Modern people, with their frantic pace of life and constant stress, often face the problem of sleep disturbances. Nighttime insomnia is manifested by fatigue, apathy, and irritability during the day. The brain, chasing anxious thoughts in circles all night, does not have time to rest, experiences overload and, as a result, nervous disorders. Pills are not the answer. They help temporarily, and a person quickly gets used to them. There is a more reliable and gentle remedy - hypnosis for insomnia. It allows you to solve mental problems that cause sleep disturbances and has no negative consequences.
Why is a hypnotic state formed?
Hypnosis, a form of treatment for insomnia, has been around for more than 3,000 years. During this time, new technologies appeared and old ones improved. The development of psychoanalysis and psychiatry has made it possible to create special ways of putting a patient into a trance. Immersion in this state helps to influence the subconscious level and instill attitudes. Modern mechanisms for putting a person into a trance are superior to those used a thousand years ago.
Fact! Scientific research confirms that during hypnosis all biochemical processes remain unchanged. To confirm this hypothesis, researchers conducted hundreds of tests with blood taken from a patient in a hypnotic trance.
At the same time, brain activity changes on the EEG. He finds himself in a special state on the border between sleep and wakefulness. This opens up ways to influence the hemispheres that are inaccessible under other conditions. Hypnosis affects a person at the cellular level, changing the process of synthesis of protein structures. This is due to its effect on the human body.
It is also noteworthy in the treatment of insomnia with hypnosis that during professional or independent sessions the same areas of the brain are involved. This means that after training, hypnotherapy methods can be used at home.
Methods of immersion in hypnosis for sleep and calming the nervous system
To treat insomnia, you can contact a professional hypnotherapist, for example, Nikita Valerievich Baturin. Over the course of 5 sessions, an experienced psychologist-hypnologist will not only set up your subconscious to independently immerse yourself in a healthy deep sleep, but will also identify and solve the hidden psychological causes of the disease.
There is an equally effective, but longer way - self-hypnosis or listening to special audio recordings. Self-immersion in hypnosis to calm the nervous system requires self-relaxation skills and a rich imagination. To find out your capabilities in self-hypnosis, try this relaxation exercise:
It is easier to immerse yourself in a state of healing trance by listening to audio files created by hypnotherapists. Many of them are freely available on the Internet.
Hypnosis for sleep and calming the nervous system listen to:
Indications for hypnotic sessions
Treatment with hypnosis gives excellent results for both mild and severe forms of insomnia. The technique can be used to treat other disorders: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty waking up, or too sensitive, restless sleep.
Hypnosis will also be effective against night fears, for example, fear of the dark, which affects patients just before going to bed.
Treatment of insomnia with hypnosis is effective in the presence of the following causes of pathology:
- severe mental or physical fatigue resulting from excessive exertion. In this state, a person cannot sleep due to overwork;
- increased levels of stress – acute or chronic;
- depression, neurosis and other mental disorders accompanied by sleep disorders;
- disruption of sleep patterns caused by night shifts at work, abuse of the computer or TV, constant travel;
- use of drugs whose side effects include acute sleep disturbances (anti-epileptic drugs, corticosteroids, drugs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, antipsychotics).
Hypnosis can be used for treatment if insomnia is caused by alcohol addiction. The technique is used when the patient is undergoing treatment.
Important! Some people begin to suffer from sleep disorders due to abuse of coffee, tea, and other stimulants (5-6 cups per day).
Somatic illnesses and the insomnia that follows them cannot be treated with the hypnotic method. These diseases primarily include: hyperfunction of the thyroid gland, asthma, and gastrointestinal diseases. If the cause of the disorder is not eliminated, hypnosis will not work. Hypnotic technology has the best effect against insomnia caused by nervous or mental causes.
Causes of insomnia
Let's figure out why insomnia occurs. This state is subjective, i.e. it is determined by patients taking into account their sensations. There may be a real problem with falling asleep, a feeling of dissatisfaction with rest. Insomnia occurs due to mental, neurological problems, and diseases.
More detailed reasons for difficulties include:
- violation of sleep hygiene, i.e. incorrect stages of preparation, organization of the place, duration of night rest
- severe fatigue due to physical, mental, psychological stress
- biological clock failure
- the presence of external factors that make it difficult to fall asleep: loud noise, high air temperature, lack of sufficient oxygen
- depression
- state of stress
- incorrect psychological attitudes
- own rejection of the quality of rest
- disease
- treatment with certain drugs
- lack of physical activity
In addition to the patient’s personal feelings, specialists are guided by established signs of insomnia:
- falling asleep lasts more than 30 minutes
- violation of the rest process is repeated 3 or more times a week
- after a long process of relaxation, the patient falls asleep, but, noticing this fact, wakes up
- state of drowsiness, fatigue during the day
- the patient wakes up excessively early
- skipping night rest stages
- it's hard to finally wake up
- possible nightmares
Sometimes insomnia goes away without specialist intervention. For example, when a serious conflict is resolved, the bedroom air parameters increase/decrease to the required levels, the quality of rest improves, and the time to fall asleep is reduced.
