Sleep is a necessary and vital biological function. It is essential to a person’s physical and emotional well being. We have all read or watched on TV what happens when a person is deprived of sleep, hundreds of studies have shown that without enough sleep, a person’s ability to perform even simple tasks declines dramatically.

A sleep-deprived individual may experience impaired performance, irritability, lack of concentration, and daytime drowsiness. They are less alert, attentive, and unable to concentrate effectively. Additionally, because sleep is linked to restorative processes in the immune system, sleep deprivation in a normal adult causes a biological response similar to the body fighting off an infection.

Persistent sleep deprivation can cause significant mood swings, erratic behaviour, hallucinations, and in the most extreme, yet rare cases, death. The jury is still out on the long-term effects of sleep deprivation on health. Current research in this area is examining the effects of sleep deprivation on the immune system. However, even though most people are aware of the affects of when they don’t get enough sleep they neglect to address it seriously.

.So How Much Sleep Do We Need?

Six to eight hours per day is the average amount of sleep a person needs. That’s about one-third of a lifetime! As a population, we sleep about 1 to 1.5 hours less than we did 100 years ago.

Some experts suggest that the best way to determine personal sleep requirements is by waking up without an alarm clock. The amount of time spent sleeping would be the personal requirement. Other experts suggest that an ideal amount of sleep is the amount needed to feel refreshed and well rested in the morning and alert all day.

Contrary to popular belief, the amount of sleep a person needs does not decrease with age. The reality is that sleep patterns and circadian rhythms change as one ages. Infants spend 50% of their sleep time in non-REM sleep and 50% in REM sleep; it has been shown that deep sleep coincides with the release of growth hormones, necessary for growing children. Adults spend approximately 20% in REM sleep, while elderly people may spend only 15% in REM sleep. Older adults tend to spend most of their sleep time in Stage 1 of non-REM sleep. Consequently, they have less REM sleep and report frequent awakenings.

How Can Hypnotherapy Help?

Lack of sleep is a common issue that is brought to the therapy room, some people struggle to get off to sleep, some find it difficult to stay asleep and some people battle with both at different times.

If a client is having disrupted sleep then the first question is, are you worried about something? Once this is addressed and explored, hypnotherapy can be utilized. Suggestion therapy is one way, the client is hypnotized and suggestions are made so that when they go to bed they can start to switch off and go into restful sleep. Another more popular method is teaching the client self-hypnosis, when the client goes to bed they replay the hypnosis session back and slowly they drop off to sleep. There are many methods that can be used to aid restful sleep, if you are having difficulty with this please call and book a free consultation.

Anil

We can take it as a given that we all want to be successful in our lives, whether it’s in business, relationships, health or our careers. We all want to achieve our potential so we can live fuller lives and enjoy life to the maximum. Is this really true? Some people say they are not happy in their job but at the same time they do nothing to change it so they remain in the very job that they are not happy doing. You may give a handful of reasons as to why you feel that you cannot change, I would say yes you can, if you know how.

I am not saying that you can do it over night or in a few days as it takes a mindset shift, which takes practice. In my experience as a therapist and lifecoach, the biggest obstacle is your belief in what you can achieve.

Clients often say they want change but are not sure about what to do or believe it will happen and so they remain in that mindset and live an unhappy life. When I say changing your thinking, I am talking about the thinking that goes on within your mind when you are talking to yourself in your head.  What are you saying to yourself? Are you feeding it positive words or are you saying “I cannot do that, it’s too difficult, I could never achieve that”. It’s paramount that this self-talk is mastered because it is like a virus and will infect your life and then your behavior is reflected by it.   In a sense, let us say your life is a reflection of your self-talking, if you are not getting what you want in life, rethink your self talk.

“How do I do this?” you might be asking.  It’s straightforward, if you accept that this self-talking is happening, you can then use this to your own advantage by slowly embedding positive reinforced self-talk.  Start asking for what you want as opposed to what you do not want. Over a short period of time your self-talk will become more positive and creative and your life will begin to reflect your thinking. Again, this takes practice so be patient. Another tool that is as effective and can be utilised alongside the self-talk is imagery. So just as you become more aware of your inner dialogue, you now start to visualize the things you want and allow them to become imprinted in your mind. Every day set 5 or 10 minutes aside and close your eyes and visualize what you want in your life.  At the same time reaffirm your inner dialogue. Over time this will become second nature and you will wonder why you didn’t do this sooner.

You may think this is too easy, however, you have been doing it all of your life without knowing the impact of it, so why not just take control and direct it to what YOU want.

There are many other things you can do to aid you with getting more out of life but for now this is a good start. If you do want to know more please email me info@transformational-hypnosis.co.uk

For a long time now there has been a taboo surrounding the issue of seeking help for emotional issues. Some think it’s a sign of weakness, others worry about what people may think and, some worry that if they seek help there must be something drastically wrong. Is this worry engrained in our culture or is there a different reason for our fear?

Another angle that is commonly overlooked in the concern for seeking help is the fear of change. We are creatures of habit and most of the time we don’t want to look at ourselves in the mirror because we may need to adjust parts of it. It’s understandable that if one is living a life and is relatively happy apart from a small aspect that causes them anxiety, stress or even panic for short periods, people learn to incorporate it and manage it to some degree. When it becomes too much and starts to affect other aspects of their life, it is usually at that time that people look for answers.

