Let’s fix your sleep problems. Keep reading, and start getting the sleep you deserve.
A note about why we wrote this: Most blogs are written with education taking a back seat to some sort of product or financial goal; that is not the case with this blog.
It is true that we do have products and tools available that can help you but we also genuinely care about people living their best lives and we know, that requires getting quality sleep.
We sincerely hope this blog gives you what you need to start sleeping well again - possibly even tonight. Whatever you choose, committing to it is important. You are worth it!
The Dreaded Realization of Insomnia
We’ve all been there. You’re lying in bed just waiting to fall asleep. The growing anticipation of falling asleep can feel absolutely dreadful as the clock ticks forward yet you remain wide awake.
For some people, the mind seems to race the most when laying in bed and for others the mind is blank, yet the body is restless.
In this article (and accompanying video), you are going to get the answers you have been looking for along with some sciency goodness behind what sleep is, why it’s so important, and how you can naturally and automatically find restful sleep each night the way that suits you best.
Which Kind of Insomnia Do You Experience?
There are two main types of insomnia people experience.
1) Trouble falling asleep when you get into bed
2) Trouble staying asleep throughout the night. These people fall right to sleep but find themselves awake in the middle of the night and unable to return to sleep.
Good News! We will look at two types of insomnia, and offer a variety of ways you can treat it.
Note that this is not medical advice, but a discussion of methods that many have found to be helpful. Always check with your physician before utilizing any of these techniques or supplements.
But First, the Truth Behind Sleep
It’s helpful to think of sleep as an essential nutrient, like food or water. Although we never hear anyone bragging about how little protein they eat, we often hear people bragging about how little sleep they get.
Although individual needs vary somewhat, it’s fairly normal for the average person to need about seven to eight hours of quality sleep per night. Quality sleep is defined as moving through several complete sleep cycles without interruption.
According to the CDC, almost 47.5% of adults over the age of 18 are getting less than 7 hours of sleep. You can check out the stats here
To make matters worse, the CDC also found that there is a clearly defined increase in health related risks, like heart attack, coronary heart disease, obesity, and stroke in adults who on average get less than the recommended 8 hours of sleep each night
The Scientific Overlap Between Sleep and Hypnosis
A sleep cycle occurs when we drop down through different brainwave patterns; typically alpha down to delta. A full sleep cycle permits both dreaming and in the deeper levels of sleep, physical healing. A cycle takes about 90-100 minutes.
When you are wide awake and living your everyday life, you are walking around in what is called a beta state. Beta brain waves are active waves and help keep you alert. When you are in beta, small drips of cortisol are released in your bloodstream.
Cortisol is a stress hormone and one of its primary functions is to increase the sugars in your blood and enhance your brain’s use of it. It also curbs functions of your body and organs that would be nonessential in a fight-or-flight situation. This helps keep you sharp and ready just in case something might jump out and attack you.
In primitive days, this is an incredible biomechanical advantage. The last thing you would want is to be relaxed and tired when a tiger was right around the corner!
When you are relaxing in a hot tub, meditating, or lying peacefully in a field of flowers (don’t judge us!), your brain starts to slow down and you enter into an alpha brain wave cycle. This cycle is the primary cycle of entering dreamland and it’s here, in alpha, that you begin to do something called rapid eye movement (REM). This also happens when you are daydreaming!
Below alpha is theta, and is considered a creative frequency and one that is most associated with sleep. It is said that Thomas Edison used to hold a heavy ball bearing as he was falling asleep. He would wake up when he dropped the ball bearing and utilize this theta state for his creative genius.
As you continue descending through theta, you reach the very bottom end of brainwaves and enter into the delta state. Delta is the healing state of the body and is one of the rejuvenative processes for your physical health.
That means, if everything goes according to plan, each night your brain will shift through multiple cycles of this process, moving between alpha and delta, and back up again.
In order for you to feel fully awake and as though you got a completely restful night’s sleep, you’ll need to make it through these sleep cycles uninterrupted. If, for whatever reason, you are unable to get completely through the sleep cycle, you will definitely know it the next day.
