By: Jack Harley
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Can self hypnosis help you sleep better? Being able to relax and drift to sleep is a skill that we can teach ourselves through self hypnosis and can not only help you get to sleep in the moment but change how you sleep long term. This article explains how to perform self-hypnosis for sleep and describes some of the benefits of this technique.
I Can’t Sleep
Did you know that up to 40 % of adults suffer from sleep disturbances (3)? And that 70% of high school students don’t get enough sleep (4)? People with sleep disorders include those who:
- cannot sleep,
- will not sleep,
- have difficulty falling asleep,
- have trouble staying asleep,
- have regular nightmares or night terrors,
- have excessive daytime sleepiness, and
- those with increased movements during sleep.
The above list is not exhaustive. In short, experts define insomnia as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep. Acute insomnia or short-term insomnia can last for only a few nights. Chronic insomnia, on the other hand, means that your sleep is disrupted for at least three nights per week, for three months (5).
Both physical and mental health issues can contribute to disordered sleep; for instance, different pain syndromes, neurological conditions, disruptions in neurotransmitters (6). Life circumstances, too, can aggravate the situation; for example, stress, poor work-life balance, shift work, relationship problems. When there are no health concerns linked to your sleeping problems, we refer to the condition as primary insomnia. In contrast, secondary insomnia is when sleep disturbances occur as a result or symptom of other health issues.
What Can I Do If I Can’t Sleep?
People who experience sleep disturbance usually self-treat with over-the-counter medications and natural supplements, such as melatonin, valerian, and tryptophan. Some also turn to health care practitioners, most often physicians and psychiatrists. Medical doctors commonly treat sleep disorders using pharmacological interventions. However, sleep medications, known as sedative-hypnotic drugs or sleeping pills, are not without risk. Long-term use of such drugs can result in dependency, daytime drowsiness, nausea, fatigue, confusion, and memory problems. Because of the side effects, many people prefer non-pharmacological treatments, which can include meditation, hypnosis, and sleep hygiene programs (7).
If you want to improve your sleep quality, the National Sleep Foundation recommends you first try improving your sleep hygiene by (8)(21):
- Maintain consistent sleep and wake schedules.
- Have a relaxing bedtime ritual.
- Reduce afternoon naps.
- Exercise regularly.
- Avoid bright light and TV/computer use before going to bed.
- Wind down before going to bed, doing an activity you find calming (e.g., reading, listening to soft, relaxing music).
- Avoid food intake in the evening, especially heavy meals.
- Avoid alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes before bed.