Benefits of hypnotherapy
Hypnosis can safely reduce the number of insomnia attacks. This method is suitable for adults and children, is one of the most painless and has no side effects.
Including from the central nervous system. The hypnosis technique is similar to relaxation and is pleasant to perform. Additional benefits of using hypnosis to treat insomnia:
- helps treat fears and phobias, many patients with stuttering get rid of pathology;
- improves the condition of patients with various addictions;
- eliminates obsessive states;
- hypnotherapy has a positive effect on the patient’s memory and attention, therefore concentration and cognitive functions increase;
- with the help of hypnotic immersion in sleep, a person normalizes night rest, and this has a positive effect on the process of treating other somatic disorders;
- Hypnosis helps to forget about pain and reduces the patient's sensitivity.
The technique has only one drawback - it is impossible to predict on whom exactly it will not work.
Existing hypnosis techniques
Hypnosis is a mild change in the patient's consciousness that does not lead to sleep. In one of the stages of hypnosis, a person’s sensitivity is sharply reduced, he becomes immune to external stimuli. At the same time, the level of its suggestibility increases several times.
There are 2 groups of hypnosis methods, divided into classical and Ericksonian. The second method is considered modern.
Features of classical hypnosis
The traditional technique originated in Ancient Egypt. A person is put into a trance using special phrases such as “Now you will begin to fall asleep.” When the patient passes from a state of wakefulness to a partially suppressed consciousness, the doctor's voice for him becomes something like a “setting disk”.
In a state of hypnosis, a person will not unquestioningly do something tactile. Classical hypnosis acts mainly on the verbal side, helps to retrieve various memories and facts from the subconscious, and also predisposes a person to accept attitudes.
Ericksonian (non-directive) hypnosis
This type of influence was developed by Dr. M. Erickson. The doctor tested the effect of the method on himself and proved that it can even be used to treat diseases (he got rid of the consequences of polio). If classical hypnosis is more characterized by a state of sleep, and not everyone succumbs to it, then with the Erickson method the person is awake, and the percentage of succumbing patients is much higher.
Suggestion looks like telling an interesting story or an instructive fable. These words are fixed in the subconscious. Action is based on the subconscious. As Erikson believed, only through the subconscious can a person’s deep attitudes be changed. The action of Ericksonian hypnosis is based on the following steps:
- An attitude is created within a person that sleep will be deeper and more timely.
- The rhythms of night rest are being adjusted.
- The correct stereotype for falling asleep and waking up is formed.
- The tension is relieved and the person calms down.
In addition to the most common methods of treating insomnia with hypnosis, there are more modern techniques.
Hypnosis by Valyak and Rakitsky
The technology is based on the principle of voice influence on a person. The patient is played a recording with a female voice and music, and the hypnologist uses visualization techniques, distracting the patient from thoughts.
With these techniques, the sounds are light, monotonous, which promotes relaxation and immersion in a trance. When using audio effects, an alpha rhythm is created, which the brain tunes to when falling asleep.
Mechanism of action
A person needs sound and healthy sleep to relieve general stress and restore performance. The lack of proper rest at night indicates the presence of a problem that does not “let go” at the level of consciousness or even the subconscious.
An attempt to complete a program becomes dominant, and the body perceives this problem as a super task.
It is more important for the brain to solve it, but it cannot do this on its own. This phenomenon leads to sleep disturbance, which is eliminated by drugs only temporarily. In this case, hypnosis will help solve the problem.
The method helps to get rid of insomnia naturally by normalizing the functioning of the nervous system and relieving tension. Under the influence of a specialist, a person gets the opportunity to effectively end the problems that tormented him or change his attitude towards them.
The program that a specialist sets during a session allows you to influence the subconscious, eliminating the root cause. Due to this, internal tension is relieved, conditions are created for deep sleep, which will bring real relaxation and allow you to fully rest. As a result, after waking up, a person feels lightness and calm. The functioning of many organs and systems is restored, stress and its consequences are relieved.
Often the following are unfinished programs:
- fears (both childhood and those that appeared during life);
- conflicts in the family (divorce, frequent quarrels, death of a loved one);
- loss of work or problems associated with it;
- constant feeling of guilt;
- revenge;
- strong resentment.
In fact, there are a great many programs that do not allow a person to fully rest. But it is precisely the above that are most often found out in the process of hypnotherapy.