If you want to delve deeper into the science behind sleep, you can learn about it here at the Sleep Foundation.
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Let’s Talk About Dreaming
When you dream, you enter into the alpha brain wave state. During this phase of your sleep cycle, you are processing the emotions of the day and any unresolved feelings. This process happens symbolically in your mind, which is how your unconscious mind processes information anyways.
This is why you can have dreams that don’t make any sense if you remember them later. You know … dreams where you are paddling a canoe through a grocery store using an ice-cream cone as your oar? Yeah, that kind of weird dream. It’s OK to admit it. We all have them.
Your unconscious mind attaches meaning to symbols and understands what they mean on a deep level. This process of dreaming is absolutely essential for your mental health and why it can feel like a struggle the next day unless this happens.
Note that regular dreaming is different from lucid dreaming because in a lucid dream you’re consciously aware that you are dreaming, and you can control what you do in your dream, consciously.
Brainwave States and Hypnosis
Sleep is mostly kinesthetic, meaning the brain quiets down and becomes less active, the body relaxes, and breathing shifts take place. This allows the brain to slow down and begin its descent into the lower frequency brain waves.
In a similar fashion to sleep, hypnosis also follows a very similar pattern. While in a hypnotic state, a person shifts entirely into their kinesthetic system, the analytical mind, or the left side of the brain, also begins to quiet down, and the brain starts to follow the same patterns of sleep in regard to brain waves.
In 1990, the International Journal of Psychophysiology found that, just like during sleep, as you go deeper and deeper into a hypnotic trance, your brain shifts between beta, alpha, theta, and even delta brain wave patterns.
Causes of Insomnia: Overstimulation
Let’s talk about one of the primary reasons that people struggle to fall asleep when they get into bed, which is overstimulation. At first, it can appear to be a complex issue, yet is actually quite simple to manage.
According to sleep.org, when your brain is in the act of being overstimulated, it’s alert and active, which inhibits your ability to produce melatonin and your circadian rhythm is disrupted.
Often, when a person is overstimulated while lying in bed, their visual cortex is being bombarded with flashes of images or movie reels, with some type of quickened internal dialog going over all of the details and situations.
You’ve probably experienced this yourself, where your brain just didn’t seem to be able to turn off and you were thinking about all of the things that you did during the day that didn’t get done, or what needed to be accomplished tomorrow.
As we have learned, the brain waves slow down as we enter the sleep cycle. For this reason it is so important to avoid overstimulating (speeding up) your brain right before bed. It can be challenging to notice and avoid all of the stimulating temptations that are always at our fingertips with modern convenience and technology. Here are five things you might want to consider avoiding before bed.
If you are into reading Scientific Journal Articles here is one that really delves into the relationship between screens and sleep
#1 Stop Reading Emails Just Before Bed
Ah…finally time to sleep. Time to set the alarm. Oh, a new email? It couldn’t hurt to read it, right? Wrong!
Your brain loves to answer questions. 2+2=? You said 4, right?
A question begs for a solution that amps up your brainwaves keeping you in the alert beta state. Emails are a treasure trove of questions your brain loves to piece together. This would be wonderful if you were planning on being awake but entirely disruptive if you intend to sleep.
So next time you see that email notification, just leave it till morning.
#2 Avoid Caffeine and Stimulants Just Before Bed
What you eat and drink can have a huge effect on your sleep patterns. Many of us can’t start our day without that cup of coffee. Some of us might drink several cups to make it through the day awake. This often feels great while we are awake yet we don’t realize that it may be playing a starring role in our sleepless night. We all have different tolerances and it is important for you to determine how caffeine interacts with your sleep.
It might be worth it to start reading some labels to check if your coffee, tea, and even chocolate is overstimulating your brain, and preventing you from sleeping well. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening if it’s causing you sleep problems.
#3 Avoid Red Wine Before Bed
Some people find one glass of red wine helps them relax and naturally enter the sleep cycle. Other people have a different experience.
Red wine contains tannins, which affect the body like histamine. You may have heard histamines discussed in tandem with allergy medications (antihistamines). When your body detects an allergen, it dilates the smallest blood vessels to dilute the detected toxin. This process takes energy and interferes with the relaxation necessary for sleep. If you want to sleep and tannins affect you like histamine, then you might want to skip that night cap from now on. Or at least find an alternative that works for you!
