Every living thing needs to rest and to sleep (with the exception of a Bull Frog apparently) It’s a time to recharge the batteries, refuel the tank, detox the brain, turn off busy conscious thinking and dream the night away. But not everyone enjoys sleep and that’s usually because sleep doesn’t always come easily. Insomnia. Why can’t I sleep?
Personally, I love to sleep. I look forward to snuggling down under the duvet every night. It’s fair to say that insomnia and I would make very poor bedfellows indeed. Everyone who knows me knows, that in addition to sleep, there are two other things I enjoy the most, and they are being with my family and cooking for my family. This brings me the greatest joy. I suppose a good mantra for me would be “eat, sleep repeat”.
Cooking for your family and for people you love, is a form of altruism, which in itself, makes you feel happy and connected. Cooking, eating and feeding your tribe is necessary for their survival, it’s nurturing, it’s sustenance, and it’s helping keep your tribe alive.
And so whenever (and if ever) I am graced with the television control, I immediately flick to a cooking channel in order to gleam ideas and inspiration for my next culinary creation. From Jamie Oliver to Gino D’Acampo, Ainsley Harriott to Gordon Ramsey, Mary Berry to Ken Hom I follow them all, however, my all-time favourite has to be the utterly fabulous Nigella Lawson, because well… she is utterly fabulous. That, coupled with the fact that I have on the odd occasion, been referred to as the “Nigella of Hypnotherapy” (My only claim to fame) And so to the subject matter of sleep, and the lack of it.
One evening, as I sat with my notepad to catch up on an episode of “At My Table”, Nigella was perched elegantly on the foot of her stairs and mentioned she suffers with insomnia. I have to say, it certainly hasn’t taken its toll on her looks or her enchanting demeanour, that aside, disturbed sleep, sleep deprivation and lack of sleep in general, can have a detrimental effect on your health, physically, emotionally and psychologically. Perhaps why sleep deprivation is used as an interrogation technique and a form of torture!
There are of course, a variety of reasons for sleep disturbance. New baby, new puppy, noisy neighbours, stress, worry, anxiety, a snoring partner, eating too late, drinking too much and then there are medical causes such as; sleep apnoea, restless leg syndrome, hormone imbalance, drugs (prescription or otherwise) and chronic illnesses such as diabetes, reflux, asthma for example.
It’s important to realise that when we go to sleep, we don’t just drop off into a deep state and stay that way until morning. We sleep in cycles. 5 to be precise, and we drift in and out of these cycles 4-6 times a night, each cycle lasting for approximately 90 minutes.
During the night, we move around, we dream, our brain stores new information and gets rid of toxic waste. Nerve cells communicate and reorganise, we repair cells, replenish energy reserves, and release molecules like hormones and proteins. There’s plenty going on and so maybe not so strange then, that some people notice their lighter waves of sleep and wake up, while others pay no attention and simply let sleep wash over them until morning.
So what to do about problems sleeping?
There are over-the-counter remedies that promise a solid nights slumber, such as Nytol (basically antihistamine) there are some lovely sleep teas that contain herbs like valerian root, lavender or chamomile, you can buy patches to stick on your feet that release essential oils, light aromatherapy candles, have a relaxing massage or bathe in Epsom Salts.
My grandmother swore by a glass of warm milk to aid a good night’s sleep, while there are trace amounts of the chemical tryptophan in warm milk, which can actually help induce sleepiness, it’s probably not enough to cure a serious case of insomnia.
You could try counting sheep. To be fair, it’s not really about the sheep. By counting sheep, (or anything else for that matter) you are using visualisation and mental imagery to help you fall asleep. This practice can help distract you from thinking about the stressful or anxious thoughts that might be keeping you up at night.
Let’s touch on Melatonin. Melatonin is our sleep hormone, it winds the body down to a sleep-ready state and plays an important role in regulating our body clock. Without melatonin, it would be impossible to achieve relaxed, restful sleep and so the body wouldn’t be able to go through the restorative processes that typically takes place during sleep.
Melatonin is the hormone of darkness, and you can help boost it by doing simple things like making sure your turn off all the lights, use black-out blinds or even an eye mask in bed. The change from light to dark sends a message from the eyes to the brain telling it to produce more of the good stuff.
Melatonin supplements are a prescription only medication here in the UK, in some other countries, like the USA, you can buy synthetically made melatonin over the counter either in tablet form or in drops. Some scientists believe the benefit of melatonin taken via a supplement, is most likely due to a placebo effect, but if it works for you, then why not!
There are other drugs available on prescription, like sedatives, tranquilisers, anti-depressants and depressants, however the side effects of these drugs (along with the potential for addiction/dependency) often outweigh the benefits.
And so over to something completely natural and organic, with all the benefits and none of the side effects… Clinical Hypnotherapy.
The goal of clinical hypnotherapy is not to make you fall asleep, rather its aim is to change negative thoughts or habits related to sleep so that you regain and indeed, re-program your body’s natural ability to sleep.
If you would like to schedule an appointment or just learn a bit more about clinical hypnotherapy and how it can help restore your body’s natural ability to sleep well every night, get in touch today
Health Wealth & Hypnosis – The Way To A Beautiful Life is available on Amazon and at all good bookstores. GEt your copy today:
