Insomnia can be the bane of your life. With many of us turning to gentler, natural remedies for our problems, finding a natural remedy for insomnia has become a 'holy grail' in natural treatment.

What is insomnia?

Insomnia refers to being unable to sleep and remaining asleep, premature waking. Symptoms of insomnia include trouble getting to sleep, wakefulness during the night/difficulty returning to sleep and early waking. Insomnia sufferers find they are tired on waking.

Primary insomnia relates to those who do not have any underlying health problems. Secondary insomnia applies to those who suffer from conditions such as Asthma and Depression. Alcohol issues or taking certain medications fall into this category.

What causes insomnia?

Acute insomnia (usually lasting no more than a few weeks) can be caused by life stress. Other causes may include illness, medication, changes in sleep patterns and extremes of heat or cold that affect sleep.

Chronic insomnia (loss of sleep for at least 3 nights per week over a period of a month or more) covers those with illness, pain and stress. The difference is in the severity of the underlying symptoms.

Natural treatments

Relaxation - The first thing is to relax in bed. Getting yourself into a sleepy mindset only to get up, feed the cat, lock up, brush your teeth and turn out the lights will fail every time. Do all of those things before you settle into bed.

Play music. Find a late night classical music station and let it play at a low volume. Alternatively, look through your cds and find those tracks that you always enjoy listening to and have those playing.

Lie still and let your mind wander. Allowing thoughts to come and go at will. Don't react to them; just let them roll across your mind and away. As time goes by you will find it easier and easier to let everything go but be patient.

Eventually you will feel your body relaxing, that heavy feeling that occurs on the verge of sleep and the important point here is to keep doing what you are doing. Remain calm and relaxed and the chances are that the next thing you know it will be morning. If you should wake in the night, repeat the process until sleep comes.

Of course, relaxation will not help everyone. Avoiding caffeine related products, not eating a heavy meal after 8pm and ensuring that your room is well ventilated and free from distraction such as televisions and lumpy mattresses can all help.

Deep breathing, slow and regular, can help induce a relaxed and

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