#4 Avoid Excitotoxins
Some man-made chemicals can cross the blood-brain barrier and bind with nerve cells. This research is still largely unagreed upon in the scientific community. We list it here, in case you would like to experiment and determine if you think it is a factor for you. The name excito-toxin says it all here. First the chemical excites the cell and then the cell can be damaged or even die due to its toxic nature. Some of these chemicals are:
- MSG
- Aspartame
- Color additives like Red #40 and Blue #1
You might find it helpful to remove all of these substances from your diet and see if you sleep any better. You can then reintroduce them gradually and see if they affect you negatively.
An alternative would be to focus on eating foods that would have been around at the time of hunter-gatherers and would therefore be free of all man-made additives.
#5 Avoid Screens
One of the most common causes of insomnia usually goes unnoticed. We’re talking about screen time.Television, computers, smart phones, and tablets all produce a light frequency that leans toward the blue end of the spectrum. This mimics sunlight, and shuts off your own natural melatonin release in your brain. If you must stare at a screen before you go to bed, make sure it’s on night settings (on some devices called the “Blue Light Filter”), which leans toward the red end of the spectrum, and is unlikely to keep you awake.
Screens and videos can also be an issue because of the rapid-fire imaging. Think of an action movie with all of the camera angles, explosions, scene cuts and light flashes. This type of visual is great at captivating our attention and keeping our brain waves active–the exact opposite of what you want when it is time for sleep.
Fixing Insomnia Related to Temperature
Did you know that your body temperature varies over the course of 24 hours? When you are most alert and active you are warmer and when you are engaged in your deepest most restful sleep, you are cooler. Because this is the way our bodies work, we can make intentional efforts and decisions to facilitate this process.
Remember temperature and ideal sleep is going to vary from person to person. Here are a few activities or choices you may want to reconsider.
#6 Avoid Your Body Being Too Warm
Should you take that hot bath?
Many of us enjoy taking a really hot shower or soak in the bath right before climbing into bed. If this is something you do and you have trouble falling asleep at night, sleep experts suggest you leave at least an hour for your body to cool down before sleeping.
Should you adjust your workout routine or timing?
Exercising right before bed can be another culprit for raising body temperature too high prior to sleep. If you have a night exercise routine, you may like to experiment to determine what time of day encourages your best night's sleep.
Should you go get another blanket?
Do you love sleeping under a blanket pile or maybe you even have a heated blanket? Of course, this may feel wonderful while you are awake but it could also be prohibiting your best sleep. Some sleep experts suggest 65 degrees Fahrenheit/18 degrees celsius to be the ideal sleeping temperature for most bodies. If you can’t part with your blanket pile, you may consider switching from synthetic non-breathable fibers to natural cottons and linens that can help release the heat from your body into the room.
#7 Avoid Your Room Being Too Warm
Check your thermostat. Do you crank it up right before hopping into bed? This can be tempting, especially if you live in a colder climate but if sleep is what you are after, keep it cool. Mike Mandel says it best, “a cool room with a just-warm-enough bed” is what you are after.
Fix Insomnia Related to Interrupted Sleep Cycle
As we have already discussed, there are three different levels of brain wave activity that cycle throughout your night's sleep. It is only in the deepest levels of sleep (delta) that your mind and body have a chance to regenerate, restore, and repair. Therefore, it is essential that you are able to enter this sleep stage easily and without interruption.
Because the progression through these stages are sequential you have to make sure you stay asleep if you want the benefits of the deepest healing sleep. It kind of makes you think twice about checking your phone or the time, doesn’t it?
Below you will find a conglomeration of typical culprits that might interrupt your sleep cycle and prevent you from getting the rest you deserve.
