Probably the biggest single cause of insomnia is 'stress'. Therefore it makes sense to look at areas in your life that you find invokes anxiety: employment, money and family, for example, then take action! For instance, to hold down a job that is far too demanding, could result in illness, fatigue, insomnia, and in extreme cases, by way of heart disease, death.

In addition, there are other things that should be considered.

The amount of sleep we find necessary varies from person to person. Some may be able to survive quite happily on a few hours, while others need as much as ten or more. So it is up to each individual to decide the ideal requirement and then allow enough time for that amount, each night. To facilitate this, try to develop regular habits.

There are many superstitions and old wives' tales about certain foods causing bad dreams and restless nights. It is largely a matter of common sense, and again, each individual will know from experience which foods need to be avoided.

As a general rule, steer clear of anything that is likely to keep the stomach busy and lead to a lot of discomfort such as flatulence. If you have to eat last thing at night, ensure that it is easily digestible.

It may be argued - by the determined few - that alcohol is a good sleep inducer. There is little doubt that it induces sleep, but is it of good quality? Apart from the obvious red eye, furry tongue and banging head syndrome, alcohol inhibits dreaming. When it does begin to wear off, it can cause something called 'REM Rebound'. This means that instead of dreaming in regular cycles of about ninety minutes throughout the night, the brain tries to catch up by cramming as many dreams into the latter stages of sleep as it can - often these come in the form of nightmares.

Thus it upsets the natural rhythm of sleep, by disrupting the amount of time during which the brain would naturally alternate between Slow Wave Sleep, (SWS), and dreaming sleep, (REM). Therefore, the determined few - fortunately or not - are dreaming!

Sleeping pills, some tranquillisers, diet pills and other drugs can check dreams and affect different aspects of sleep. Stimulants, including caffeine, are well known for their sleep inhibiting qualities. However, as we will see, there are circumstances when caffeine is thought to assist sleep.

What if you are a poor sleeper? There are different types of insomnia. Some people find it a problem to fall asleep on going to bed (initial insomnia), while others may awaken in the night and then find it difficult to go back to sleep (sleep-maintenance insomnia).

Some theorists think that insomniacs may be either under or over stimulated and so recommend that sufferers should adjust their life-style so as to compensate accordingly. Thus, an insomniac who is understimulated should indulge in more physical and mental exercise, while the insomniac whose mind is racing on going to bed should adopt a calmer way of living and learn to relax more.

There is actually evidence that malted milk drinks (Horlicks, Ovaltine) help to maintain sleep. The neural stimulant caffeine should be avoided, of course, by the 'overstimulated', but not by 'understimulated', in which case coffee or tea might assist sleep onset.

Interestingly, it is recognised by sleep-disorder specialists that people can be wildly wrong in self-estimates of their 'insomnia'. It is thought that in about half the reported cases the individual has adequate sleep but an exaggerated perspective of the amount of wakefulness in the night. Certainly, the partner of many insomniacs will say that the 'sufferer' in fact sleeps well!

In Dr Hearne's experience as a therapist he has found that if logical, straightforward left-brain thinking can be switched to more artistic, creative right-brain thoughts - typical of the mind in sleep - this seems to induce sleep more readily. Allowing gentle fantasy to occur relaxes and encourages sleep by adopting a thought pattern associated with sleep.

In particular, a count-down method can induce sleep quite well in many insomniacs. It is useful too for anyone simply wanting to enter sleep in a ritualistic, gentle, relaxed manner.

The technique involves a systematic bodily relaxation routine, followed by imagining a relaxing situation and counting down from 10 to 1 - becoming more relaxed with each descending number.

A subject may read the following script, memorise it in general and, upon retiring for the night, think it through, or get a partner to read it out. If one uses it routinely it may well result in better sleep and accessing appropriate dreams for investigation and analysis.

The subject can relax from head to toes, or toes to head. The latter is recommended, because the complex musculature of the head, face, scalp, etc. is more difficult to relax than that of the feet and so is best approached gradually from previous relaxation.

