Insomnia and Sleep Disorders
Do you have difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep?
Do you wake up too early feeling unrefreshed?
You're not alone. It has been estimated that approximately 30% of the adult population complains of insomnia or other sleep disorders at any one time.
There are three distinct types of insomnia:
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Transient insomnia
Insomnia which only lasts a short time, usually as a response to stress, jet lag, or bereavement.
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Secondary insomnia
Insomnia that is secondary to another issue, e.g. depression, pain, drug abuse, anxiety disorders, etc.
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Primary insomnia
Insomnia of unknown causes.
Insomnia can be experienced in one of three ways:
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Initial sleep difficulties
You find it difficult to get to sleep when you first go to bed.
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Intermediate sleep difficulties
You can get to sleep easily, but you wake up during the night and find it difficult to get back to sleep.
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Early morning awakening
You wake up early in the morning and can't get back to sleep.
You might often wake up with pessimistic thoughts.
Other sleep disorders can include:
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Confusional arousals
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Restless leg syndrome
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Sleepwalking
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Teeth grinding (sleep bruxism)
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Sleep paralysis
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Night terrors
Sleep disorders are now considered to be one of the most common health complaints. They can seriously affect the physical, mental and emotional functioning of many people.
N.B. Sleep disorders and insomnia could be a result of a medical condition so it is important to discuss your issue with a medical professional to rule out any underlying physical cause.
“After having sleeping problems and anxiety at night for years, a couple of sessions with Daniel has helped me no end and I’m now no longer anxious at night time and sleeping better than I have ever been. Thank you!” Charlotte.
HYPNOTHERAPY FOR INSOMNIA & SLEEP DISORDERS
Hypnotherapy focuses on understanding and changing patterns of behaviour. Though the cause of the problem will vary for each individual, there are many events or situations in life that may increase the risk of developing a sleep disorder.
If you have suffered a trauma or experience current stress or anxiety, which may be contributing to your sleeping problems, then these will be focused on in your sessions. There is no one size fits all treatment – your individual circumstances have led to your sleeping difficulties so these issues will be discussed and targeted during the hypnotic part of the session.
You may be asking - So how do we really know hypnosis can help with Insomnia? Well, a Clinical Review of hypnosis published in the British Medical Journal looked at the existing research and concluded that hypnosis was proven to be effective for treating insomnia (1). Specific research has show that hypnosis is an effective aid for getting to sleep sooner and staying asleep (2) for sleepwalking and night terrors in children (3) and for parasomnia, a disorder characterized by abnormal or unusual behavior of the nervous system during sleep (4).
Many people have found that simply by learning how to relax deeply within hypnosis, they are then able to relax much easier at night in bed.
When appropriate, sessions will be recorded for you to play at home to help you de-stress and build upon the skills that you develop during the sessions. This will help you get that valuable restorative sleep that your body and mind needs.
If you’d like to learn how hypnotherapy can help you sleep deeper and feel rested then please do get in touch. Call me on 07472 134824.
Reference:
Vickers and Zollman, Hypnosis and Relaxation Therapies, BMJ 1999; 319: 1346-1349
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/01410768790720100
3. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00029157.1992.10402853
