Is It a Dream, Nightmare or Just a Cool New Way to Sleep?

Research done over the years has sometimes stated that dreams are just the minds' way of helping us stay asleep.  Our subconscious mind tells us a story so we can be asleep and entertained at the same time.  A psychiatrist friend of mine ( ok, he was really my therapist!) once told me that he thought dreams and nightmares were just the minds' way of letting off steam.  You know, you have a bad day at work, so that night you dream of telling your boss he is a big dumbo and should be sweeping floors rather than telling other people what to do! ( Not that there is anything wrong with sweeping floors- I have swept quite a few floors in my time!)  This little dream turns into a nightmare, however, when the boss fires you and the next scene in the dream/nightmare finds you picking up aluminum cans for profit in the local corn fields. 


Anyway, there are an abundance of natural sleep aids - finding the right one for you could possibly be found as close as your sleeping pillow.