Many of my hypnotherapy clients present with a sleep problem, secondary to the issue they are seeking help with. Either they feel they are not getting enough sleep, perhaps getting too much, or they wake in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep. Most of us have experienced sleep deprivation at some point in our lives and know the effect it can have on our energy and stress levels.
We are conditioned to believe that we need the statutory 7 or 8 hours sleep in order to function properly, however, this article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783 challenges that belief and questions that it could in fact be natural for us to have some waking time in the middle of the night.
Historically, we used to sleep in the evening, wake for a couple of hours and then return to sleep before waking finally to start the day. Those waking hours in the night were often spent meditating, reading, writing or praying. Perhaps we would benefit more if we were able to flow with those waking hours when they happen and use them to relax in a positive way, rather than lying awake worrying about the fact we should be asleep
So next time a hypnotherapy client is concerned about their sleep pattern, I will offer them this view alongside the more traditional approach to dealing with sleep disruption.
