There are physical causes for insomnia which require medical attention. In general however, when we examine our specific sleep patterns, we can be sure that most of our inability to get enough restful sleep is due to external conditions to which we are responding with increasing anxiety and stress. This raises the adrenaline level in our bodies which causes us to remain “on the alert” and therefore unable to relax enough to be able to induce sleep. Our minds are powerful though, and since the body responds to the mind, we can “retrain” ourselves to decompress and gift ourselves the fitful rest we need in order to function at greater capacity.