Penelope Ling is an award-winning solution-focused hypnotherapist specializing in phobias. She founded Penelope Ling Hypnotherapy and is the author of the book Driving me crazy – overcome the fear of driving. She regularly contributes to magazines like Happiful and guests on podcasts and BBC local radio.
Sleep problems and insomnia can significantly disrupt daily life and well-being. Problems with falling asleep or daytime sleepiness affect between 35 to 40% of the U.S. adult population annually, causing significant health problems. I’m certain the UK is close in numbers. Hypnotherapy, a therapeutic technique that uses relaxation, suggestion, and concentration, offers a drug-free approach to improve sleep quality. This article explores ten ways hypnotherapy can address sleep issues. We will discuss the different sleep stages, brainwave patterns, memory consolidation during delta sleep, and emotional processing in REM sleep, as well as practical aspects like sleep hygiene. Improve your sleep and you improve your mental health.
1. Understanding sleep stages and brainwaves
Sleep occurs in stages, each characterised by unique brainwave patterns. The stages include:
Full awakeness: The brain experiences Beta waves when awake and alert.
Stage 1 (falling sleep): Characterised by alpha waves. This is a transitional phase between wakefulness and sleep.
Stage 2: The body relaxes further, with sleep spindles (bursts of brain activity) appearing, dominated by theta waves.
Stage 3 (Delta or slow-wave sleep): Delta waves (slow brainwaves) are predominant, crucial for physical restoration and memory consolidation.
REM sleep: Cycles throughout the night, with brain activity similar to wakefulness, marked by theta waves and bursts of beta activity.
Matthew Walkers’ ‘Why We Sleep (2017)’ highlights how these brainwave shifts are essential for various functions like memory consolidation and emotional health. Hypnotherapy utilises a combination of all these states.
2. Inducing a relaxation response
Hypnotherapy promotes a state of deep relaxation, helping reduce the “fight or flight” response that often arises from stress or anxiety. This relaxation induces changes in brainwave activity, transitioning from beta waves (alert state) to alpha waves (relaxed state) and possibly into theta waves (light sleep or deep meditation). This approach prepares the mind and body for sleep by calming the nervous system.
Relaxing the mind and body is vital for easing into sleep stages, and hypnotherapy’s calming effects can help bridge that transition effectively. Distracting a person away from over thinking and rumination. In my career as a hypnotherapist, I have found my ‘sleep well mp3’ essential for speeding up therapy and helping people get a better quality of sleep.
3. Guiding the brain towards the REM state
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is essential for emotional processing, and its disruption can contribute to insomnia. Hypnotherapy guides the mind toward a state similar to REM sleep, facilitating emotional release and processing even while awake. In a hypnotic state, brainwave activity can mimic REM’s patterns (theta and beta), thus enhancing the body’s ability to enter and maintain REM sleep naturally. Often clients report feeling their eyes flicker as they relax. This could be their REM state in action.
The Harvard Medical School’s Improving Sleep: A Guide to a Good Night’s Rest (2021) discusses the significance of REM sleep for emotional regulation. Hypnotherapy’s ability to guide individuals into deeper relaxation can help extend REM cycles, making it a valuable tool for improving sleep quality.
4. Supporting emotional consolidation in REM sleep
REM sleep is not only for dreaming but also for processing emotions. The brain sorts through emotional experiences during REM, helping regulate mood and reduce stress. Hypnotherapy aids individuals in accessing REM sleep by calming the mind and reducing underlying stress or trauma. Using other therapies alongside hypnotherapy such as CBT, solution-focused and mindfulness can help a person understand their emotional issues and process them better in sleep.
I often discuss dreams with my clients as they are metaphors. Every dream is personal, allowing individuals to decipher their mind’s messages about specific situations. For example, I used to dream regularly about the London Underground. These dreams of being on a tube train, getting off and walking to another platform often appeared when change was going on in my life. I realised that subconsciously I had taken in the announcement “All change for” and so associated walking around the network representing change in direction.
The Human Givens approach to sleep shows us what its purpose is for. Their publication ‘Why we dream’ helps us understand the link between sleep, memory and mental health.
5. Enhancing memory consolidation in delta sleep
Delta sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep, plays a crucial role in memory consolidation and physical recovery. During this stage, the brain merges factual memories and information gained during the day. Often people who have sleep problems drink alcohol to get them in a nice relaxed state before going to bed. Unfortunately, it leads to dehydration and can severely disrupt this Delta cycle, which can lead to memory loss.
