Self Hypnosis For Sleep
Is your inability to get to sleep driving you crazy? Do you just lie there for ages, wide awake, wondering why you just can’t seem to get to sleep? Does it frustrate you? Or do you get anxious that you won’t have had enough sleep by the time you get up tomorrow morning if you don’t go to sleep right now? What if self hypnosis for sleep could finally solve the problem?
In my clinic, I’ll regularly hear things like:
- “I’ve always been a very light sleeper”
- “When I wake to go to the bathroom, that’s it, I just know I am not going to be able to get back to sleep again!”
- “I am exhausted. I haven’t slept properly in months”
- “It takes me an hour or two to finally go to sleep”
In this article, we’ll explore some of the reasons why you may be having sleep disturbances. We’ll have a look at mental health issues that may affect your sleep. If you have a medical condition or chronic pain condition, we’ll shine some light on what you could do to alleviate it.
You’ll discover some techniques to help you with sleep anxiety or negative thoughts about sleep and we’ll explain all about the benefits of sleep hypnosis and how the use of self-hypnosis could potentially help you to achieve deeper sleep every night.
Common Sleep Problems Or Sleep Disorders
- Insomnia: problems getting to sleep or staying asleep. One in three people will probably have an insomnia issue during their lifetime. Hypnosis recordings can be very helpful in retraining bad sleeping patterns.
- Narcolepsy: this is a condition where you can suddenly feel an urge to sleep at any moment.
- Sleep Apnea: symptoms include loud snoring, gasping, or stopping breathing for an unusually long period. In some cases, you may be advised to use a CPAP device at night to help regulate your breathing.
- Restless Leg Syndrome: sufferers will typically jerk or kick using their legs during sleep
- Recurrent Nightmares: nightmares can disturb your sleep and awaken you with such a fright that you find it difficult to settle again
- Circadian Rhythm Problem: this is where your body’s internal clock is out of whack with the outside world. Some people who work a shift pattern may experience this.
Why Am I Struggling To Go To Sleep At Night?
When I ask people who come to see me with sleep problems what they do when they are lying in bed, here are some of the most common answers:
- “I can’t stop tossing and turning for ages”
- “I keep on replaying in my head some of the things that happened at work today”
- “I am thinking about all of the things I have to do tomorrow”
- “I am worrying about something”
My response to this normally gets a laugh. I tell them “The bedroom is for two things only. One of them is sleep and I’ll leave the other one to your imagination!” In the free sleep hygiene checklist below, you’ll find a list of all of the things you should not be doing at bedtime.
Many experts and many websites are really clear about what you shouldn’t do. However, very few “experts” talk about what you should be doing while you are lying in bed with your eyes closed.
It’s quite simple. Dream! That’s it. That’s the solution to your sleep problem right there. At this stage, typically, my clients look a bit confused and say “Isn’t dreaming something that happens after you fall asleep?”.
That is true but dreaming can also be a great way to fall asleep. When you lay your head on the pillow, turn out the light and close your eyes, use your imagination, and have fun. Maybe imagine you’ve won the lottery and you are having great fun spending the money. Or maybe imagine you are on your dream holiday in that destination you always wanted to visit.
The trick is to use all of your senses to make that “dream” experience as vivid as possible. This is so that your mind believes “I’m really there”. The aim is to forget all about being in a bedroom. This is why we call sleep “drifting off”.
You are supposed to go “somewhere else”. When you are thinking about things you must do tomorrow, your mind knows perfectly well that you are in bed thinking about tomorrow. You are, essentially, too aware of reality.
I Want To Sleep But My Brain Won't Stop Talking To Itself
Many people who come to see me at my clinic tell me that they are lying in bed being kept awake by this stream of thoughts that just won’t stop. Now, of course, you’re not going to get into a state of deep relaxation if your mind is constantly throwing thoughts at you, especially thoughts that make you worry.
I had one client recently who worked in a call center telling me that she would relive the phone calls as she lay there in bed. She told me that she worried that she had not told the customer the right answer to their query.
Here are a couple of ways to stop overthinking at bedtime:
- Buy a journal and write down everything that could be on your mind before you go to sleep. A good idea is to tell yourself that they are stored safely in the journal but that you are not allowed to think about them after you close the journal and turn out the light. This is a cognitive behavioral therapy technique that leads to good sleep as long as it becomes part of your daily practice. It can take about six weeks of constant practice to turn this into a habit.
- Listen to audio recordings that gently guide you into the hypnotic state and give you positive suggestions about sleep, telling you that you are going to have the most beautiful sleep where you are going to have lovely, fun dreams and awaken only at the appropriate time for you. You can find such a recording right here on this website called “Natural Deep Sleep“, which is available to download right now.
Why Can't I Fall Asleep After I've Woken Up?
People wake up in the middle of the night for various reasons. I’ve listed some of them below:
- Your partner snoring – my poor wife had this problem for quite a while as I used to snore like an express train. In my case, this was because of a sinus issue that has improved significantly due to rinsing my nose before bedtime with Neilmed Sinus Rinse. I can personally recommend this because it genuinely has reduced my sinus issues by roughly 80%.
- The room is too bright – my wife used to suffer from this problem until she discovered this blackout blind kit.
- Not having a set bedtime: going to bed at different times each night plays havoc with healthy sleep patterns.