#8 Avoid Startling Alarms
Have you spent any time looking through the different tones available to wake up to on your alarm? Each alarm comes with the programmed preset which is often quite jarring and unpleasant to wake up to. Why not spend some time looking through the available alternatives on your alarm? If you use an Apple product, don’t forget, there is an entire sound section under the last sound option called “Classic” If none of those options appeal to you, you can always look into downloading a preferred song and using that as the spark to start your day. If you aren’t a tech person and you want to change this, just type your question into google or YouTube and instructions (with pictures/video always come up)
#9 Better Yet - Avoid Alarms in General
In order to awaken refreshed, it’s best to awaken naturally, without an alarm. Awakening with an alarm means we are still in a sleep cycle, and will often feel groggy upon awakening.
We realize it isn’t possible for everyone to enjoy an alarmless wakeup. If you need to use an alarm to wake up, there are some alternatives you may not know about such as alarms that use light to mimic a sunrise that assists your transition to the waking state. This is outside of our zone of expertise but here is a source that could help you get started learning more about these clocks.
There are also countless free sleep tracker apps out there that you can experiment with. Here is a review of by the Sleep Foundation of some of the current sleeping apps
#10 Avoid Waking Up for Bathroom Breaks
This may seem silly but it won’t seem so silly when you are SO tired and you are trapped in the double bind of wanting to get up to urinate and wanting to stay asleep in bed. Maybe you have even had that dream where you are trying to find the bathroom because you have been putting it off so long? Here is a tip, cut off liquid consumption two hours before bed to minimize this possible disturbance. This is especially true for wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages since they trigger urine production.
#11 Avoid Habits That Lead to Poor Quality Sleep
Take a moment to think about distractions in your sleep environment. Some distractions, like young children, are inevitable. Others you have more control over like the volume and position of your phone. Maybe you put your phone on silent but leave it face up so it constantly lights up throughout the night with passing notifications? Maybe you have an old fan that sometimes makes a noise that you need to get up to fix? Whatever the case, make choices and changes to minimize potential interruptions.
Fix Insomnia Related to Sleeping Inside Since Humans Evolved Outside
Have you ever woken up outside? Maybe you were camping or on some other outdoor adventure. If you have, we are guessing you recall the alert and fresh feeling of waking up with the sunrise and the surrounding ambiance of life stirring around you. If you haven’t, you need to!
It is quite different waking up outside. Most people say that they don’t experience the grogginess that often goes hand in hand with indoor sleeping.
In this section we will give you a few tips and tricks to make the indoors more like the outdoors to promote your best sleep.
#12 Avoid Sleeping With Stale Air
Fresh air when you are awake and asleep are critical for a good night's sleep. If you spend a lot of time indoors and have thoroughly sealed your home to prevent heat loss, then you may be living and sleeping with poor air quality. A cracked window in your room or even down the hall can do a world of good for your sleep.
You may find that you really enjoy the feeling of fresh air circulating in your bedroom, too. Some people like to put a small fan on the window ledge while keeping the window cracked open an inch or two, even in the middle of winter.
#13 Avoid a Sunless Wake Up Routine
The biological mechanism that regulates sleep heavily operates on sunlight. If you have set up your bedroom with light-blocking curtains, you might want to find an alternative that allows the sunshine to fall upon your face or at least through a window as you awake.
If that just isn’t an option for you, you could make a rule for yourself to go outside as soon as you wake up before you start your morning routine. It may sound like an awful idea that could have wonderful results.
Fix Insomnia Related to Sleeping at the “Wrong” Time
If you have young children or have ever taken care of kids you likely know how important structured nap and sleep times are. If a child misses their nap they will often be quick to cry and likely have more difficulty getting to sleep at the next nap time. If a toddler who has grown out of naps accidentally takes a long nap on a car ride the caregivers may dread the coming night where the child stays up for an extra three hours before finally falling asleep. The key here is routine both for children and adults alike.
As an interesting observation, once we are adults, nobody is going to be there to play the role of mommy or daddy. You’re on your own to go to sleep whenever you decide. We wonder what our sleep would be like if we actually parented ourselves the way we believe we should care for a child?
#14 Avoid Power Napping at the Wrong Time
A power nap at the wrong time would be any time after dinner. A power nap at the right time would be before dinner and no longer than 20 minutes. An afternoon power nap, or even a short power rest, can be quite invigorating when done correctly.