If one has to get up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, then include self-instructions to permit such activity, so that on going back to bed, sleep will rapidly resume. The subconscious is very literal so give the conscious mind a clear, unambiguous, set of instructions.

1. Tell yourself you are going to enter a state of self-hypnosis for a few minutes.

2. Settle down comfortably in bed and in your mind slowly go through the general points of the (previously learned) script - perhaps imagining someone you respect saying the words to you.

'Just allow your eyelids to close...and relax your mind by thinking of something pleasant...perhaps a tranquil scene...that makes you feel good...and as you enjoy that experience...I want you to systematically begin to relax your whole body...starting with your feet and ankles...tense your toes and feet...and then feel them relax...imagine a flow of beautiful warm relaxation gradually spreading upwards...to your calf muscles...tense them...and relax them...allow that wonderful relaxation to flow up further to your thigh muscles...tense those muscles...and relax them...now allow it to flow to your stomach region...become aware of those muscles...and relax them...let that glow of relaxation now spread to your chest muscles...make a few slow and deep breaths...let each breath relax you even more...(pause)...now let that beautiful feeling of peace and relaxation flow to the muscles of your shoulders...feel the tension in those muscles dissolve away...notice the muscles of your arms...and feel the relaxation spread down to your hands and fingers...sense the muscles in your neck...and allow that flowing peacefulness relax those muscles...feel it spread to the muscles of your face...and forehead...up to the top of your scalp...now the whole of your body is relaxed...and each breath that you make...is spreading that warm feeling of relaxation...throughout the whole of your body...(pause)...in a strange way, too...the sound of my voice...is part of that feeling of relaxation...like floating pleasantly in a mist of drowsiness...feeling tranquil...safe...and serene...'

'In a short time...you will count down from 10 to 1...and enter sleep...Before that...I want your subconscious...that special part of you...that is aware of many things...beyond consciousness...to be ready to do two things during sleep...FIRSTLY...to ensure that you sleep well without unnecessary interruptions...and SECONDLY to awaken you automatically at the end of dreams that are significant and reflect important aspects of your life'.

'Now, in a moment you will hear me start to count down...from 10 to 1...and with each descending number...you will sense yourself becoming even more relaxed...sinking deeper and deeper into a pleasant trance-like state of complete mental and physical relaxation...which will gladly lead to a deep, restful, natural sleep...ten...nine...deeper and deeper...eight...deeper...seven...drifting, drifting...six...deeper and deeper...five...even deeper...four...so relaxed now...three...going deeper...two...drifting...one...now totally relaxed...totally relaxed...'

Go through this self-hypnosis routinely before sleep.

Before we can take advantage of any form of self-hypnosis, other criteria need to be met. To state the obvious, it is important to have a comfortable, well supporting bed. Ensure that the room is at a suitable temperature, and the lighting is gentle. To a certain extent, background noise can be overcome by the introduction of 'White Noise' - an electric fan, a loud clock mechanism or a water fountain, to name a few.

As we have seen, probably the most widespread single reason for a restless night is stress. This negative condition often manifests itself as worry - especially when it comes to settling down for the night. It is then that we lay our minds open to its destructive forces.

Modern research has proved that inhaling fragrances from essential oils can soothe an agitated mind and reduce anxiety. Indeed, the olfactory nerves in the nose are connected to the brain's emotional centres - the limbic system. Therefore, the use of aromatherapy to aid the onset of sleep and even enhance dreams, is not to be ignored.

Although Aromatherapy is generally accepted as a safe alternative therapy, there are occasions when certain oils can be damaging. Therefore, before embarking on their use, make sure that you know about each oil's potential disadvantages as well as advantages - there are many good books about Aromatherapy on the market. The authors prefer to use oils that are safe to apply to the pillow-slip. Others may prefer to use them in a relaxing bath. However, to avoid nasty skin rashes and the like, ensure that you follow the instructions in their use, to the letter!

