SLEEP-WHY WE NEED IT

We all love a good night’s sleep don’t we, but for some of us that’s easier said than done.

I see people in my clinic who often tell me how frustrated they are because either, they can’t get to sleep or they can’t stay asleep, sometimes even both. Most people would call this Insomnia.

There are lots of sleep disorders, and your first port of call should always be your GP, just to rule out any clinical diagnosis. However, often it is more psychological than physical, and that’s where I come in. As a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, I help many people address the key issues leading to poor sleep.

I think we can generally accept that day to day stresses and worries can lead to difficulty sleeping. However, Insomnia occurs when when we consistently allow negative thoughts to turn over and over in our minds.

Often at night, when we put our heads on the pillow, whoosh in comes all the worries of the day, we think about everything that’s wrong in our lives, we relive traumatic events, or we negatively forecast what might go wrong in the future. Insomnia can even persist after a stressful event has been resolved, this is because the brain has now associated going to bed with being unable to sleep, and this in turn results in anxiety about sleeping.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy helps change negative habits and programmes embedded in our primitive minds, this technique helps calm our central nervous system, reducing emotional stress, and increasing our resilience.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy replicates Rapid Eye Movement (REM), this is where we dream at night and dreaming is our body natural way of processing information from the day’s events turning emotional memories into narrative memories, a memory we have control over.

One of the most powerful phenomena when undertaking Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is how clients sleep patterns become more settled, this is supported by an audio recording I ask clients to listen to each night when they go to bed. The audio helps prevent rumination, and instead, aids seamless sleep.  

Sleep Hygiene is crucial to starting the process of a better night’s sleep, be consistent, go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning, including on the weekends, make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing, and at a comfortable temperature and remove electronic devices from the bedroom, such as TVs, computers, and smart phones. The central nervous system needs to ramp down towards sleep.

So, if you get your sleep routines sorted, and achieve your 8-hours optimal sleep, what benefits will it bring?

Sleep, Memory, and Learning: Even missing a night of sleep can affect your ability think and plan. We need proper rest to lock in new information and commit it to memory. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy supports learning and memory by reducing anxiety overall.

Immune System: Losing sleep affects your body’s ability to fight illness. So poor sleep means it’s more likely you will get a cold or flu, and other viruses. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help by sorting your sleep which improves your immune system.

A healthy heart: When we sleep too little (less than five hours a night) or too much (more than 9 hours per night) our heart is affected. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can support you to change your lifestyle so you can be as healthy as you can be.

Coping with Serious Illness: Serious illnesses can disrupt sleep patterns. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help manage anxieties and fears, as well as reducing the experience of pain and helping the recovery process or improving the quality of life if the diagnosis is terminal.

Weight Loss and Increased Fitness: Lack of sleep can cause weight gain. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is often used to support weight loss, effortlessly and naturally. Over time, new healthier habits are embedded resulting in healthy weight loss and increased fitness.

Well, there you have it. Sleep is good for you. Who knew?