By the way, napping is a skill. Learn to understand your body’s own signals. When you start to feel like your energy is crashing, that’s a great cue to take 20 minutes and lie down. We recommend using a simple self hypnosis process to put yourself in trance, and let that trance segue to natural sleep. At first you may use a gentle alarm to wake yourself up, but with more practice you’ll easily come back to full, alert wakefulness within a few minutes of your planned wake up time. Check out our Easy Self Hypnosis course if you’re interested in this.
#15 Avoid Going to Bed at the Wrong Time
Have you ever been exhausted and decided to go to bed a few hours before normal? You may find that you also awake a few hours before normal or that you awake in the middle of the night ready for action. This isn’t going to benefit you in the coming day and following night. Going to bed too early isn’t good. Establishing a set bedtime is actually ideal for the human body to get high-quality sleep.
Just as going to bed too early is disruptive to a sleep cycle, so is going to bed too late. This is something we all know and yet, we all often make the wrong decision here staying up late to have more fun, or worse, because we are trapped scrolling through the endless social media feeds.
If you are serious about sleeping, pick a bedtime you can live with and stick to it.
A Few More Solutions for Insomnia
Now that we have looked at the main causes of insomnia and how to avoid them, let’s look at some additional solutions.
#16 Experiment and Determine What Is Best for You
Although we touched on this earlier, it is worth mentioning again that we are all individuals and each of us needs to experiment to create an ideal Personalized Sleep Program that suits our individual needs. Here are some of the common categories that are worth exploring.
- How much caffeine you intake on a daily basis and what time of day would be best to stop your intake prior to sleeping.
- Find your ideal sleeping temperature. REMEMBER this may not be your most comfortable awake in bed temperature, it may actually be quite lower!
- Be mindful of activities you engage in prior to bed that might heat your body up such as a hot bath or intense exercise.
- Exercise in general is shown to decrease the stress hormone cortisol. Speak to your doctor to determine the best quantity and kind of exercise for you. As a general rule of thumb, 15 minutes a day is necessary to receive the benefits of the cortisol reduction.
#17 Planning Food and Drink Intake
Generally, it’s probably not a good idea to eat anything near bedtime. The carbohydrates in fruit juice, toast, or cookies can cause an insulin release and a drop in blood sugar, which will wake you up again. In any case, you need to be sleeping, not digesting! For this same reason, It is also a good idea to take your vitamins early in the day!
Also, if you tend to wake up for a midnight bathroom break you could cut off your fluid intake two hours before bed.
Although we never think of air as a fluid, it is viewed that way in physics. Fresh air can dramatically improve your waking and sleeping life. It decreases stress and oxygenates the blood facilitating relaxation. So get outside as much as possible and if you are stuck indoors, then always crack windows when ever possible to receive the benefits.
#18 Create a Comfort Haven
Why not get creative and build your ideal sleeping space? Maybe there is an idea that appeals to you that you have never looked into such as aromatherapy or Feng Shui. There are so many things you can do to create an inviting healing space.
In some cultures, shoes are removed before entering a house. Some people find that removing shoes prior to entering a bedroom can help you get right into the comfortable feeling and leave your troubles at the door.
Feng Shui suggests wooden headboards, clearing the clutter from the room, adding a touch of nature, setting up your bed so that the headboard is against a wall and not across from a mirror or door. To take a look at this in more detail, check out this Feng Shui sleep blog
Music and recordings can also help create an ideal ambiance. There are so many products, apps, and recordings out there for you to explore. If you are going to use something like YouTube, do a search for “nature sounds/thunderstorm/music for deep sleep black screen” A drawback to using YouTube is that there may be ads and it may run out before you are done sleeping. I bet you have experienced (or could imagine) how annoying YouTube autoplay could be at 3 am when your recording runs out! There are also sound machines specifically for sleeping. Here is an October 2022 top 10 review you could check out if you are thinking of going this route.
Did you know that both ocean waves and your sleeping breath rate both tend to average 12 per minute?! There is a lot of exciting science about relaxation and nature sounds. This blog is a really interesting read on the topic.
