Mastering sleep problems with hypnosis

Problems falling asleep. Problems sleeping through. Problems with dreaming or nightmares. Grinding teeth, sleepwalking, bedwetting, eating while sleeping, confusion while waking up. Sleep problems are much more varied than you might initially think. It is already known that meditation can help you sleep better, let's deepen that with hypnosis and see what that can do to sleep problems.

In this article, I discuss hypnotherapy and its effect on sleep problems.

Trouble falling asleep

Lying awake for long periods of time worrying or, conversely, plotting all kinds of plans. This is a symptom suffered by many people with chronic insomnia.

In addition, you can respond to a variety of factors in your environment, such as that one light on an appliance or a bird that won't stop whistling. This is called "hyperarausal" by scientists. Insomnia is another one of the symptoms of hyperarausal. Hyperarausal can be the result of a traumatic stressful moment, but you can also be genetically predisposed to it.

This makes it harder for you to relax before falling asleep. Then if you haven't slept for a while after a stressful moment, it can be even more difficult.

In the process, you can also assume that you won't fall asleep. This makes you nervous, and that nervousness then causes you not to be able to fall asleep. It's kind of a weird vicious cycle.

The sleep patterns of people who have difficulty falling asleep are often characterized with overactivity of the brain and developed habits that are incompatible with sleep. Added to this are unconscious fears that prevent you from falling asleep properly or that interrupt your sleep. If you find this recognizable, hypnotherapy can certainly help you.

This is why it is important to treat the underlying cause in addition to insomnia to have a real effect on the patient's sleep rhythm.

Acute and chronic insomnia patients usually respond well to hypnotherapy and instructions for good sleep hygiene. Research shows that 50% of people with insomnia who undergo hypnotherapy 16 months later still have improved sleep patterns, after only two hypnosis sessions.

In addition, self-hypnosis can be used for falling asleep.

This may seem paradoxical, but self-hypnosis can make nervousness about falling asleep go away, making it easier to fall asleep.

One technique that can be used in self-hypnosis is to first relax and imagine yourself as if you were floating. Then thoughts can be projected onto a devised screen. By placing the thoughts "outside yourself," it is easier to avoid the physical reaction to the thoughts, making it easier to fall asleep. In doing so, you can turn off or pause the screen signaling to yourself that you can continue thinking about those problems and plans tomorrow.

Trouble sleeping through

A friend of mine with sleep problems has recently been going crazy over a woodpecker who finds a nearby tree perfect for making a nest, at six in the morning his partner sleeps right through it and doesn't even hear the woodpecker. In his case, sleeping through is made more difficult by reactions to the environment.

There is a theory that if you suffer from hyperarausal you have an excessive reaction to things that can make you feel stressed. For example, woodpecker knocking can be similar to someone knocking on your door. The natural reaction when someone knocks on your door is to open it, just as you answer a phone when it rings. This can be a small stress moment and, as a result, you react much more alertly than people who do not suffer from hyperarausal.

In this case, hypnotherapy against insomnia and hypnotherapy against stress is a way to get better sleep.

If you suffer from falling asleep or have trouble falling asleep, visualizations are often used. There are three types of visualizations that, according to research, have an 85% success rate (that is, almost 9 out of 10 people). These visualizations always take place with the guidance of a hypnotherapist.

1. A visualization of a soft curtain with a warm feeling. During the hypnosis session, patients may project their thoughts onto the curtain after which they pass through it to the other side of the curtain. After which the person with insomnia may reflect on the curtain.
2. A visualization where, as an insomniac, you imagine yourself standing on a porch or something similar of a beautiful house with ten steps down. With each step you take down the stairs you can let go more and more. At the bottom of the stairs you feel completely relaxed and you can enjoy the beautiful garden full of colors, flowers, birds and leaves making noise in a breeze.
3. The final visualization is that of a special place for the person with insomnia. Under guidance, you go to a place you really like. Perhaps your favorite room or a place you once went on vacation.

Nightmares

Did you know that children between the ages of 7 and 12 are very sensitive to hypnotic suggestions? Especially right before they fall asleep or when they have just woken up. If your child regularly suffers from nightmares, you can stay with him for a while. Then when you see that he is almost falling asleep you can give a positive hypnotic suggestion such as that you always keep your child safe and protected.

Self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques can help your child start enjoying going to sleep again. In doing so, you can hang a dream catcher over the bed. According to Native Americans, these stop nightmares but allow pleasant dreams to continue. If your child gains this belief, it can help them actually stop having nightmares.

For adults, the therapist can have the patient experience a dream of sorts with a therapeutic goal. Through this path, the hypnotherapist can find out what you care about, what conflicts there are and what problems you have. This can explain the nightmares. Then the underlying problem can be resolved.

In addition, the hypnotherapist can provide a hypnotic suggestion that when the nightmare begins it will have a different ending this time. For example, you can become the hero of your dream or just zap to another finer dream.

Adults also benefit from self-hypnosis to eliminate nightmares.

Parasomnia and hypnosis

Parasomnia involves exhibiting strange behaviors while sleeping, such as sleepwalking, bedwetting and so on. In the case of parasomnia symptoms, hypnosis can be a way to improve self-control. For parasomnia, no large studies have yet been conducted on the effect of hypnosis on symptoms, but there are smaller studies from which we can get information.

In a group of 27 people who suffered from parasomnia, during hypnosis they had to visualize viewing a screen in a pleasant place on which they could see themselves sleeping peacefully, as opposed to in reality. Then they were given a post-hypnotic suggestion that was supposed to reinforce their sense of security and remove that insecurity. They were also given the suggestion that they could sleep peacefully without moving too much. They had to repeat these suggetions to themselves during self-hypnosis at home. In total, the therapy lasted 20 minutes.

The induction that individuals received to get into hypnosis was recorded so that it could be taken home to use for self-hypnosis.

74 percent of participants reported sleeping much better than before hypnotherapy. Most people needed 1 to 6 hypnosis sessions for this result.

Also check out this video about hypnosis and sleep:

Tips for sleep hygiene

Since it appears that hypnotherapy with sleep hygiene tips works best for sleep problems, I have also listed some tips for good sleep hygiene.

Give yourself time to wind down

Falling asleep immediately after coming home from work is difficult for everyone. Therefore, give yourself time to relax before you fall asleep.

Don't exercise before bedtime

Exercise is fun and healthy, but it also energizes you. Therefore, it is best to exercise in the morning or before 8 p.m. at the latest.

The bedroom is not a study

If you have a desk in your bedroom to work on, my first tip is to give it another place in the house. That way your bedroom is a safe place that doesn't remind you of all the work you have to do tomorrow.

Dim the lights and darken your room

At night, it is best to dim the lights in your home. This is a signal to your body that it is time to get sleepy. In fact, keep your room completely dark. If necessary, order special curtains that can be attached in front of the window.

Want to learn more about the benefits of hypnosis? Then check out the Hypnosis Institute Netherlands' events and trainings.

Source:

http://www.annals.edu.sg/pdf/37VolNo8Aug2008/V37N8p683.pdf