Self-hypnosis technique
Self-hypnosis for the treatment of insomnia is used only after completing one or more courses together with specialists. Based on the characteristics of the condition, the person’s lifestyle, and his propensity for suggestion, the doctor develops a method of independent hypnosis. However, it is not prescribed to all patients.
If a person does not have positive changes after the first course of therapy, it will not be possible to use independent hypnosis. In other cases, the patient begins home training using the method of self-hypnosis. The session should be performed right before bed, after being well relaxed and relieved of tension.
The essence of the method is that a person pronounces one or several phrases out loud, in the first person. These phrases are compiled together with the doctor and used during the course, without the use of additional words. Common options: “I’m doing well today,” “I had a wonderful day,” “My sleep will be healthy and sound,” “Now I’ll fall asleep and sleep until the morning.”
Regular repetition of these phrases helps you bypass the stage of analyzing what happened during the day. A few weeks after the start of self-therapy, the patient, subject to successful treatment, notes an accelerated process of falling asleep and the absence of night awakenings.
When doing self-hypnosis for insomnia, it is important to follow your daily routine, fall asleep at the same time, and maintain sleep hygiene.
Stages of complete rest
To fall asleep comfortably, the appropriate conditions must be met: silence, darkness, a comfortable bed, correct air parameters (temperature, humidity).
There are 8 stages of night rest
Stages 1 and 2 - preparation
The stages are characterized by the preparation of the brain, the extinction of strong emotions. The initial stage - the vacationer takes a comfortable position and closes his eyes. Often there are thoughts about past events (especially if the pastime was active, eventful), and scrolling through plans. At this stage, a person suffering from insomnia may stop - it is difficult for the nervous system to calm down due to the analysis of the mass of events.
The second stage is when the person falling asleep slowly “falls” into half-sleep. Consciousness becomes clouded, real events are mixed with fictitious ones, joyful emotions from visions are possible.
After two successfully completed stages, people fall asleep. There are two phases of sleep: slow, deep. At night they replace each other several times.
slow sleep
The phase includes 4 stages. The third stage lasts 5 - 10 minutes, the sleeper is dozing. Consciousness partially records the state of the surrounding space, the flow of time is distorted, body processes slow down - pulse, breathing slow down, muscles relax. The sleeper may be visited by imaginary events and intuitive thoughts. A state of consciousness similar to this stage is convenient for the hypnotherapist - the patient’s mind most easily accepts external attitudes.
The fourth stage is the onset of shallow sleep, slowing down other physiological processes. The stage lasts 20 - 25 minutes, characterized by high sensitivity (rest is easy to interrupt).
Fifth, sixth stages - there is a transition to a state of deep unconscious sleep. The duration of each stage is 30 - 45 minutes. Here the sleeper sees most of the dreams that he forgets. If there is somnambulism, talking, nightmares, they manifest themselves here.
REM sleep
The seventh stage is rapid paradoxical sleep. Muscle tone drops sharply, pulse and breathing quicken, eyeballs move under closed eyelids, and limbs may twitch. The first cycle lasts 5 - 10 minutes, each subsequent night cycle is extended. The duration takes ⅕ - ¼ of a night's rest. If the phase lasts too long, then the vacationer is deprived of the opportunity to get a full night's sleep, and in the morning the state will be broken. Some insomnia sufferers probably fall asleep shallowly, skipping the other stages. The patient's night's rest remained superficial, and his strength was not restored.
Awakening
The final stage is awakening, the brain begins to work actively.
If there are no problems, then the sleeper goes through all 8 stages of rest. After completing the last stage, a feeling of vigor and complete restoration of strength comes.
If insomnia is present, manifestation is possible at any stage. The reason is the possibility of awakening between stages. If for very young children waking up and being unable to fall asleep on their own during the transition from one phase to another is the norm, then for adults it is a pathology.
Possible contraindications to hypnosis
Regardless of the method chosen, treatment of insomnia with hypnosis is impossible in the following cases:
- epilepsy;
- severe heart and vascular diseases;
- acute mental disorders;
- neurological disorders;
- terminal stages of diseases (cirrhosis, cancer, coma);
- pregnancy;
- reluctance and skepticism regarding hypnotherapy;
- excessive desire to be hypnotized.
Insomnia can occur in a teenager or a pregnant woman, after drinking alcohol or with VSD, but you should not self-medicate; consult a doctor to determine the causes of insomnia.
Treatment of insomnia with hypnosis is a slow process, during which additional contraindications and the patient's lack of predisposition to therapy may be discovered. However, for insomnia, which is caused by emotional experiences, stress, neuroses and mild forms of mental disorders, the hypnosis method will be very effective.
