Stress seems to be a common side affect of a fast paced, modern lifestyle. Indeed many people claim stress as the cause of many illnesses and problems that lead to time off work. There are various physical symptoms of stress that can affect our lives, one of these is the inability to have a good night's sleep.

This is commonly known as insomnia and follows a predictable pattern. A person will find it difficult to fall asleep, they will never sleep deeply and will wake throughout the night or they will waken earlier than is needed and never get a restful sleep. Once awake they will ruminate on the problems of their day which can lead to feelings of depression and ultimately tiredness. Apart form needing sleep to rejuvenate and refresh the body each day, it is effectively a reset button for all our worries and concerns during the day. Without sleep these problems compound on each other increasing the level on stress on the person.

Of course not everybody suffers from insomnia and it is normal to occasionally wake in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or get a glass of water. Most people in this situation would promptly fall back to a deep, restful sleep soon after their head hits the pillow. They will not be burdened by the conversations and events of the day just passed and immediately pass into a dream state.

For anyone that has suffered from insomnia, it is obvious that a solution has to be found to the inability to sleep or it will lead to problems in daily life. There seems to be two ways to go about this.

The first is to tackle the issues that are causing the stress. This is the best solution but is also the most difficult. In some cases the thing that is causing the stress is impossible to prevent. It may be a stressful job but you need the income to support your family. Ultimately if something is causing you chronic stress you need to find a solution to deal with this problem. This may mean finding a new job or working less hours and starting a part time business to gain income. Whatever the solution, it will probably not be a quick fix so other solutions to insomnia have to be found in the short term.

These solutions revolve around helping you switch off from the days events and preparing you for sleep. Common ways to do this are with music and audio CD's. The CD's may have calming or ambient music that helps you to relax. It may also have subliminal audio that encourages you to feel relaxed or sleepy.

Another way to switch off the thoughts that can keep you from a restful sleep is to exercise. Ideally you want to do this on a daily basis or once every few days. Exercise gives you body an outlet for all the stress hormones that may be circulating in your body. They also help to take the focus off all the worrying thoughts that you may have. They may naturally tire you out which will promote a proper sleep.

Another idea that many people do to relax themselves and switch off from the days events is to read a book before they go to sleep. Ideally a fiction book as this will take you into another world away from your problems. One chapter a night could be highly effective.

For more tips on dealing with stress, visit http://www.stressmanagementreview.com . The site has many articles on stress, depression and anxiety, including Anxiety and panic disorder symptoms . Adrian writes on issues related to stress including work related stress and herbal remedies for stress and anxiety.