How To Achieve Better Sleep: Transform Your Nights and Energise Your Days!

Published by Zena Hodgson in Sleep · Sunday 28 Jul 2024 · 8:30
Tags: Sleep, Anxiety, stress, poorsleep, overwhelm, brainfog

How To Achieve Better Sleep: Transform Your Nights and Energise Your Days!

In our fast-paced world, stress has become a constant companion for an ever-increasing number of people, affecting so many different aspects of our lives, including sleep.

The relentless bombardment of news, media and advertisements that reside in our back pocket, and the multitude of screens around our homes, make it harder and harder to switch off from work, school, global challenges, environmental disasters, war, news, views, must-see entertainment, political spats, local disputes, the list goes on.

24/7 input potential = increasing mental overwhelm

In today’s world, a deliberate, conscious effort needs to be made to give our minds some quiet rest bite from all the noise.

Working with my clients, I have found that by helping them to learn and practice ways to reduce stress and cortisol levels throughout the day, they can significantly improve their waking state of mind and their sleep quality at night.

Less stress and better sleep enhance our overall well-being in so many ways.

The Cornerstone of Health: Understanding Sleep's Vital Role

Sleep stands as one of the fundamental pillars of maintaining a healthy body and mind, playing a crucial role in our overall well-being that extends far beyond simply feeling rested. This nightly reset is essential for a myriad of bodily functions and cognitive processes, making it as important to our health as proper nutrition and regular exercise.

During sleep, our bodies engage in vital restorative processes. Cells repair and regenerate, muscles grow, and tissues heal. This physical restoration maintains our body's resilience against injury, and the strengthening of our immune system during sleep helps to make us more resistant to infections and recover more quickly when we do fall ill. Sleep helps us to better regulate our metabolism and hormonal balance, which directly have an impact on weight management, appetite control, and energy levels throughout the day.

And that’s just the physical stuff.

Cognitively, sleep is indispensable. Our brains use this time to consolidate memories, sort out and digest information, and clear out toxins that accumulate during waking hours. These processes are essential if we want to learn new things effectively and be able to successfully problem-solve. If our quality of sleep is poor, then we can start to experience problems concentrating and can find it more difficult to focus on the tasks at hand. Brain fog; those moments of forgetfulness, names we ought to know, forgetting mid-sentence what you were going to say, even common words can become elusive. Getting the correct amount of sleep is a critical factor in our daily performance and long-term cognitive health.

Clients usually come to see me when they are suffering with an anxiety related issue that is affecting their emotional well-being and mental health. During our Initial Consultation, I will always ask about my client’s sleep, if they haven’t already raised the issue, as it is a good indicator as to what might be going on for them, and how I may be able to help. Sleep plays such a crucial role in our emotional well-being, but the relationship between stress and sleep is bidirectional. Poor sleep can increase our susceptibility to stress, while increased stress can lead to poorer sleep, creating a vicious cycle that can be challenging to break without intervention.

Daily stressors, whether from work, relationships, or other life challenges, can also quickly undermine our sleep. Stress activates our body's fight-or-flight response, releasing hormones like cortisol that keep us alert and vigilant - the opposite of what we need for restful sleep. When we carry the day's stress to bed, it can lead to racing thoughts, anxiety, and physical tension, all of which make it difficult to relax and fall asleep.

Stress Reduction Techniques

If we are to improve our quality of sleep, then we are going to have to get good at mastering effective stress reduction techniques. The following practices, when integrated into daily life, can significantly lower cortisol levels and help pave the way for more restful nights.

Mindful presence stands at the forefront of stress reduction strategies. By practicing full engagement in each moment, we can break free from the insidious cycle of rumination and worry that often plagues our minds. This mindfulness technique isn't about eliminating thoughts, but rather about observing them without judgment, and allowing them to pass like clouds in the sky. As we cultivate this skill, we naturally reduce the production of stress hormones like cortisol, creating a more peaceful internal environment conducive to relaxation and, ultimately, better sleep.

Perspective shifting is another powerful tool in our stress-reduction toolbox. When confronted with challenges, the ability to view situations from different angles can be transformative. This is something I work a lot on with my clients, getting them to strengthen their cognitive flexibility. This enables them to get better at reframing perceived threats or uncomfortable situations, instead turning them into potential opportunities or learning experiences, thereby lowering their stress responses. By practicing this skill, we can navigate life's ups and downs with greater ease, reducing the cumulative stress that often interferes with restful sleep.

Positive visualisation serves as a mental rehearsal for success and can significantly impact our stress levels. By regularly imagining positive outcomes for our goals and challenges, we not only reduce anxiety in the moment, but also prime our minds for success. This practice creates a positive feedback loop: as we visualise success, we feel more confident, which in turn reduces stress and enhances our ability to actually achieve our goals. This reduced stress and increased sense of capability can greatly improve our ability to relax and sleep well.

Why imagine the worst, if we can instead imagine the best?

Gratitude practice is a simple yet profound technique for reducing stress and enhancing overall life satisfaction. By taking time each day to notice and appreciate the good things in our lives, no matter how small, we shift our focus from what's lacking to what's abundant. This practice can rewire our brains to more readily recognise positive aspects of our lives, leading to a significant reduction in stress and an increase in contentment. As we carry this positive mindset into the evening, it can help create the mental conditions necessary for peaceful sleep.

Incorporating micro-breaks throughout the day is an often overlooked but highly effective stress reduction technique. These short pauses, even if just a few minutes long, serve as reset buttons for our stress levels. During these breaks, practices like deep breathing or gentle stretching can make a world of difference. They provide moments of calm in our busy days, preventing stress from building up to unmanageable levels. By regularly resetting our stress levels, we're less likely to carry tension into the evening, making it easier to unwind and prepare for restful sleep.

The Power of Hypnosis

Hypnosis allows you to enter a state of focused relaxation. This can rapidly lower cortisol levels in your body, promoting a profound sense of calm and well-being. This reduction in stress hormones not only helps you feel more relaxed in the moment but also sets the stage for better sleep later on.

Hypnotherapy also strengthens the mind-body connection. By accessing the subconscious mind, we can create a powerful link between your mental state and physical relaxation. This enhanced connection allows you to more easily transition into a state of relaxation when needed, whether it's during a stressful day or as you prepare for sleep.

As part of my work with clients, I encourage the use of self-hypnosis, and all receive a self-hypnosis audio from me, when we work together. I have found that this is such a beneficial addition to the hypnotherapy work we are doing together in our private sessions.

Regular practice of self-hypnosis can lead to markedly improved sleep quality. Many clients find that they can fall asleep faster and achieve deeper, more restorative sleep cycles through consistent use of self-hypnosis techniques. And this improvement in sleep quality can have far-reaching effects on overall health and daily functioning.

During private hypnotherapy sessions the techniques I use are tailored to address the specific sleep issues or stress triggers unique to my clients. This is the beauty of hypnotherapy, it can offer a truly personalised approach, ensuring that the individual client gets the specific help they need, relevant to their life circumstances. And because we are working at a conscious and subconscious level, the long-term benefits can lead to a more balanced and peaceful approach to life's challenges, further supporting good sleep and overall well-being.

Understanding the vital importance of sleep and the factors that can disrupt it underscores the need for prioritising good sleep hygiene and effective stress management techniques. By recognising sleep as a cornerstone of health and taking proactive steps to protect and improve our sleep, we invest in our physical health, mental acuity, emotional well-being, and overall quality of life. In doing so, we equip ourselves with the resilience and energy needed to face life's challenges and embrace its joys fully.