If you are looking for an instant solution, we have one available for you created by Mike Mandel. Our friends, family, colleagues, and community members swear by A Good Night's Sleep
Here is a customer testimonial for this instant solution: (This is a 3rd blog I am inserting)
It was a few years ago that I found myself awake in the middle of the night. It was two or three in the morning and I couldn't sleep. This was not the first night. In fact, for many nights I suffered from insomnia. I couldn't sleep. Nothing I tried worked. I mean it, nothing.
I tried all kinds of things to help me fall asleep quicker. Supplements, taking cold baths, hot baths, reading books, even wearing a sleep mask. You name it and I either tried it or researched it enough to not want to try it.
Note: I refused to go to a doctor to get a prescription for sleeping pills. I have no desire to rely on sleeping pills to do the most natural thing in the world - fall asleep every night. That makes no sense to me. There has to be a better way right?
…Later I stumbled on the Brain Software Podcast. That is when I started learning about Hypnosis and NLP. It was both fascinating and hilarious. I got hooked on the podcast. I'm still hooked on the podcast.
One day Mike and Chris mentioned the A Good Night's Sleep - Hypnosis for Sleep program…I was desperate for sleep and I was willing to try anything that made sense. After learning about hypnosis, I was willing to take a chance on this thing.
I was determined to try out the hypnosis track that night and set a new bedtime of 10:00 pm.
At first, it was nice and relaxing. Not anything game-changing. But, after I let my mind wander along with the hypnosis track I guess it fell asleep.
That was exciting. Well, the next morning when I woke up it was. It worked!
Mike Mandel’s Complete Solution for Insomnia Sufferers
Regardless why you have difficulty sleeping, Mike Mandel’s new program A Good Night’s Sleep can solve your insomnia and other sleep problems.
The Sleep Hypnosis Product Worked Once, But Did It Keep Working?
But, at the time I was still a bit skeptical if it would keep working. So, I kept my bedtime routine and every night for the next few weeks. I used the hypnosis track and fell asleep with no problems whatsoever.
And I began to notice something strange...
Each night I fell asleep faster and faster. After a few weeks a few seconds of the hypnosis track was enough to send me on my way to sleep.
Just Like That, No More Insomnia!
#19 Create a Night Time Sleep Ritual
Rituals and routines are underrated. Kathleen Vohs created and conducted a study about enjoyment of consuming chocolate. She wanted to see if enjoyment increased if an “unwrapping ritual” was included prior to consumption. What would you guess?
Yes! Enjoyment went up significantly when there was an attached ritual.
A possible bedtime ritual could be:
- Drink a freshly steeped cup of herbal tea to promote sleep. You could even get a special cup that you reserve for this ritual. Do this at least 2 hours before bed.
- Turn off and silence all devices and screens
- Head to your room with a book you would like to read
- Remove your shoes or slippers
- Turn on soft (warm) lighting
- Get into a made bed. Yes, make your bed every day.
- Note and enjoy everything that is comfortable about the experience and wind down with the book for 30 minutes.
#20 Supplements and Homeopathic Remedies
There’s another kind of insomnia that is also very common. Sometimes people have no trouble falling asleep, but wake up around 3 a.m. and just lie awake for hours seemingly unable to fall back asleep. People report that they finally fall asleep just before the alarm goes off, and are exhausted all day.
A lot of insomnia sufferers have had great results with a homeopathic medicine known as Nux Vomica, also known as Colubrina. It’s inexpensive, and available in many health food stores, and even in some drug stores. You take it if you awaken and notice it’s around 3am. That might be enough to enable you to quickly fall asleep again.
Many people swear by melatonin, a hormone that helps you stay asleep. It’s available as spray or tablets. Although it’s an over-the-counter medicine in many places, it should not be taken regularly, and even then, only with your doctor’s full knowledge and permission.
#21 Meditation and Hypnosis Solutions for Insomnia
Another method for overcoming sleeplessness is a form of self-hypnosis or meditation, which are essentially the same thing. In this method, you lull your brain into a relaxing state, while keeping your body still. Here’s two meditative techniques that work for many people:
- Note the timing of your own breathing. Without altering it at all, simply say the word sleep in your mind, every time you exhale. Despite its simplicity, this is a very powerful method for slowing the brain down, and letting sleep happen naturally.
