Zofie Kucia, C1’s Clinical Hypnotherapist writes:
Sleep Problems- In a nutshell
Cause:Sleep disturbances such as an inability to fall asleep or waking during the night can be caused by either stress or a lifestyle with too much going on. What can happen is that as a result of a particularly stressful period such as a divorce, trouble at work, bereavement or similar we enter into a heightened state of anxiety and during this time, although we “consciously” understand that we are not in danger our subconscious doesn’t understand this. Put simply, because it does not make sense to sleep when we are in danger we will either struggle to get to sleep or we might manage to fall asleep (often because exhaustion overrides the anxiety) and then wake during the night. Because of how REM sleep and slow wave sleep interact out sleep can be interrupted as the body struggles to maintain the correct proportions of dreaming sleep and slow wave.
Simply doing too much can also lead to sleep disturbances. Our body works in line with natural rhythms and if we completely override these by being on the go all the time and taking no breaks it can then be hard to relax and fall asleep when we want to. We lie in bed, desperate to get to sleep but with a mind that is racing. Typically the “law of reversed effect” will then kick in; this states that: “the harder you try the harder it becomes”, and this further perpetuates the problem.
Once a sleep problem has been established it then adds to our stress and we feed into a vicious cycle. Many of us will then start to worry about it, focus on it and talk about it; this too unfortunately only serves to worsen the problem. Because our subconscious cannot tell the difference between reality and our thoughts, every time we think about the fact that we cannot sleep we strengthen the association and eventually the behavioural template can become pretty entrenched.
The Solution:
Believe it or not, the actual process of dealing with a poor sleep pattern in simple. In essence, we want to reverse the cycle that caused it! So, firstly we need to create an environment which is conducive to a good sleep pattern. Such an environment is a low stress one (OR, if there is moderate stress it is essential to employ healthy means of managing this) and also a daily schedule which includes some breaks- even if they are short!
Secondly, it is essential to stop focussing on the sleep issue; of course this is easier said than done but it is doable with some practice and dedication. It is also important to start to stop engaging in any habits you might have understandably developed as a result of the sleep challenges. An example might be going to bed slightly later; typically this involves relaxing more about the whole issue.
This is backed up with deep relaxation during sessions, which is enormously helpful in terms of reversing the cycle and letting both your body and your subconscious know that “everything is ok”. In addition to this I focus on powerful suggestion work, essentially reprogramming your subconscious so that it gets the message that from now on you can sleep “normally”.
Case History of Stress-related Sleep Disorder:
A typical example of a client I helped to start to sleep properly again is client A. She came to see me as she would sometimes wake during the night and at other times had difficulty getting off to sleep. Her mother had died in difficult circumstances about a year earlier and this had caused her much distress. She had a busy, stressful job. Client A took away the relaxation CD along with her “homework” of focussing away from the sleep issue and learning to use her imagination in a positive manner. Over the course of several weeks she listened to the CD which got her off to sleep most nights, her nightmares began to cease and she felt calmer at work. At first she found it a challenge to think more positively but after a while it seemed much more natural. She started to go back to the gym and yoga classes and felt much calmer through doing this. Using some CBT techniques she was able to deal with difficult people at work much more calmly; she also learned that nightmares can serve a useful purpose and not to dwell on these. Over approximately ten weeks her sleep settled back to normal and one of the things that helped her enormously was learning that the mindset of “I need eight hours sleep a night” was putting pressure on her and serving to perpetuate her problem; she started to see that this might not necessarily be a helpful belief to have. As a “side effect” of therapy she gave up smoking and reported feeling much calmer and happier.
Case History of a busy lady with insomnia:
Client B presented with a severe problem in getting to sleep which had been troubling her for some time. She ran her own company with sole responsibility for the organisation. When we first met she told me that everything was fine in her life, the only problem was that she couldn’t sleep; if only she could sleep, everything else would be fine. She had not been on holiday or had a proper break from work for around a year, had a very hectic lifestyle of work and play and was a perfectionist. I gave her a CD along with my usual explanation of the causes of sleep problems. At first it was difficult for her to see that it would be essential for her to get her life in order to sort out the sleep problem instead of wanting the sleep to magically fix which would then sort her life out. After some sessions focused predominantly on relaxation, client B began to come up with some solutions that would help her. She made some changes at work, made inroads into her perfectionist tendencies and booked two holidays!
Following on from this she found it easier to focus away from the sleep issue and relax more. The combination of changes both lifted her mood and enabled her to start to sleep properly once more. During therapy she stopped taking her prescribed sleeping tablets. She also learned that once her life was in balance her sleep could then balance itself- and not vice versa!