- Chronic pain: if you suffer from some chronic pain conditions, the pain may stop you from going to sleep. Have you tried using a TENS machine? You might find this useful to use around bedtime as it may give you a long enough break from the pain so that you can nod off to sleep.
Self-Hypnosis Audio For Natural Deep Sleep
Self-hypnosis can be a great tool to readjust your sleep patterns and get a good night’s sleep every night.
How I Cured My Chronic Insomnia
This is Stephanie’s story.
“I had the most frustrating, upsetting insomnia problem. My doctor even described my sleep issue as one of the worst he had ever encountered in his 35 years as a doctor. I got, on average, two hours of sleep per night. I would eventually get off to sleep after lying awake for approximately three hours.
Roughly two hours later I would awaken and immediately I just knew that I was not going to get back to sleep again. There were many nights I cried because of this. I know you’re not supposed to google these things but I did and I found out that this problem was going to mean I would die earlier than I should.
I racked my brain trying to figure out what was keeping me awake. I have one of those mental health conditions that doesn’t exactly help when you are suffering from insomnia. I have OCD, so it’s difficult for me to stop thinking about something once I get started.
At night, this meant that I was way too focused on the topic of sleep. I tried everything from sleep medications to binaural beats. I got so good at using positive affirmations that I could teach people how to do it. The problem was that nothing worked.
Then I discovered mindfulness meditation. I attended a class once a week and I literally just didn’t get it. Everyone else was talking in glowing terms about it but it just irritated me. I just couldn’t seem to get into a relaxed state and be “in the now”. I spoke to my meditation teacher and he suggested going to see a professional hypnotherapist for some hypnotherapy sessions.
It took a couple of weeks of listening to the recording he made for me before I could finally say that I was truly in a state of self-hypnosis. I suppose it just took me some time to get my head around the concept of hypnosis but once I did, I have been having better quality sleep every night.
I am now up to a solid five hours of sleep every night. I know it’s not perfect. I probably should be closer to seven hours but I’ll take that. Five hours every night means that I feel much more energy when I get out of bed.
I am now getting restorative sleep rather than the crap level of sleep I had before. I think you have to start with a clear goal to get to that trance-like state. Start with that goal in mind and don’t give up until you get there!”
Sleep Hygiene
FREE DOWNLOAD
Download this beautiful A4 pdf right now and print it off if you’d like.
Make sure to follow all of the rules and keep practicing these rules until you establish a new and better sleep pattern.
(No subscription required)
How You Can Get Better Sleep
There are some rules to follow to reset your sleep pattern. I would always suggest the following to my clients:
- Download my FREE SLEEP HYGIENE pdf and follow the rules to the letter
- Download my “Natural Deep Sleep” recording and listen every night at bedtime. (There is no waking suggestion at the end because you are prompted to just drift off to sleep at the end of the recording). There will be a hypnotic suggestion on the recording that is designed for your subconscious mind to reset your sleep patterns and to expect better sleep outcomes every night from now on.
Side Effects Of Sleep Medications
Firstly, some medications have a side effect of disturbed sleep. For instance, diuretics may make you want to urinate more frequently than normal, even during the night which can result in broken sleep.
Many anti-depressants have a side effect of causing sleep issues. The best thing to do, if you are taking medications and also suffering from insomnia, is to get professional medical advice as regards whether the medication is causing your sleep issue.
Some sleep medications can cause:
- an unnatural level of drowsiness
- headaches
- stomach problems or diarrhea
- allergic reaction
- and, in rare cases, suicidal thoughts
This is not an exhaustive list. If you are noticing anything out of the ordinary with either OTC (over-the-counter) sleep medication or prescribed sleep medication, your first step should always be to contact your doctor for proper medical advice.
Does Self-Hypnosis Work For Insomnia?
Because hypnosis is a state that is very close to sleep, it can be hugely beneficial in training you how to get a better night’s sleep. It does require a commitment on your part to hang in there until you get the hang of it.
Self-hypnosis takes practice. For some people, it can take weeks of constant practice until they start noticing that their self-hypnosis sessions are regularly helping them to achieve a state of trance each time.
In fifteen years of being a therapist, I have never come across anyone who genuinely committed to listening every night that didn’t get a positive result. Remember, this is not about hypnosis working for you – it’s about you using the power of your own mind to change your habits. So, essentially, it’s about believing in you!
Self-Hypnosis Audio For Natural Deep Sleep
Self-hypnosis can be a great tool to readjust your sleep patterns and get a good night’s sleep every night.
Self Hypnosis For Sleep
I have personally worked with close to a thousand people with sleep problems or insomnia over the past fifteen years. As a result, I have composed and recorded a wonderful self-hypnosis recording for you called “Natural Deep Sleep“.
Download this recording right now and listen for at least 30 days while also following all of the rules on the Sleep Hygiene pdf download. During the thirty days, you’ll gradually learn how to go into the state of consciousness called “trance”.
Your unconscious mind will be re-trained to expect a long, unbroken sleep. You’ll also be told, in hypnosis that even if you were to awaken you’ll immediately drift off to sleep again within a very short time.
Author: Paul Hunter
Although thousands of people read his blog every month, Paul's path to success was not an easy one. Click here to read his amazing story "From Unwanted Baby And Adopted To A Respected Self Help Blogger". If you want to send Paul a quick message, then visit his contact page here
