Sleep hypnosis has become a powerful way to fight insomnia for many people suffering from sleep-related issues. Not being able to sleep at night can result from a number of different issues including stress, anxiety, snoring, discomfort and more. Sleep hypnosis has the power to cure insomnia and other sleep-related problems by entering a person into a deep state of relaxing and calming the mind and body in order to induce sleep.
When falling asleep, the mind goes through a set of steps that ultimately lead to unconscious sleep. The first step is thinking about any number of things ranging from what you had for lunch that day to the football game you will watch this weekend. The second step is fantasy, or a set of thoughts that place you in a relaxing atmosphere. Without consciously knowing it, your brain turns to peaceful thoughts. The third step is known as hypnoidal, or a conscious yet very relaxed state. In this state, the mind begins to wander towards sleep and becomes hazy and amnesiac. The final step is of course unconscious sleep.
People who have sleep related problems have difficulty transitioning through the different phases and often spend much more time thinking than they do in the fantasy and hypnoidal phases. This causes a prolonged anxious and alert state, which greatly affects the ability of the mind to enter into a deep sleep. Hypnosis and visualization can alter the way the mind transitions through the phases, resulting in smooth transitions and a faster method of reaching unconscious sleep.
There are a few different ways that sleep hypnosis can be used in order to cure sleep-related issues such as insomnia and restlessness. Sleep hypnosis can be part of a self-hypnosis session, or induced by a hypnosis CD or MP3. Hypnosis CDs contain scripts that are pre-written to deal with certain issues, such as insomnia. The hypnosis CD will guide you through a session if you are not comfortable inducing sleep hypnosis on your own with self-hypnosis methods and techniques.
Sleep hypnosis allows the mind and body to relax by inducing hypnosis using common hypnotic induction techniques. Once in a total state of relaxation, the mind will drift into a comfortable and positive place, allowing the person being hypnotized to experience restful and fulfilling sleep. Sleep hypnosis is normally used in conjunction with other relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing.
To do self-hypnosis for sleeping issues, it is normally recommended that you first put yourself in the most comfortable position possible in bed. This involves pillows and covers, as well as turning off the lights and blocking out all possible noise. If you are not in a comfortable position, you will be bothered when trying sleep hypnosis and the effects will not be as noticeable.
Next, your mind will begin to focus on one hypnotic induction. Hypnotic inductions vary greatly, so you should choose one that you feel most comfortable and familiar with. For example, some people imagine themselves on a beach, while others imagine themselves walking down a flight of stairs. Imagery and visualization are a very important part of sleep hypnosis, so be sure to choose a hypnotic induction that is in your comfort zone.
An example of a hypnotic induction for sleep hypnosis is to imagine that every muscle in your body is sinking into the bed. You will begin my imagining that the muscles in your toes are sinking into the bed, and then your heels, and then ankles, calves, knee, thighs, etc until you read the very tip of your head. As you are moving up your body, really thinking about how it feels to have those muscles sink into the bed and how the tension in your body is being completely released with each muscle sinking down. Once you are completely relaxed, begin taking deep breathes and counting backwards from 20. Once you reach 10, you should be feeling extremely sleepy. Once you reach 1, you should be asleep.
Many people turn to hypnosis as a means of dealing with sleep related issues because of its proven record of helping people fall asleep quickly and without stress. Entering into a trance-like state before falling asleep calms the mind and rids the mind of any obsessive or negative thoughts. In this positive and calm state of mind, the body can rest easily and peacefully without all of the restlessness that insomnia invokes.
