Do you lie in bed tossing and turning and wondering when it will be your turn to sleep? If so, read on, these 3 tips may just do the trick!
There are 2 types of insomnia – primary insomnia, where it has no obvious cause, and secondary insomnia which is caused by an underlying medical or psychological problem such as grief or depression. Insomnia is considered short term if it lasts between one and four weeks, and chronic if it lasts longer than four weeks. I highlight the word “obvious”, because as we know, there is always a reason, whether that’s a bad habit, a past trauma and so on. We don’t just stop sleeping for no reason, we do have this innate ability to sleep, and to sleep deeply, we just need to find out what interrupted this.
Oftentimes even after a stressful event or situation has been resolved, the sleep issue continues, and this is usually due to the fact that the sleeping environment is now associated with being anxious. All the more reason to not stay in bed “trying” to fall asleep!
There are many other reasons why you may not be sleeping well or enough, from screen time to pre-sleep routines to being too warm to food and drink choices and even to our emotional needs not being met. In my sleep coaching sessions and workshops I have many solutions you can implement and together we discover exactly what is preventing you from having a good, deep sleep routine. Sometimes it's as simple as quieting a busy mind.
With hypnosis and other coaching methods, I can coach you to let go of this problem and return to a healthy sleep pattern, that's just right for you. Here are 3 ways you can start to take control of that problem, however, best results will be achieved with a complete session.
1. Get those thoughts out of your mind before going to bed
It is so important to tie up loose ends from the day, if not, there is a risk these thoughts will get in the way of a good nights sleep. You can do this by journaling, or even writing down all thoughts on a piece of paper which can be thrown away in the morning. If you're not the writing type, record them on your voice recorder on your smart phone.
2. Learn to physically relax deeply
Many clients I see who suffer from insomnia have a real difficulty in letting go and relaxing. Try this: One by one tense and relax all your muscle groups working from the feet up to the face, noticing that as you let go you can feel the difference in your body. Also relax the tongue by dropping the jaw, and resting your tongue on the bottom of your mouth lightly touching behind your bottom teeth.
3. Learn to relax the mind
To relax your mind, imagine that your mind is a tightly closed fist trying desperately to cling onto some soft beach sand. Then consciously relax that "mind fist" and allow the soft beach sand to trickle through the fingers. As you do this, notice that the thoughts become less busy and feel like they're slipping away with the beach sand.
Use these techniques to help you switch off, relax and sleep!
For more techniques and information,book your free discovery session today.