Dear Ivan,

This is why we learn our children to pray before going to bed to Relax and feel safe before sleeping.

Check out: Ong et al. A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness mediation for insomnia . Sleep 2014, Sep 1;37(9), 1553-1563

Thank you Béatrice. Certainly pre-bedtime praying should promote relax and improve sleep quality.

However, I believe many clients undergoing psychotherapy do not come to consultation for insomia or sleep disturbances, and psychotherapists are not always inquisitive enough about sleep habits. This is the target situation which I attempt to address in my question. 

However, most people have some kind of sleeping "problems"; they wake up too early, they experience their "woolf-hour" about 4 a.m., they sleep too much or do not benefit from their sleep because of self-medication with alcohol (at least in our country)

Laughter would benefit sleeping wether in therapy or not. In psychoanalysis people get more interested in their dreams which promote dream production. Depending on the type of psychotherapy the dreams take different forms and shapes.

I am more inclined to think of a clinical trial design involving a sufficiently high number of subjects sharing the same diagnosis and being subjected to the same type of psychotherapy. Some of them would receive an additional intervention specifically targetted to improve sleep-quality.  Ideally, subjects should be clean of pharmachotherapy.

If we answer this question based on neurophysiology the answer is yes. Based on the article below the REM and SW sleep have fundamental link to membrane potential, During slow wave sleep the slow breathing with associated cardiorespiratory synchronization increases resting membrane potential in all tissues including peripheral autonomic and central nervous system. The same is true  in mind body response as explained in another recently published  article "how body affect mind : role of cardiorespiratory sychronization.  Therefore a pre sleep routine such as certain relaxation techniques will be helpful in induction and quality of sleep.

Role of cardiorespiratory synchronization and sleep physiology: effects on membrane potential in the restorative functions of sleep

Ravinder Jerath - Publications. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ravinder_Jerath2/contributions [accessed Mar 22, 2015].

Dear Dr Jerath:

Thanks very much for your interesting contribution. Copuld you possibly abound a little on your phrase "certain relaxation techniques" ?

Best regards

The relaxation technique that I have experience is "pranayama" . Here one would sit in a quiet place ,close eyes and concentrate on slow deep breathing at the rate of 6 per minute. In our original article  in 2006 , it is further explained how this  mechanism leads to modulation of sympathetic nervous system dominant to parasympathetic dominant . 

Dear Dr Jerath:

Thanks for adding this detail. I already have your paper with me to read in depth. Just in case, what is the average length ot time this breathing routine is usually prescribed for?

Dear Béatrice:

When you say "most people have sleeping problems" do you refer to most people seeking psychotherapy? From personal experience as well as from surveying among friends I have this impression of psychiatrists not being particularly inquisitive about sleeping habits. Do you think propabilities are high that the psychiatrist will pick this up even without asking ?  Also very seldom have I learned about psychiatrists prescribing indications specifically seeking for pre-bedtime relaxation. To what extent do you share this last view ? Very many thanks

I recommend  20 to 30 minutes. 

 Some dream theories we teach in psychology:

Psychoanalytic Theory of Dreams

Consistent with the psychoanalytic perspective, Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams suggested that dreams were a representation of unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic view of personality, people are driven by aggressive and sexual instincts that are repressed from conscious awareness. While these thoughts are not consciously expressed, Freud suggested that they find their way into our awareness via dreams.

In his famous book The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud wrote that dreams are "...disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes." He also described two different components of dreams: manifest content and latent content. Manifest content is made up of the actual images, thoughts and content contained within the dream, while the latent content represents the hidden psychological meaning of the dream.

Freud’s theory contributed to the popularity of dream interpretation, which remains popular today. However, research has failed to demonstrate that the manifest content disguises the real psychological significance of a dream.

Activation- Synthesis Model of Dreaming

The activation-synthesis model of dreaming was first proposed by J. Allan Hobson and Robert McClarley in 1977. According to this theory, circuits in the brain become activated during REM sleep, which causes areas of the limbic system involved in emotions, sensations and memories, including the amygdala and hippocampus, to become active. The brain synthesizes and interprets this internal activity and attempts to find meaning in these signals, which results in dreaming. This model suggests that dreams are a subjective interpretation of signals generated by the brain during sleep.

While this theory suggests that dreams are the result of internally generated signals, Hobson does not believe that dreams are meaningless. Instead, he suggests that dreaming is "…our most creative conscious state, one in which the chaotic, spontaneous recombination of cognitive elements produces novel configurations of information: new ideas. While many or even most of these ideas may be nonsensical, if even a few of its fanciful products are truly useful, our dream time will not have been wasted."

Information-Processing Theories

One of the major theories to explain why we sleep is that sleep allows us to consolidate and process all of the information that we have collected during the previous day. Some dream experts suggest that dreaming is simply a by-product or even an active part of this information-processing. As we deal with the multitude of information and memories from the daytime, our sleeping minds create images, impressions, and narratives to manage all of the activity going on inside our heads as we slumber.

Other Theories of Dreams

Many other theories have been suggested to account for the occurrence and meaning of dreams. The following are just of few of the proposed ideas:

One theory suggests that dreams are the result of our brains trying to interpret external stimuli during sleep. For example, the sound of the radio may be incorporated into the content of a dream

Another theory uses a computer metaphor to account for dreams. According to this theory, dreams serve to 'clean up' clutter from the mind, much like clean-up operations in a computer, refreshing the mind to prepare for the next day.

Yet another model proposes that dreams function as a form of psychotherapy. In this theory, the dreamer is able to make connections between different thoughts and emotions in a safe environment .

A contemporary model of dreaming combines some elements of various theories. The activation of the brain creates loose connections between thoughts and ideas, which are then guided by the emotions of the dreamer .http://psychology.about.com/od/statesofconsciousness/p/dream-theories.htm

Then:

In posttraumatic stresssyndrom both simple and complex (PISD or c-PTSD)nightmares are frequent and painful. Often the trauma is repeated. Traumatized from Tsunami you may try to save someone or to escape or you feel big waves and the like.     Last night -when I was worried not to have money for the dentist-- all my teeth from my left side fell out. It was painful all kinds of emotional states went through my mind---and I was happy to wake up with all my teeth. Reality-example:)

There is evidence available about impact of pre-sleep relaxation on the quality of sleep. You could refer to papers published by Patra and Telles

http://www.medscimonit.com/download/index/idArt/869714

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10484-009-9114-1