The definition of insomnia.

Insomnia is classified as having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, even when you have the chance to do so.

People with insomnia feel very dissatisfied with their sleep, and usually experience one or more of the following symptoms: fatigue, extremely low energy, mood disturbances, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, poor performance at work or school, and difficulty waking up in the morning even if a measure of sleep is achieved.

There are two kinds of insomnia – acute insomnia, and chronic insomnia.

·      Acute insomnia is of a brief duration and often happens because of circumstances like having difficulty falling asleep the night before an exam, or perhaps trauma resulting from having received stressful or bad news. Many folk have experienced this kind of insomnia, which is more like a sleep disruption for a period of time. Fortunately it tends to resolve without any need for special treatment.

·      Chronic insomnia is defined as disrupted sleep that happens at least 3 nights per week, and runs into a period of 3 months or more. A chronic insomnia disorder can have many causes like a change in environment, unhealthy sleep habits, shift work, anxiety, and even some medications. One of more of these can lead to a long term pattern of insufficient sleep. Chronic insomnia sufferers would definitely benefit from some form of treatment to help get their sleep patterns back on track.

People with insomnia often believe that having no sleep is just part of their lives, and it may be natural, or maybe in the genes. This is far from the truth, as sleep is a natural occurrence, and chronic lack of sleep is absolutely unnatural.

Reasons why you may not be sleeping.

People with insomnia may have a host of related problems associated with their sleep disorder, and insomnia can co-exist with other disorders.

In general, insomnia is the result of underlying anxieties which can be related to relationship problems, financial hassles, medical problems, self-esteem, and confidence issues, among others. Insomnia may also be made worse by restless leg syndrome, waking up in a confused state, teeth-grinding, and the need for frequent trips to the bathroom.

Other factors include stress, shift work, and even partner disturbances such as heavy snoring or heavy breathing – all of which may contribute to the disruption of your sleep patterns.

A treatment which offers promising results.

Over the past few years, thanks to intensive research, hypnotherapy that applies hypnosis to create subconscious thought changes in a patient, has been used more and more to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders, and boasts of many notable successes.

Very often, patterns of sleep disturbances actually become embedded in the subconscious after a long time of sleep disruptions. Hypnotherapy will help effect positive changes in harmful mindsets that result in sleep disturbances which negatively affects your life.

How does hypnotherapy work?

Much of what keeps folk awake at night are unresolved problems which may include anxiety about the future, regrets about missed opportunities, and an inability to clear the mind of anxious thoughts when you go to bed and try to sleep.

Hypnotherapy works by accessing the subconscious mind when you are in a relaxed state, and open to positive suggestions which the therapist will make to help remove disruptive thinking.

You will also learn how to fully relax before sleep, as without deep relaxation, sleep will always elude you. The therapist will also have the ability to put the mind in a state where it no longer falls prey to restless thoughts and distractions which can keep you awake.

By addressing disturbing thought patterns, a hypnotherapist can ease months of lying awake tossing and turning, within a very short period of time – often within 2 or 3 sessions.

Sleep matters.

Studies have shown that hypnosis is instrumental in establishing a new sleep pattern, which in turn will lead to more natural sleep behaviour.

You can also help by making some behavioral changes like a consistent sleep and wake time schedule, reducing alcohol intake, getting some exercise, and avoiding caffeine late in the day.

Getting good sleep will help you to cope with rigours of the fast pace of today’s world.