- A variation on the above technique is to simply note the feeling of your breathing. To do this, concentrate your attention on your nostrils. Notice that they feel cool when you inhale, and warm when you exhale. If your mind wanders, just bring it back to the shifting temperature and keep noticing the air flowing in and out. It’s another really easy way to slow your mind and fall asleep.
Another mental practice you can apply is to move your thoughts from your mind to your body. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist Monk, would often compare our racing thoughts to the top of a tall tree bending in a windy storm. He would guide people to notice that the base of the tree remains stable throughout the storm. This technique will help you leave your racing thoughts and relax into the kinesthetic sensations in your body. Here’s how it works:
- Change your focus from those bright, flashing pictures, to your physical body. Get really comfortable, and slow down your internal voice, making it slow and sleepy. This is often enough to fix the bedtime insomnia that afflicts many people. Give it a shot. Switch off the pictures and slow down the inner voice, and tell yourself how comfortable and sleepy you are. It sometimes works in just a few minutes!
Many people hear the word hypnosis and look the other way. If you have done that in the past, spend a moment to read what we are suggesting and note how similar it is to any guided meditation.
Self hypnosis is an excellent tool to help you get to sleep. This can either be when you are first going to sleep, or if you wake up in the middle of the night and struggle to fall back asleep.
We teach a simple three-setup setup for all self hypnosis sessions. In other words, you should define these three things, in advance, before doing self hypnosis.
- What is the purpose of the hypnosis session?
- How long will I go into trance?
- How will I feel when I return from trance?
Obviously, for sleep, some of the answers are self-evident. The purpose is to fall asleep, and you only want to stay in trance as long as it takes for the trance to become genuine sleep.
All you need now is a simple hypnotic induction (described step-by step below) such that your conscious attention is entirely absorbed with something that is quite relaxing and not stressful.
Once you’re in trance you can just enjoy it by asking your unconscious mind to take over as your own personal entertainer. Ask your unconscious to present you with a series of visual scenes, or sounds, or memories.
Trust us … your unconscious knows how to do this perfectly, and will do it flawlessly. Consciously, you can just lay there, in trance, and appreciate what your unconscious presents to you.
One easy way to get into trance, while lying in bed is like this:
- Establish your purpose such as “fall asleep easily”
- Find a spot on which to fixate your visual attention. Pick a spot that requires you to roll your eyes slightly up, towards your forehead, above your line of vision.
- Stare at that spot for a few seconds as you inhale fully.
- Now close your eyes, and exhale slowly, as you imagine yourself fully relaxing. It can sometimes help to imagine you have air valves in your wrists or heels, and you’re imagining that your lungs are deflating like an inner tube or air mattress.
- Open your eyes, look at that spot again, and inhale again. Repeat this inhale and exhale cycle (with eyes open, then closed) 3-5 times. Do it slowly enough such that it’s calming and easy.
You’ll know when you have finished step 5 because it will feel like too much trouble to continue, and you might also notice your eyelids start to feel heavy, so much so that they just want to stay closed.
Now that you’re in trance you can do any number of things including the suggestion above - invite your unconscious to entertain you with pictures, movies, sounds, or memories. And just enjoy them as you drift off to sleep.
Need More Help?
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If you are wanting to be able to lay your head down and immediately find a comforting and relaxing rest, then A Good Night’s Sleep is for you.
While we did our due diligence in providing you tons of awesome knowledge in this blog post, you’ll find even more inside of the hypnosis audio training tracks that are included in A Good Night’s Sleep. It includes 2 audio training tracks, a 2 video training course, and 2 hypnosis audio tracks.
So what are you waiting for exactly? The magical sleep fairy to show up and help you eventually fall deep asleep? If that’s the case then you might be waiting forever.
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Mike Mandel’s Complete Solution for Insomnia Sufferers
Regardless why you have difficulty sleeping, Mike Mandel’s new program A Good Night’s Sleep can solve your insomnia and other sleep problems.