Listening to a hypnotherapy MP3 to help relax you into sleep at night increases your chances of good delta sleep patterns.
6. Addressing “The watch” phenomenon
“The watch” refers to waking up in the middle of the night, often between 2 AM and 4 AM, a pattern linked to our evolutionary past when nighttime vigilance was essential. Today, it’s commonly associated with anxiety, an overactive mind, or stress. Hypnotherapy addresses “the watch” by teaching the brain to respond differently to these awakenings. Techniques such as relaxation training, mindfulness practices, and reframing thoughts can help return the mind to sleep more quickly. My favourite exercise to get back to sleep in this period is to imagine that I’m on my favourite beach and the sound of my breathing is the waves lapping on the shore.
7. Improving sleep hygiene through hypnotic suggestions
Sleep hygiene involves habits and behaviours conducive to good sleep quality, such as limiting screen time before bed, maintaining a cool and dark bedroom, and having a consistent bedtime routine. Not using your bedroom as an office. Hypnotherapy can reinforce these practices through hypnotic suggestions, encouraging behaviours that support better sleep. Through CBT, therapists can address a person’s development of unhelpful bedtime habits and their reluctance to go to bed because of the belief that they won’t be able to sleep. Hypnotherapy can help reframe the problem, so they’re no longer thinking about it during the evening.
An HR manager approached me about a chronically late employee who had trouble sleeping. He had developed a habit of going out with friends to drink late into the night and then playing games for a couple of hours to relax. Exposing himself to blue light, he was delaying sleep and despite many attempts, he could not wake up on his alarm call. We worked together to get his sleep cycle back, so he was consistently waking up at 7am. We had to bring forward his going to bed routine over six weeks by 30 minutes until he could go to sleep around 11.30pm. I also addressed his reluctance to work in that job because it was an after university job to earn money, not related to his training. This lack of interest was causing him problems, so he learnt to reframe the problem and eventually had enough sleep to spend more energy on finding his ideal job.
8. Reducing anxiety and stress
Anxiety and stress significantly impact sleep, often preventing people from falling asleep or causing early awakenings. Hypnotherapy helps by addressing the subconscious causes of stress and worry through therapeutic techniques like visualisations and positive affirmations, which reduce physiological arousal and calm the mind.
9. Breaking the cycle of insomnia
Chronic insomnia often creates a negative feedback loop where the fear of sleeplessness exacerbates the issue. Hypnotherapy helps break this cycle by changing negative thought patterns and reframing how individuals perceive their sleep challenges. By emphasising positive sleep experiences, hypnotherapy helps individuals restore a natural, relaxed approach to sleep.
Arianna Huffington’s book The Sleep Revolution discusses how reframing sleep perceptions and reducing the pressure associated with sleep can improve sleep quality. Hypnotherapy can help achieve this by fostering positive attitudes toward sleep and minimising negative expectations.
10. Addressing nightmares and sleep disorders
For those suffering from nightmares or sleep disorders like sleepwalking, sleep apnoea or restless leg syndrome, hypnotherapy can provide relief by addressing underlying psychological triggers. Techniques like guided imagery and desensitisation reduce the frequency and intensity of nightmares, while relaxation methods help manage the discomfort of conditions like restless leg syndrome.
Using a CPAP machine is the best way to deal with snoring. Sleep apnoea can be dangerous to the body as it puts a strain on the heart. The lack of sleep means that sufferers can easily fall asleep whilst driving, because they are so starved of restful sleep. For those who struggle with wearing a CPAP mask or have trouble relaxing because of the noise of the machine, then hypnotherapy MP3s are an excellent distraction and can help you reframe the problem with one of it being helpful and energising.
Conclusion
Hypnotherapy offers a versatile approach to managing sleep problems and insomnia, addressing underlying causes, promoting relaxation, and fostering better sleep hygiene. By influencing brainwave patterns and sleep stages, hypnotherapy can help individuals achieve restorative delta sleep and emotionally restorative REM sleep. For those seeking a natural, non-invasive solution, the benefits of hypnotherapy make it a promising option. My MP3 has helped hundreds of people fall asleep each night for the past 15 years. If you struggle with sleep, then please book a free consultation with me here.
Penelope Ling, Solution-focused Hypnotherapist
Penelope Ling, BA, is a solution-focused hypnotherapist and author. She became a specialist in phobias, having many as a child and a fear of driving as an adult, which left her unable to drive for 13 years. Having conquered those fears during training, the decision to help others overcome their limitations was simple. She helps her clients overcome their fears and phobias, achieving a more fulfilling, anxiety-free life.
