How hypnosis can support narcolepsy treatment

Narcolepsy treatment mainly consists of certain medications that help you sleep at set times and be awake at set times. This is because narcolepsy is a condition in which you can suffer from sleep attacks. This means that you can fall asleep at random times during the day when you are not expecting to at all. This can cause problems at work and in traffic. Super annoying!

Want to know how hypnosis can support narcolepsy treatment? Then read on.

A sleep attack in narcolepsy can occur spontaneously, but it can also be triggered by certain events. The strange thing about such a sleep attack is that you immediately fall into Rem sleep. This is the sleep in which you really rest. You then start dreaming and experience muscle paralysis which explains some of the symptoms of narcolepsy. Most people reach this stage of sleep only after 90 minutes of sleep.

So with narcolepsy, you reach this stage of sleep directly.

Narcolepsy often develops between the ages of ¹⁵ and ²⁵. It is a neurological disorder, but researchers do not yet know exactly what causes it. At least the genes responsible for the chemicals, particularly hypocretin, you need for sleep are not doing what they are supposed to. In addition, researchers also think other factors play a role in causing this condition.

Symptoms of narcolepsy

• Being very sleepy during the day.
• Cataplexy (slackening of muscles)
• Hallucinations (dreams)
• Sleep paralysis

Treatment of narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is treated with stimulants, such as Ritalin, which in this case acts like amphetamine. In fact, for people who do not have ADHD , these medications actually provide a boost of energy.

In some cases, people also receive antidepressants.

In addition to medication, people with narcolepsy are also advised to make lifestyle changes. For example, by not smoking and not drinking alcohol . Heavy meals are also discouraged.

In addition, people are often given a schedule for their waking and sleeping patterns, which includes 10-15 minute naps.

A schedule for meals and exercise is also often given to maximize the chances of having a "normal" day.

Hypnosis can help reduce the symptoms of narcolepsy especially in the steps without medication. You cannot use it to replace medication.

Reduce social complaints and anxiety with hypnosis

The complaint of daytime sleepiness and having annoying hallucinations is something that can be treated with hypnosis. In particular, visualizations of a day when you actually have a lot of energy and do not suffer much from sleep attacks or muscle weakness can help reduce these symptoms.

A study of hypnotherapy on two boys aged 15 and 17 with narcolepsy found that this form of hypnotherapy helped them stay more awake during the day. The boys were given 1 hour of hypnotherapy every other day. This helped for at least 3 months and a year after the therapy still had sufficient effect.

Triggers of a sleep attack

A sleep attack can just happen, but it can also be triggered by certain events. Hypnosis can help identify the triggers of a sleep attack.

Identifying a trigger for a sleep attack can be done, for example, through regression therapy. During such a regression, you can go back to the moment when you first experienced a sleep attack.

At this time, something may have happened, which then also triggers a sleep attack every time. By finding this out, you can also take steps to eliminate the trigger.

Eliminating the trigger

For example, a trigger can be something that causes you to experience a certain emotion. An emotion is your reaction to a specific event. That reaction, in turn, is caused by the beliefs you hold.

For example, do you often get a sleep attack when sudden changes occur? If so, this may be because you are someone who likes to know what to expect.

You are set up for a certain event, like you are going to the movies, then something happens that makes it impossible for you to get to the movie in time so you go play pool with your friends. Before you know it, you fall over and are in dreamland.

This may be caused by stress stemming from the belief that you must somehow know what is going to happen and live your life according to a schedule.

By finding out where that schedule urge, or where the belief that creates the trigger, comes from, you can gain new beliefs that in turn weaken those beliefs.

This can be done, for example, by adding new beliefs.

For example, adding new beliefs is done through hypnotic suggestions, such as:

"Life is not predictable."

"Life is how you respond to situations."

"When something doesn't go the way you want it to go see it as a plot twist in your life story."

These are just examples of hypnotic suggestions. Depending on your triggers and beliefs associated with them, a hypnotherapist may give you other suggestions.

You can also visualize how to deal with the trigger so that you suffer less or no sleep attacks. You visualize the trigger and how to respond to it. In this visualization you include images, sounds, smells and feelings. The emotions you experience are also depicted for you in the visualization. A hypnotherapist then gives you a guided visualization. This is because if you can imagine something, it is a lot more likely to happen. The guided visualization helps you with this imagination.

In visualization, you actually visualize the exact opposite of what normally happens.

Supporting good sleep hygiene

Good sleep hygiene is important for people with insomnia and those with narcolepsy. Good sleep hygiene involves adhering to the following rules.

• Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, but do so in the afternoon and stop here at least 3 hours before bedtime.
• Do not drink coffee or other energy drinks after 2 hours.
• Stop watching screens 2 hours beforehand, read a book or magazine instead.
• Don't eat an oversized fatty meal before bed.

If you have trouble following good sleep hygiene, hypnosis can help you do just that. For example, hypnosis helps improve your exercise motivation so that you pick a time daily when you at least take a walk.

Do you secretly have a coffee addiction? If so, hypnosis can help you become less dependent on coffee and switch to tea or water instead.

Hypnosis can also help you eat healthier. Eating fatty foods is tasty, and definitely something you should do every now and then, but eating healthy is simply better for your sleep and your health. Do you find it really hard to eat vegetables, though? Then hypnotherapy can help you.

Ignoring screens is something we find increasingly difficult in today’s society. Whereas before we only had to ignore the television, we now also have to resist the temptation of the internet and our smartphones . Do you find it hard to listen to music or read a book before bedtime?

Then hypnosis can help you resist the temptation of screens.

In addition, a projector can also help, as you are looking at the reflection of light instead of a lamp. However, this is not a guarantee of success.

Supporting sticking to the schedule

On the one hand, you can have schedules as a trigger for sleep attacks, but again it is important to stick to a schedule in terms of diet and naps.

To stick to such a schedule, it is important to communicate this schedule, such as to your colleagues or friends, so that they can take your schedule into account. You may find this difficult due to beliefs that your condition should not interfere with you having a normal life, but you will find that your friends and colleagues are more likely to be glad you tell them than if you don't. Especially if this can prevent sleep attacks.

If you find it difficult to communicate this, hypnosis can help you with your self-confidence and trust in your peers to still be able to do so without feeling like you are making a fool of yourself or without feeling like a failure because you have to stick to a schedule.

Would you like to learn more about hypnosis—either for yourself or to help others? Then come to a workshop and check out the training programs offered by the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands.

Sources:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1984006314000248

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/narcolepsy

http://www.sleep-journal.com/article/S1389-9457(09)00301-3/abstract