Living life on a couple hours of sleep is no mean feat. A few select can thrive this way whilst the rest of us will have a slow and steep decline into fogginess, anxiety and switch into auto-pilot to survive. Insomnia is debilitating but what other options do we have besides going down the sleeping pill path?
If you’re one of these people, I don’t have to explain how frustrating and draining each moment of everyday can be. Having lost such a simple yet necessary ability to sleep deeply can dramatically change aspects of your personality, your coping mechanism and most importantly enjoying the pleasures of life.
For the average person, sleep time is programmed into our body, our mind and our emotions. The pattern is set.
In my practice, clients suffering the effects of sleep deprivation are at their wits end. The triggers can be stress, trauma and/or diet (yes diet has quite a strong impact on our sleep patterns) and once we’ve disrupted this pattern, getting back on track can be challenging. There are three primaries that I work with that can re wire our sleep pattern and perhaps make it stronger than it was before.
1. The Mind Control
Our beliefs have a direct bearing on how we take action. For example, if you have a core belief that you need complete silence and/or darkness to sleep, you will have heightened your senses to keep a look out for any sounds or glimmers of light.
When we heighten our senses e.g. hearing, we’re on alert mode. What you’re actually doing is activating the mind and giving it a job to do instead of allowing it to calm down.
2. The Physical Body
Our body is such an amazing system that we may take for granted. If we’re not habitually checking in on ourselves to see if we’re placing it under extended duress, we’re not aware of what our body is communicating to us. It may be requesting rest, stretching, exercise and/or replenishing modalities such as massage, Reiki or chiropractic work.
Sleep deprivation can shock the body into flight or fight response, meaning the body is in alert mode for extended periods of time. Releasing adrenaline and cortisol at the wrong times will definitely interrupt a good sleeping pattern.
3. The Emotional Factor
If we let them, our emotions can dictate our thoughts, our actions and even our words making us reactive to situations. I always encourage clients to count to 1-5 (slowly) when a strong emotion is being experienced and to observe how they experience it.
This way, we allow a short space of time for us to choose a response instead of a reaction. If you’re a person that allows your emotions to get the better of you most times, then they will be dictating your sleeping patterns according to what’s going on in your life.
I work with all three primaries – Mind, Body and Emotions. Here are some of the most common strategies that have benefited my clients:
1. Hypnotherapy
A beautiful, non-intrusive therapy that allows the subconscious mind to realign the three primaries so they can work in unison.
Some techniques may include self-hypnosis e.g. visualising your favourite place where you feel deeply relaxed. Using your senses can heighten the experience and anchor (lock it in as a memory) on a point in your body. Each time you press this particular point it will lead your senses to this specific memory – each time getting stronger.
2. Reiki
For me personally, the word Reiki creates instant relaxation. For anxiety at any level, Reiki creates a space where your body can feel safe experiencing emotions that have been bottled up while your mind can drift and not have to workout feelings. Reiki uses a specific frequency of energy accessed by one attuned in this healing modality.
As Reiki increases the body’s state of relaxation and the release feelings stored in the body that are no longer needed, a new physical pattern of unwinding can greatly improve your sleeping patterns.
3. Mindfulness to Meditation
Daily mindfulness is a way to drop in on your self and have a gentle observation of what’s happening within.
Mindfulness is a simple method that you can do on your own to create congruency between all three primaries. It’s as simple as focusing on your breath and allowing yourself to reflect. You can also focus on one of your senses at a time e.g. for five slow deep deliberate breaths, observe what you smell, then what you can hear, what you can see in your mind’s eye, what you can taste and what you can feel.
One of the extra benefits that you may discover once you’ve experienced congruency within your body, mind and emotions is that your decision process becomes quicker and easier.
Your focus and sense of self is more connected and aligned. The fogginess begins to lift and a feeling of calmness takes the place of anxiety. You discover your own internal pace moving forward and your daily struggle to survive has switched to joyful interactions. Now you’re actually sleeping naturally without having gone down the path of sleeping pills, it’s farewell to sleepless nights.
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Feature Image by Lazzaropisu