Hypnotherapy for Insomnia or Sleep Problems
There are many ways you can help yourself overcome insomnia and learn how to sleep fast. Here you will find some tips to help with sleep so you can get a better night sleep.
Hypnotherapy combined with EFT is the most successful way to recondition yourself to overcome all types of insomnia, even chronic insomnia. The most important factor in sleeping well is however you mindset. Here you will find out the difference between a sleep mindset and a insomnia mindset. You can also help yourself by using positive affirmations for sleep.
Insomnia is defined as difficulty in getting enough sleep. This can mean:
- Difficulty getting to sleep (Onset Insomnia)
- Difficulty keeping asleep (Sleep Maintenance Insomnia)
- Disturbed Sleep and early waking (Terminal Insomnia)
Onset Insomnia can be caused by anxiety, fear, worry, obsessive thinking, going to bed when you don't feel sleepy, sleeping in an uncomfortable environment. This is common especially in teenagers and it can be helped by going to bed only when sleepy, using EFT for anxiety and obsessive thinking reduction and Self Hypnosis or Hypnotic tapes to condition yourself to relax.
Sleep Maintenance Insomnia is when you wake up in the middle of the night and you can't get back to sleep. Whereas waking up can be caused by needing the toilet, pain, grief, too much light in your room or a sleep disorder (see below), the difficulty falling back asleep can be caused by exposure to bright light, the emergence of suppressed thoughts due to depression or anxiety or by negative expectations due to past experiences of not being able to get back to sleep.
It can be helped by avoiding bright lights, using EFT to help with obsessive thoughts and focusing on relaxation rather than sleep by using hypnotic techniques.
Terminal Insomnia is when you either wake up several times a night and experience light sleep or when you wake up early and then can't get back to sleep except for perhaps just before you're due to wake up. This can be caused by sleeping too lightly , too much light in your sleeping environment, a sleep disorder (see below) or going to bed too early (very common in older people).It can also be caused by depression because depressed people spend more time in REM sleep which is lighter than normal deep sleep.
It can be helped by taking 20 min naps during the day, avoiding bright light and treating your depression. If however you feel that when you wake up you don't feel tired chances are you don't suffer from insomnia, you just need less sleep than others!
Depending on how long you have had insomnia you could have one of the following three types:
- Transient Insomnia lasts from a few days to a week. It can be caused by worry and anxiety about a future event, stress caused by a past event, a troubling present issue, illness, jet leg, sleeping in unfamiliar places, too much excitement or a disruption in your sleeping patterns such as going to bed too late.
- Short Term Insomnia is the same as transient insomnia except that it can last for more than one week. It is caused by a longer illness, recurring stress about an issue or a problem or grief about losing someone close to you.
- Chronic Insomnia can last for months or even years. It causes all sorts of sleep deprivation effects and it can be caused by an exacerbation of short term insomnia, a long term illness, long term stress anxiety and depression or a continuous disturbance in your sleeping environment.
Treatment of Insomnia and Sleep Disorders with Hypnosis
Sleep disorders are medical problems that can prevent you from sleeping or disturb your sleeping patterns. Some sleep disorders are caused by specific events or situations, others are a reflection of a biological abnormality. In some cases it is possible to grow out of them , other times it is necessary to change your mindset and lifestyle and some can last a lifetime. The most common ones are:
- Sleep Apnea
- Sleepwalking
- Narcolepsy
- Fatal Familial Insomnia
- Sleep terrors
Always consult your doctor for a diagnosis of your specific issue or if you suspect you might suffer from a sleep disorder. Hypnosis is very effective in the treatment of Insomnia because it helps you relax, it can teach you how to reduce anxiety and also it reconditions your mind to find better more beneficial habits to help you get to sleep.
As part of my therapeutic approach I teach my clients self hypnosis as well as give them relaxation tapes and address specific issues that might be related to the cause of your insomnia. The more you listen to hypnotic tapes specifically tailored to you the more the suggestions will become embedded in your subconscious mind and you eventually won't need to listen to them anymore. You can find some pre-recorded downloads all over the net.
Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation that is brought about by the hypnotist and is similar to guided meditation. Once you are in the trance state a variety of techniques can be used to help you associate your bedroom with sleeping as well as breaking any negative associations and habits that could be the cause of your insomnia.
Self hypnosis is also a very good way to help yourself fall asleep without the aid of tapes and you can be trained in using it with only one session. Of course, like a muscle that's used grows strong with practice, the more you use self hypnosis the more effective and easy it becomes.
Help with sleep in Other Ways
There are other things that can help you sleep better. These are
Light Boxes
There are several light boxes on the market which simulate the light you get on a bright summer's day. Using it for fifteen to forty five minutes per day will be especially helpful with seasonal affective disorder and oversleeping by regulating your circadian rhythm.
Binaural Beats
Brainwave entrainment helps your brain move from a state of alertness (Beta waves) to a state of deep sleep (Delta waves) by inducing in it the required brain frequency. Using headphones two different sound waves of different frequencies are introduced in each ear and by listening to these audible tones a new desired frequency is created. The method is based on the scientifically proven fact that the brain naturally synchronises itself to a dominant frequency in order to match itself to it. As a rule of thumb :
- Beta (13 – 40 Hz) – Active, alert and focused
- Alpha (8 -12 Hz) – Relaxed, calm and creative
- Theta (4 – 8 Hz) – drowsy, light sleep and dreams
- Delta (less than 4 Hz) – Deep sleep
If you are looking for a binaural download try The Unexplainable Store
Subliminal Audio
Subliminal Audio sends positive suggestions to your subconscious without you being able to consciously be aware of them. The suggestions bypass your conscious mind to land directly into your subconscious. There are several research papers that show subliminal messages really work . However they should be seen only as a sleep aid rather than a total solution. Unlike hypnotic tapes they do not produce a trance and won't put you to sleep just by listening to them. They are just an extra way to help you get the right mindset that will cause you to sleep healthily and easily. You can find more information and some downloads at Subliminal MP3s.
Foods that help you sleep
Foods that help you sleep are foods that boost serotonin levels. Eat a light meal with a little protein and a little carbohydrate within an hour of bed such as toast with peanut butter, oatmeal, walnuts, yogurt, hummus, warm milk, bananas, turkey, potatoes, almonds, miso, a boiled egg, cereal and cherries.
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Insomnia Effects and Symptoms
Insomnia can affect children, adults, older people and pregnant or breastfeeding women alike. Effects of sleep deprivation can include change of mood, increased irritability, reduced performance, confusion, paranoia and even complete personality changes. Concentration can be impaired as well as creativity and capacity for abstract thinking.
Sleep deprivation can also affect your health. High blood pressure and heart problems are common as well as complications with pregnancy. If you are severely sleep deprived your weight might increase and your immune system will suffer as well. On top of this your working and personal relationships will be affected. Ultimately lack of sleep can even cause death. Luckily it has been proven that once you resume your normal sleeping habits there are no lasting effects from being previously deprived.
The good news is sleep problems can be helped. Insomnia hypnotherapy can help you change your mindset so that you begin to expect to sleep rather than the other way round. In addition to that EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a very effective way to deal with your obsessive negative worrying habits so that you stop sabotaging yourself before you get to sleep and prevent insomnia. Hypnosis is always self hypnosis and as you learn to master it you will learn to use the power of your mind to hypnotise yourself positively to sleep rather than to stay awake.
Some people ask themselves: why use positive affirmations to help me get to sleep? Because they change your mindset and that is the most powerful factor in helping your with insomnia. Hypnotherapy is also a way these affirmations can be implanted in your subconscious under the form of suggestions. Check out some examples but always make sure you change these to fit what suits you.
If you are interested in knowing more about sleep patterns and how to change yours you can read articles about Monophasic, Biphasic, Everyman, Uberman and Dymaxion sleep patterns. Otherwise book an appointment with me to find out more about how to be free of insomnia once and for all.
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