Good quality sleep is so important for a healthy, fulfilling life.  Sleep allows your body and mind to rest, repair and be re-energised. 

We are all individuals, and have differing requirements for sleep.  Insomnia is not defined in terms of a certain amount of sleep, but in terms of how you feel as a result of the sleep you get. 

In 2011, the Great British Sleep Survey interviewed over 11,000 adults, and found that over 50% had struggled to get to sleep, with a quarter of those with insomnia having suffered for over 11 years. 

Anyone who regularly has trouble getting to sleep at night, or wakes during the night and finds it difficult to get back to sleep, begins to feel physically and mentally exhausted.  Persistent sleep disturbance can affect your emotional well-being, and can damage your self-esteem, confidence, and relationships.  After a while, frustration and despair can build to such an extent that going to bed for the night can start to feel pointless, or even daunting.

But just 3 or 4 sessions of hypnotherapy could help you to sleep more comfortably!

Causes of sleep problems

·         Sleep difficulties can sometimes result from anxiety or stress about particular situations or issues in life that you have not yet been able to resolve. 

·         Perhaps you feel you have an overactive mind? Sometimes people find that even when they get into bed, their minds are still full of thoughts and ideas that prevent them from quietening down and relaxing into sleep.

·         Sometimes a change in circumstances causes sleep disruption - for example, having a baby, or getting used to new sounds when you have recently moved house.  

·         If your partner’s snoring wakes you, a build-up of frustration and resentment can make it more difficult to fall back to sleep, disturbing your nights and perhaps also having a detrimental effect on your relationship.

·         Shiftwork or jet lag can affect your body-clock or ‘Circadian Rhythms’. This does not make you unable to sleep – but you may struggle to sleep at the times that are available.  In such cases, you may want to consider using a light box to help to reset your body clock.

Whatever the initial cause, once we get into a pattern of worrying about our lack of good-quality sleep, it can start to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.   

Important: seeing your doctor

If you suffer from regular sleep problems, you should always first seek advice from your GP, in case there are any underlying medical issues that can be addressed. 

You may be offered tablets to help you to sleep, and you should discuss the likely effects and any side-effects fully to ensure you make an informed decision about whether or not you wish to take them.  Although many people instinctively don't want to rely on medication for what they see as a basic natural function, sleeping tablets can sometimes bring some welcome relief.

Please note: Even if you feel very strongly that you do not want to take sleeping tablets, you should still consult your GP about persistent sleep difficulties, to rule out any possible medical causes.  We only offer sleep therapy to clients who have taken this step.

So how can hypnotherapy help you to sleep well?

·         Sleep hypnotherapy could offer you an opportunity to identify and address the source of your own specific sleep difficulties, and allow you to re-discover the pleasure of a good night's sleep.

·         Hypnotherapy can help you to identify and resolve any worries that may be the route cause of sleeplessness. By reducing or removing unwanted anxiety, you can find yourself able to relax back into good sleeping patterns.

·         If you have an overactive mind, hypnotherapy can help you to learn how to quieten down your thoughts, allowing you to fall asleep more easily.

·         It can also help you to ‘tune out’ unimportant noises such as snoring or traffic, and other unhelpful distractions, and focus on enjoying inner calm and comfort as you begin to rest.

·         And people who may have struggled to relax their bodies or felt fidgety can benefit from learning deep relaxation techniques within hypnosis, which they can then use to relax in bed allowing them to let go of tension and fall asleep.