Insomnia is partly a life style disorder. Excess stress, irregular work hours, irregular meal timings, too much of caffeine, nicotine or alcohol; all these contribute to insomnia one way or the other.
The healthy way out of this is obviously doing the exact reverse of the above. Insomnia is preventable in a majority of the cases. One of the first things you must do is examine your life style. As a first step, you need to cut down the intake of caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Replace these with milk or fruits. In fact oriental systems of medicine often recommend some milk to be taken about 30 minutes before sleeping.
The next step to reduce insomnia is to develop regular meal hours. Take 3-4 meals a day and try and keep the hours fixed. This will help your body clock stabilise and also your digestive system will maintain a rhythm.
Also try and develop a fixed time of retiring for the day. One key reason for insomnia is that people go to bed at irregular hours. In case of early some days and late on the other will then disturb the pattern for the next day and often results in sleepless nights that insomnia afflicted people experience. Also have a gap of minimum 30 minutes between your last meal and your sleep time. Getting in a small amount of stretch exercises to relax the muscles about 20-30 minutes before you sleep will also help reduce insomnia.
Once you are in bed sleep on your side or your back. Avoid sleeping on your stomach. Sleeping on your stomach puts pressure on your stomach and may hamper digestion. Insomnia patients should also try and sleep in a room which has enough air circulation and ventilation. Also sleep on a firm bed. While extra soft mattresses appear comfortable initially the firm bed will be more relaxing and will support your spine better.