Most therapists will tell you that the majority of clients only come to them as a last resort. It’s at this critical point that people look inside themselves and wonder why this is happening to them.  With some investigation/questioning/discussion, however, it becomes clear that the issue has been apparent for some time but defenses have been keeping it at bay and so the individual has avoided facing up to their issue. Yes, it can be a difficult thing to do, to talk to a strange person who you have never had any dealings with previously, to then speak to them about your life in such a way that most people never do with anyone else. There is something very rewarding to be able to speak openly not holding anything back, clients usually describe this feeling as “an emptying of jumbled up thinking” which is a therapeutic process. Trust is built within the relationship.  More and more is openly shared and examined. Techniques are learned in order to deal with the issue, the client begins to feel that someone can help them and, in turn, the client’s world begins to gradually change. Most clients, on completion of therapy, feel that they have achieved and developed in many ways and even state that they would suggest it to other people who are struggling with life issues.

Are we moving in a new direction? One where society is realizing that we all, at some point in our lives, need someone that will listen and not judge or pressure us; someone who will be patient and empathic; someone who will guide us to find our own positive path? More importantly, before any of this can begin, the person must want to make changes.

There are many and varied explanations about the nature and purpose of both meditation and hypnosis. From time immemorial the activity of directing awareness and focusing attention in the pursuit of understanding and healing has been practiced by all races and in all cultures. In fact normal waking awareness itself is a kind of trance state. After all, a considerable degree of focused awareness or filtering is required to engage in the most mundane activities.

Imagine standing on a crowded train platform with the noise and images of thousands of passengers, billboards and buskers; a literal avalanche of millions of discreet bits of information. Now imagine trying to carry on a conversation with a friend or simply buy a magazine or read a train schedule without the innate ability to filter out the vast majority of sensory input. The ability of individuals to focus awareness is natural and necessary.

Meditation and hypnosis have in common that they both build on innate human abilities to unconsciously filter extraneous stimuli while consciously directing and focusing attention. In meditation, as it is commonly understood, the purpose may be simple relaxation, the altering of awareness or the pursuit of inner wisdom and enlightenment by the direct experience of moment to moment reality. Hypnosis, and more specifically the practice of hypnotherapy, recognizes and exploits the therapeutic value of consciously directing awareness and focusing attention.

In some respects the crowded train platform with all its images and noise may be an apt analogy for the common condition of the mind when it is not specifically engaged or focused on some task – whether playing bingo or designing a nuclear reactor. There is a Buddhist phrase that describes the condition of the unfocussed or in Buddhist terms, the untrained mind, as monkey mind. Desires, judgments, concerns and worries incessantly arise and disappear of their own accord. Rene Descartes is said to have famously declared, “I think therefore I am” – just as correctly, he might have said, “I am therefore I think”. It appears that we are thought producing organisms.

Unfortunately, for many the thinking that arises consists of fears and worries often stemming from factors beyond personal control and is commonly frustratingly repetitive and self critical. Over time many create an identity out of this kind of thinking. They literally become their problems. Clearly this kind of habitual mind environment contributes to a greatly diminished experience in the quality of life and can be a major contributing factor in all kinds of troubling issues; from lack of confidence and social anxiety to depression and other psychological conditions, including coping behaviors like substance abuse and addictions of all kinds. Here is where hypnosis and meditation can each help in their own way.

Hypnosis, while extremely beneficial for general relaxation and stress release, is more often considered a therapeutic intervention dealing with specific issues over a definite period of time. Meditation is more often thought of as an ongoing endeavor that contributes in a general way to health and sense of well being. For many, meditation is an enduring life long practice.

It is commonly believed that the purpose or function of meditation is to stop thinking; to experience an empty mind. Nothing could be farther from the truth, or more difficult to attain. Among other things meditation is a way to realize – to make real by direct experience, that we are not our thoughts and that there is a more permanent, more stable self or awareness beneath the level of thinking. As this realization deepens over time it contributes tremendously to life satisfaction on many different levels; mental, physical and spiritual.

The practice of meditation simply requires an object to focus on; whether an image, a phrase or, as an example here, simply the breath. Awareness is focused on the breath to the best of one’s ability and when it is noticed that a thought has arisen; regardless of the content of the thought awareness is simply returned to the breath. This process is carefully attended to and continued for a predetermined length of time. There is no other absolute requirement for meditation. Eyes may be open or closed; the back should be relatively straight and the body relaxed. Over time the length of the meditation or sitting may be lengthened from a daily 5 or 10 minutes to 20 or 30 minutes. With minimal training this kind of open awareness of the present can easily be experienced during almost any activity. This kind of practical meditation transfers the benefits of formal seated meditation to the day to day experience of life.

The practice of hypnosis requires little more than a subject willing to relax, pay attention and simply follow instructions. One of the great misconceptions about hypnosis is that it involves a loss of consciousness. Hypnosis is an altered state of awareness or perception in which the body is highly relaxed and the mind is sharply focused and receptive to therapeutic suggestion. With the guidance of a hypnotherapist the subject gradually enters into a very aware, deeply relaxed state. When deeply relaxed and sharply focused the mind is able to support suggested changes in mood thought and behavior.

One of the shared goals of Hypnosis and meditation is to help individuals to develop their innate ability to focus and direct conscious attention. Considering the degree to which thought contributes to state: the felt sense of well being, satisfaction and happiness, it is hard to conceive of any other single human endeavor more valuable than cultivating the ability to focus attention and direct awareness.