"How did you sleep last night?"
For those who sleep well, perhaps a boring, benign question. But for the majority of us, the quality of our nightly sleep does not live up to our expectations, with significant, real health implications. Various worldwide studies have shown the prevalence of insomnia in 10%–30% of the population, some even as high as 50%–60%. It is common in older adults, females, and people with medical and mental ill health.
Insomnia is defined by the Mayo Clinic as: «Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. You may still feel tired when you wake up. Insomnia can sap not only your energy level and mood but also your health, work performance and quality of life.»
Insomnia of a few days or even weeks is frequently observed in periods of high stress or after a traumatic event. Longer lasting insomnia, also referred to as chronic insomnia, can have serious effects on the overall health and well-being of the person experiencing poor sleep.
If nearly every person suffers from insomnia at some point in their life, what can we do to improve this?
Insomnia may be the primary problem or it may be associated with other conditions. Treating the underlying cause can resolve insomnia. Please consult your health care practitioner, if you have been suffering from chronic insomnia to rule out any underlying medical conditions or interactions from medications.
Common causes of insomnia include:
Stress: unresolved concerns about family, health, finances, work, school, or even social media, can keep you awake at night. Traumas or tragedies, such as illness or death of a loved one, job loss, divorce or childhood memories, may also lead to insomnia.
Travel: Your internal clock guides your sleep-wake cycle. Changing time-zones leading to jet lag while travelling, working late or early shifts, including frequently changing shifts, can disrupt your circadian rhythm.
Sleep Habits: It is recommended you only use your bed for sleep (and certain pleasures). Don’t bring your work into the bedroom, avoid eating and even watching TV in bed. All screens just before bed can interfere with your sleep.
Mealtime and workouts: Avoid eating a heavy meal right before bedtime, as this can cause your digestive system to work hard, preventing you from finding rest. The same goes for a heavy workout, that will elevate your heartrate. A two-hour window between finishing a meal or an intense workout and bedtime, will help you relax.
Solutions to quickly improve your sleep that work:
Consistency: even if it is hard, try to keep your bedtime and waketime within a two-hour window every day (including weekends), so your circadian rhythm is optimally supported.
Stress: are you aware of the current stressors in your life? Which of them can you address today, this week and this month, in order to reduce the overall amount of stress in your life? Incorporate relaxation techniques into your everyday life, such as meditation, yoga, slow walks in nature, mindfulness and gratitude practices. Perhaps a warm bath or some lavender essential oils and set the tone for sleep and soothe your mind and body. Just 5minutes can make a huge difference.
Bedroom: does your bedroom contain things, nips and any clutter that is making the environment feel stressful? Women especially respond to clutter in their environment with stress. Your bedroom is supposed to be the most boring room in your house, inducive to sleep. Take a few minutes and remove anything in your bedroom that is not associated with sleeping. Also ban any activity from the bedroom that is not related to sleeping (and certain pleasure). This way you create a clear association in your mind that the bedroom is for only one purpose: sleep. Especially make sure you ban any work and work-related items from your bedroom. Make your bedroom comfortable for sleep, ensure your bed and bedding is pleasing to you and not causing any discomfort. Adjust the temperature to your best setting. Invest in heavy curtains to ensure the space is dark and quiet. Melatonin, your body’s sleep hormone, is released in the dark. The darker your room is, the deeper you will sleep and if you were to wake up in the middle of the night, you can fall back asleep quickly.
Pleasures: Caffeine, sodas, heavy meals, sugary treats, alcohol and nicotine all have undesirable effects on our sleep. Particularly avoid these in proximity to your bedtime. Avoid or limit naps later in the day, to prevent disrupting your circadian rhythm. Incorporate regular activity into your daily routine instead.
Worries: Many of us have conditioned our mind that as soon as we go to bed, we start to review our day and analyse everything that went wrong, that we said (or didn’t say) and all the things that hurt us. Rather then looking at our bed as the place where we go to sleep, our mind now believes, this is the place where we go to analyse and review our day. If you notice this happening to yourself, find a spot in your place, perhaps the kitchen chair, where you briefly review the day, long before stepping into bed. Break the association between daily reflections and your bed. If your mind starts to bring up events of the day when you are in bed, say to yourself: “This is not the place to think. This is the place to sleep. Sleep now comes to me.”
The past is gone, tomorrow might never come, all you have is this moment. And this is the moment to sleep. So release everything and let sleep come to you.
Bonus Tip 1: “Going to sleep”
The English language is funny sometimes. We say “I am going to sleep” or "falling asleep"; yet, you are not going anywhere and definitely not falling! You go to bed and sleep comes to you. I am sure you have sat on the sofa, watching TV, and suddenly sleep came to you and despite you wanting to stay awake for the program, sleep overwhelmed you.
Do this instead: Remind yourself that you are not “going to sleep”. Instead, “sleep is coming to you”. All you need to do is welcome it in. Tell yourself, “sleep is coming to me. Sleep is coming to me right now.” Feel sleep coming over you.
By implementing some or all of the changes above, find your way back to a healthy, natural sleep state. Did you know that sleeping is one of the things that a baby is born knowing how to do? It is the most natural and easy thing you can do.
Bonus Tip 2: Sleep Hypnosis Audio
I have releasing released multiple free hypnosis audios on my YouTube Channel, including an English and a Swiss German Sleep Hypnosis. Don't take my word for how well it works. Read the comments under the video. It is a wonderful tool and will bring sleep the way you slept as a baby back to you.
Listening to my proven sleep audio will bring peaceful, healing sleep to you.
If you would like to work on your specific circumstances that are preventing you from getting deep, restorative sleep, please reach out and let’s work together in a personalised one on one session.
This is what my wonderful client Martina has to say about our sessions on sleep together:
"For two years I was looking for a solution to my sleep problems and nervousness / anxiety. I was aware that these issues are related. The lack of sleep in particular was causing a decrease in performance. This was not compatible with either my professional or my personal life. After trying a number of different therapies that either barely helped or only helped for a very short time, I was very fortunate to meet Alexandra. I can say with total conviction that Alexandra has positively changed my life, particularly by improving my quality of life. I wake up in the morning refreshed from sleep and face the day rested and calm. I can recommend Alexandra and Redefined Mind without reservation to anyone who wants a quick and long-term improvement in various areas in their life."
Please, let me help you next, I love to help!
With love
Alexandra
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