INSOMNIA

We live in a face paced modern society, where the demands to keep up and the expectations that are placed on us from work, relationships and society can at times take its toll. At times, our routines can be so busy where we find ourselves striving to make deadlines and trying to fit so much into our day, that our lifestyles can be thrown out of balance. As a result of this, we can become stressed, neglectful of our physical health and experience sleeping difficulties. Most people have experienced sleeping difficulties or insomnia at some point in their lives. Research shows that about 10% of people have at least some mild form of insomnia at any given time. Those who suffer from insomnia find it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep. They may have trouble falling asleep initially and when they do eventually fall asleep, they are not able to stay asleep for long. They may also wake up during the night and not be able to go back to sleep for a long time or at all. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, insomnia can cause a range of problems including feeling tired during the day, inability to focus and remember things, moodiness, irritability, and in severe cases, anxiety and depression.

In attempt to get back on track quickly, people often turn to sleeping pills to treat the problem. If your sleeping disturbances are mild and you take the sleeping pills occasionally, they can help you get a good night’s sleep and perhaps even prevent your sleeping cycles from becoming imbalanced. However, the trouble with sleeping pills is that if you take them regularly, you will get used to them and they will begin to stop working as effectively. You are also at risk of becoming reliant on sleeping pills and it can then become difficult to stop taking them.

In most cases, poor sleeping habits and routines, stress, lack of exercise, depression, anxiety, chronic illness and certain medications can cause sleeping difficulties and insomnia. Sometimes insomnia can begin after a particularly stressful period or some other sleep disruption such as a snoring partner, shift work or jet lag where your sleeping cycle is disrupted. The initial sleep disturbance can then develop into a regular pattern of poor sleep and chronic insomnia. The poor sleeping pattern then becomes a conditioned response and turns into a habit which produces alertness when trying to fall asleep or stay asleep. In some cases however, there may be deeper underlying psychological reasons behind the sleeping disturbances.

We use a combination of hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help address any underlying stressors and triggers that may be affecting your sleeping patterns and help reset your sleeping cycles back to normal.