character" in New York City. "I personally try to set a regular bedtime and regular time to get up in the morning, although the exact times may require adjustment for work situations, travel, houseguests and other scheduling irregularities. And I love coffee!"

"Getting enough sleep is especially important — and challenging," says Jennifer Bacani McKenney, M.D., a mom of two and a family physician in Fredonia, Kansas. "I try to get eight hours of sleep, but often I'll have work to do after my daughter goes to bed or before she wakes up. Those tend to be my most productive times, but I also have to balance that with spending some alone time with my husband. Balancing health, work and family is a challenge!"

Jennifer Bright is a mom of four sons, founding CEO of woman- and veteran-owned custom publisher Bright Communications LLC, co-founder of the Mommy MD Guides team of 150+ mommy M.D.s, and co-author of "The Mommy MD Guide to the Toddler Years" and six other books in the Mommy MD Guides series. She lives in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. To find out more about Jennifer Bright and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.