Hypnosis as a treatment for insomnia

People differ in their need for sleep, and everyone has the occasional night of disturbed sleep. Almost a quarter of the population frequently experience sleeping difficulties, and it becomes more common with age, 29% of men and 37% of women are affected over the age of 65.

Insomnia is the feeling of not being able to get enough sleep. Usually related to finding it hard to get to sleep, waking up without having had enough sleep, or having unrefreshing sleep.

The exact function of sleep is not fully understood, but the effects of lack of sleep suggest that its main function is to rest and repair the body. There are also psychological benefits. One phase of sleep is called rapid eye movement (REM) because the sleeper's eyes can be seen to move rapidly behind the lids. This is thought to be the time when dreams occur. People who don't sleep for long enough, or who sleep very lightly, become deprived of REM sleep. They can become irritable and anxious and, in extreme sleep deprivation may even have hallucinations.

Insomnia can be described as: either

Transient: lasting only a few nights to a few weeks
Intermittent: occurring occasionally but not every night
Chronic: occurring most nights and lasting three or more weeks

A number of factors are known to contribute to the incident of insomnia:

Eating late at night, jet lag, hunger
Alcohol,caffeine,stimulant drugs, including nicotine
Environment noise (eg partner snoring)
Uncomfortable bed or bedroom
Sleep apnoea (abnormal breathing while asleep),
Asthma, tinnitus, pain
Prostate problems, frequent trips to the toilet at night, indigestion
Psychological - including stress or grief
Mental health problem such as depression or anxiety.
Medication - eg tablets for asthma, treatments for nasal congestion, vertigo, depression

Hypnotherapy explores and resolves the root cause of the problem while enjoying a highly relaxed and comfortable state called hypnosis. Once the emotional issues have been resolved, the insomnia invariably disappears or the effects reduce dramatically. .