Maurice Benard does not need a lot of prerequisities for a good nights sleep. He just needs to fall asleep with the light on in the room.

"I’m afraid of the dark," admits Benard who plays General Hospital’s tough-but-sensitive mobster Sonny Corinthos. "You know, I was about to say men shouldn't be afraid of the dark, but that’s pretty sexist, isn’t it?" he laughs. "That’s my macho upbringing. But it’s true -- I am afraid of the dark."

"I’m fine if I am with my wife (Paula)," he adds, "but if I am in a hotel while doing public appearences, not only do I keep the TV on, but I keep the light on. When I am with my wife, I put the TV sleep timer on for about an hour or so. I read and once my eyes get tired, I turn off the lights and eventually the TV goes off by itself. If I sleep with the TV on all night and there’s a loud noise on TV, it’ll wake me up, so I have to set the timer."

On the other hand, the temperature in the room doesn’t make a difference to Benard -- he keeps his bed attire to a minimum and adjusts the amount of blankets accordingly. He does, however, find that he needs to sleep between 6 and 8 hours a night.

"Anything less -- or more -- is not good for me," Benard says. "So if I have to be at work at 9, I’ll go to bed about midnight, which gives me enough sleep."