How to Overcome Insomnia with Hypnotherapy
The word ‘hypnos’ is the name of the Greek god of sleep. This in itself would suggest that hypnotherapy will help with sleep problems, and indeed there is research evidence for this (see meta-analysis by Lam et al, 2015).
Although people under hypnosis are not literally asleep it is a relatively fast, safe and effective way to improve insomnia. Another benefit is that hypnotherapy helps without the use of medications, which is a especially useful to people who would otherwise take medications that can be addictive or have unpleasant side effects.
People have problems sleeping for all sorts of reasons. After dietary (e.g. caffeine intake) and medical causes are ruled out, usually the root cause of insomnia is stress. Often, people who come to see me for hypnotherapy for anxiety find that their sleep problems improve very quickly, as well as other symptoms of anxiety (such as stress at work, lack of confidence, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), etc).
Some medical conditions are associated with insomnia. For example, women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)are more likely to have problems such as sleep apnoea. Although more research evidence is needed on this topic, it is possible that hypnotherapy might help as an adjunct in such conditions. Benefits are especially likely where the medical condition is also a cause of anxiety to the patient, causing then to worry at night about the impact of their condition. These worries might cause problems falling to sleep (initial insomnia), problems with waking during the night (middle insomnia), or waking up early and not getting back to sleep (terminal insomnia).
Problems sleeping can quickly cascade into creating problems in all areas of life, and can even create dangers for people operating cars or machinery. That is why I take insomnia very seriously. For example, someone who is lacking sleep will be less able perform well in their job, no matter what the job is. If they risk losing their job, this also puts at risk any dependents, such as children or other family members. So insomnia is not a trivial issue, as anybody suffering from insomnia will tell you.
In conclusion, if you are having problems sleeping, hypnotherapy is a sensible way to approach this problem.
About the author
Dr John A. Barry is a Chartered Psychologist and Professional Researcher. He is a leading expert in the areas of male psychology including men’s mental health and the psychological aspects of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). His new book, Perspectives in Male Psychology: An Introduction (ISBN: 978-1-119-68535-7), co-authored with Louise Liddon, is published in the new year and is available to pre-order now.
Reference
Lam, T. H., Chung, K. F., Yeung, W. F., Yu, B. Y. M., Yung, K. P., & Ng, T. H. Y. (2015). Hypnotherapy for insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Complementary therapies in medicine, 23(5), 719-732.
