Insomnia is defined as difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for long enough to feel refreshed the next morning. Most of us will have had experience of that feeling of having to get through the day with a fuzzy head and tired eyes after a night thinking about the next day’s activities. Maybe you succumbed to the temptation to have a coffee after dinner or you had a long lie the previous morning, disrupting your sleep patterns and leading to this torturous wakefulness. Who hasn’t experienced lying awake in the early hours of the morning counting the hours that remain before the dreaded alarm cock springs into life?
We all know that we need plenty of good quality sleep both for our physical and our mental health. Sleep helps us to learn better, to be more creative and to become better at problem solving. These abilities can abe hindered after periods of difficulty sleeping and, over time, our relationships and family life can be affected. Recent research has pointed to links between poor health and poor quality sleep and recent studies suggest that those who fail to get enough sleep are more likely to become obese.
In the longer term, sleeplessness can increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. In addition to these physical symptoms, not getting enough sleep can also lead to anxiety and can make it difficult to concentrate. After prolonged periods of sleeplessness, simple everyday tasks like driving can become more difficult as concentration is affected by tiredness.
When we are asleep, our bodies repair themselves and our brains make sense of all the information from the day before.
Blood vessels heal and regenerate overnight allowing the brain to remember vital information and enhance problem -solving skills. All of these amazing things happen while we sleep.
There are some effective behavioural techniques and lifestyle tweaks that can be effective in tackling sleeplessness.
- Write your to do list before going into the bedroom – let your mind switch off
- Avoid eating a large meal at night – your body has to process this and this often leads to wakefulness
- Try not to work late into the evening – your mind needs time to switch off and prepare for sleep
- Develop regular habits and routines in terms of bed time
- Enjoy a relaxing soak in the bath
- Try some deep breathing techniques
Above all;
- Avoid watching stimulating television programmes containing high speed car chases from the comfort of your bed – in fact, why not banish televisions and ipads from the bedroom altogether?
Hypnotherapy For Sleeplessness
Sleep problems sometimes have an obvious cause but sometimes they don’t. Hypnotherapy can be useful.
Using various techniques, a hypnotherapist can tap into your subconscious mind to uncover the root cause of your inability to sleep. Once the cause is established, the treatment can begin.
Hypnotherapy will also help you to relax, this can be by supporting you to deal with underlying issues that are causing stress and anxiety or by teaching relaxation techniques.
You will also learn simple techniques for self hypnosis allowing you to take the tools from the treatment room into your everyday life.
To find out more about how hypnotherapy can help you deal with sleeplessness
Call Francine on 07772 401634
Don’t agonise….orrganise