Welcome to April’s blog,
Its been a busy March what with new clients and lots of DIY. This month I wanted to stress the importance of sleep , the clocks have gone back to welcome Spring time and we lost an hours sleep, however, hopefully this might help you understand more why sleep is important, the link below is very informative and is only 20 mins.
Why is sleep so important?
Sleep is important because: it’s when your body repairs itself; it improves memory and learning; it lowers stress levels; it maintains your immune systems; and much more.
It helps us to empty that stress, worry, life’s overwhelming bucket and allow us to cope much better with day to day activities and those curve balls that life can throw at us every now and then.
Sleep really is a superpower and Professor Matthew Walker explains more in his Ted talk in the link below, he has also written a very good book called “Why We Sleep” that’s well worth a read.
(1) Sleep is your superpower | Matt Walker – Bing video
Sleep is often one of the first things that is affected when we feel stressed, anxious or life is just not going how we’d like and can at times feel overwhelming.
Sometimes we find it hard to drift off at the end of a busy day, but for those that are suffering with anxiety it can feel almost impossible to get a good night’s sleep. Whether you are lying awake at night unable to switch off, or waking during the night with your mind racing and unable to get back to sleep, or waking too early, or sleeping and sleeping but still feeling exhausted – hypnotherapy can help!
The NHS recommend that we should get around eight hours of sleep a night, but anxiety sufferers will often get much less than this. If you’re trying to live with anxiety then you might wake up feeling groggy unrested and sluggish; meaning the day ahead of you is likely to be challenging and a brain fog is going to be holding you back.
Tips To Try
- A warm bath can help relax your mind and body
- Some like to read a book
- Consider the temperature of your bedroom, cooler is better than too warm.
- Try to avoid using devices an hour or two before bedtime (The World Health Organisation(WHO) would suggest no devices 2 hrs before bedtime, realistically I struggle with that so I go for an hour !!)
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the hours leading up to falling asleep.
- You could also try writing your thoughts down, it might help to get all the anxious thoughts down on paper and out of your mind.
- Some people also find listening to white noise or an audio or sleep app helps quieten anxious thoughts and have it playing when they go to bed.
The good news is hypnotherapy can help you learn how to relax and go to sleep, and stay asleep. It can help to calm down the part of your mind that is wide awake and worrying during the night when you are trying to sleep and it can help to regulate your sleep and REM patterns.
If you are struggling to sleep then book in an initial consultation and see how we can help, contact me on 07516 962361 or email info@louisebarneshypnotherapy.co.uk.
I’d like to wish you all a Happy Easter,
Best Wishes, Louise