Most essential oils used to reduce stress, induce sleep and enhance dreams, are extracted from herbs, so let us take a look at one or two.

Other oils that are beneficial for reducing stress, promoting relaxation and sleep are: Petitgram, Neroli, Frankincense, Marjoram, Camomile, Clary Sage, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang, Mimosa and Rosewood.

When buying these oils, ensure that they are unadulterated (100% essential oil), as they have sometimes been diluted with perfumes or vegetable oils.

To recap, by dealing with causes of stress, developing regular habits, watching what you eat before retiring, ensuring your own comfort, practising relaxation and meditation techniques, and using essential oils, the nights of tossing and turning should be numbered. This will allow you to enjoy a gentle and serene slumber, not only to wake refreshed in the morning but to bring you sweet dreams, too! Employing these more subtle and mild techniques, the rewards may not be immediate, but a little perseverance should bring worthwhile results.

Now we have ascertained how to get a good night's sleep, we need to understand a little about how the conscious mind, the subconscious and dreams are interrelated - remember, grasping all aspects of the dreaming process is important to assist in accurate interpretation. Therefore, there are methods to programme the subconscious mind, to facilitate easier access to pertinent dreams.

Essentially, there are two natural ways to access more complete dreams suitable for interpretation. FIRSTLY, to ensure that the subject has fewer interruptions in sleep generally, so that the amount of dreaming sleep is effectively increased, (we do not dream all the time in sleep). Meaningful dreams can then have time to occur. We only remember dreams if we wake up - if only briefly - so if one is constantly disturbed in sleep, more fragments of dreams are likely to be recalled, but 'proper' structured dreams may not be present.

However, one can set up the subconscious mind so that it is put on the 'look out' for meaningful dreams and will then automatically awaken the subject at the conclusion of such a dream - enabling the experience to be recalled for the purpose of analysis.

This alerting technique may also be used to detect anomalies in dreams - so causing the onset of 'lucidity' (awareness of dreaming), or it may detect the early signs of a nightmare - causing waking before it becomes severe, or enabling conversion of the nightmare at that point to a lucid dream - nightmare eradication, in other words, (look out for a new link on curing nightmares).

What is the evidence for such subconscious behaviour? The looking out for, or 'expectation effect' is a pretty powerful influence in many psychological situations including sleep and dreaming. The subconscious is constantly on vigil. It can awaken a mother when her baby starts to cry only gently. The mother is virtually anticipating the crying and so is extra alert to that specific sound. Dr Hearne came across the expectation phenomenon frequently in the sleep-laboratory setting. In one experiment - on memory storing in sleep - he would enter the sleep-laboratory bedroom at about 3 am to awaken the subject in order to test his or her memory of learned items. Many subjects stated that they had dreamed that Dr Hearne had already entered the bedroom and talked with them.

Even more interestingly, in an experiment where subjects were receiving pulses to the wrist while dreaming - to make them 'lucid', several reported on waking that they had felt the pulses and become lucid - but in fact no pulses had been administered. The subject expected them and dreamed them!

In hypnotherapy, the phraseology 'As soon as...your subconscious becomes aware of... then...' is extremely effective. It actually brings into play the massive powers of the subconscious on behalf of the Client. Thus, when a subject treated for snoring, say, starts to snore, a little warning signal automatically occurs in the mind so triggering a previously set up behaviour - perhaps, in this case, turning over immediately in bed, thus lightening sleep and averting heavy snoring.

Clearly, then, there are aspects of our subconscious that we can utilise for our own benefit. One method of encouraging the co-operation of the subconscious in these tasks is to utilise the hypnagogic state, which will be explained as this web site develops further.

Finally, many people report that their recall of dreams and degree of insight into recognising their own symbolism increases dramatically if they start to keep a dream diary. Apart from writing down a description of the dream content, you may tick various categories of items present in the dream and so observe how they vary over time - they may correspond with different situations in your life. Good Luck!