Using Hypnotherapy to Sleep Better

By Steve Carey, Clinical Hypnotherapist

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​How's Your Sleep? 
Our hypnotherapists see many people with insomnia to help them change their habits, improve their sleep, and to begin to receive some much-needed shut-eye. People needing help with their sleep come in all shapes, sizes, ages, genders, life-stages and with myriad presenting issues.
Common scenarios:  

• You're a mum who hasn't got back into a good sleep routine even though your kids aren't waking up at night;
• You're finding it difficult to get to sleep because your thoughts are racing with your to-do list;
• You get to sleep OK, but wake up during the night and find it hard to get back;
• ​You just don't seem to get enough sleep and wake up feeling tired and lacking energys;
• You are stressed about work and tightly wound
• You feel enormously energized right at bed-time (how annoying!).

Whatever your story, sleeping difficulties can really impact your life. "Sleep hygiene" is the term to describe the collective patterns of behaviour and habits we can implement to improve sleep.  "Sleep hygiene" is designed to help you re-establish a good sleep pattern. Here's a summary:
 
​What is Sleep Hygiene? 

• Avoid long naps during the day, and particularly in front of the TV during the evening;
• Avoid light late on in the evening, and in particular stay away from screens (TV, phone, iPad) for a couple of hours before bedtime;
• Have a good, regular bedtime habit;
• Don't lie in at the weekend in an attempt to 'catch up on your sleep;
• If you're something of a worrier, it's worth early in the evening making a note of the things you want to work on the following day. Knowing that you have things in hand can be helpful;
• Some people find it helpful to visualise putting away their concerns into a drawer or a box - not one that's in the bedroom!
• Exercise is great for sleep;
• Alcohol is TERRIBLE for sleep. You may well conk out quick, but equally you may find you wake up again two or four hours later. Until you get your sleep functioning well again, do what you can to limit your booze;
• Keeping your bedroom on the cooler side seems to help - say, 16-20 degrees;
• Make sure your bedroom is properly dark;
• One expert, Hugh Selsick, swears by getting up at the same time every morning, even if you haven't had a good night's sleep. That way, you're likely to be good and tired when it's bed time;
• If you're getting up in the night needing a wee, limit your liquids before bed time;
• If you do wake up and can't get back to sleep again within, say, 15 minutes, then get up, go to another room and do something quiet, like reading (but not on a screen!), until you feel tired again. The idea is to build a strong association in your mind between bed and sleep - so lying awake staring at the ceiling isn't what you need;
• ​Finally, some clients have told me they've responded well to the suggestion that if you can't sleep, then instead of trying to get to sleep, try staying awake! Not quite sure why this one works, but as I say some have reported good results.

 
These would be the sorts of things I'd suggest to you if you came to see me with insomnia and using hypnotherapy to boost these behavioural changes, help with relaxation and changing the mindset, sleep conditions can be resolved with a little practice and implementation. 

Written by Steve Carey, Clinical Hypnotherapist