Phil,
I am in the same boat as you...actually that is the very thing that brought me to Tribe...I have had these gifts since I was a youngster but no one in my family knew how to deal with these experiences and handled it with the typical "Don't ask/Don't tell" so I was just suppose to ignore these things like they werem't real or like something was wrong with me that no one should know about...shhhh, keep this a secret and don't let anyone know or they may think you are a FREAK...I am tired of feeling like a freak and I want to use my gifts to better the world around me and maybe the even whole world.

If you discover anything worth sharing please let me know!!!

i think it also helps to let go a bit
give yourself permission to daydream and be that inner child again

Perhaps you need to find a way to clear your head before going to bed. Green tea, or some other herb is a good possibility, and you need to avoid - as all healthy eating styles tell us - caffeine and other pollutants before bed, to better relax your mind.
Then you need to speak to yourself. Ask questions and expect answers. The wind will answer what you cannot see, and your questions will better direct what's going on in your mind, and only then will it be made known what you need to hear. Think of loved ones who've passed, and speak actively to them, seeking answers from them on issues only they would address with you. They've clarity no one here can have, because our now deceased loved ones lay witness to what most of us can only dream of, even us precogs. Realize, our intuition is of the heart, which is the bigger brain, and why we can see what others call coincidence, or are afraid to call factual.
I also lay beside my bed a mini-laptop, called an Alpha Smart. I write, and the Writers' Digest, among others, encourages its use for writing by the water, on the beach, etc, without having to worry about lugging to much around with you. The files download onto the computer later, using a USB port. Almost regularly, it was around 2:00-3:00 that I'd awake, well into REM sleep, to use the bathroom, or some other mundane activity, where waking up was the last thing I wanted. Purposefully, I keep the lights off when this happens, to prevent me coming out of REM sleep, which is where creativity and visions are heightened, because connections to a natural state are more engaged. I have a book coming out in a few months which is - completely - a dictation, which was on this laptop after one week of writing during these hours, and awaking the next morning to writings I did not recognize, or even lay claim - fully - to having penned myself, or not consciously. This wasn't precog directly, but such exercise does reveal what you don't experience w/o assistance. Think about the times your senses are most heightened, and plan an activity like this to engage your mind. Remember, since I write, this activity was perfect for me. But for you, it could be something different. My visual artist friend experiences her greatest enthralls and visions when in contact with seeing or feeling a bluebird. Get in touch with your own cues, that enable you to experience more...doing less.