I have worked very effectively with hundreds of clients who suffered from short or long-term sleep problems, often achieving significant changes within 2-3 sessions, sometimes with clear improvements after 1 session.

Insomnia and sleep-disturbances, whether difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early, have significant effects on mental and physical health. The role of hypnotherapy in effectively treating these issues is supported by a growing body of research.

With hypnosis we can work to make sleep your friend again, rather than your enemy, with no side-effects, no medication, we can target both physiological and psychological mechanisms that contribute to sleep disturbances to give you access to natural sleep.

Insomnia can have serious impacts on your mood, your capacity to focus and be productive at work, your emotional wellbeing as it can greatly increase anxiety, worry, and distress. Almost anyone who has suffered from insomnia knows what a deeply unpleasant experience it is, and how quickly it can become a burden and a shadow on everyday life.

1. Hypnosis can treat insomnia by directly supporting your nervous system capacity to regulate.

Sleep hypnosis effectively counters the physiological hyperarousal linked to insomnia, the way the autonomic nervous system at night becomes active making you hypervigilant rather than relaxed and tranquil. With hypnosis we can modulate the autonomic nervous system by promoting a parasympathetic state conducive to sleep.

In other words hypnosis can directly rewire the experience of feeling all of a sudden very awake, or restless, when you finally go to bed, or of waking up in the night startled and unable to fall asleep again, or too alert too early in the morning. By helping to lower heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension, it mimics the body’s natural precursors to sleep, so that we can gradually and effectively retrain your body to initiate the sleep process again naturally.

This will reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, and make the transition into sleep painless and natural, rather than fearful and full of negative anticipation and worry.

2. Hypnotherapy can release your fears and anxieties around sleep and open up new ways to feel and think about sleep 

On a psychological level, hypnotherapy addresses the mental and emotional blocks that disrupt sleep. Through our sessions, we will harness the full effects of hypnosis to reshape negative beliefs and anxieties around sleep. Many people with insomnia experience a cycle of stress and worry over their inability to sleep, which only worsens the problem. Hypnosis can help shift these unhelpful thought patterns, fostering a more positive outlook toward sleep and reduce negative anticipation.  This cognitive restructuring is essential for reducing bedtime anxiety and enhancing sleep quality.

Additionally, we can fortify and develop your capacity for healthy sleep habits through hypnosis, making it easier to establish beneficial routines, like limiting exposure to screens, keeping a regular sleep schedule, and creating a peaceful sleep environment to strengthen natural sleep rhythms and promote long-term improvements in your sleep patterns.

Hypnotherapy is a holistic approach for Treating Insomnia at All Levels

Hypnotherapy works on every level to treat insomnia—from breaking patterns of worry and reducing fear-driven emotions to calming the body’s stress and arousal response. Hypnotherapy for sleep, is a holistic process that addresses the mind, body, and emotions in one integrated approach. Research shows that hypnotherapy does not just mask symptoms; it helps rewire the mechanisms that support healthy natural sleep.

Hypnotherapy is particularly beneficial for those who have tried other therapies without success. Hypnosis is also an effective non-pharmaceutical alternative for those seeking to reduce or avoid sleep medications: this aspect is crucial since reliance on sleep medications can lead to dependency and other health risks.

While hypnosis is a very effective way to treat insomnia, treatment outcome vary from person to person, and are based on adherence to treatment and variable life circumstances.

References:

T. Lam et al. “Hypnotherapy for insomnia: A randomized controlled trial comparing generic and disease-specific suggestions..” Complementary therapies in medicine, 41 (2018): 231-239 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2018.10.008.

K. Bauer et al. “An hypnotic technique for treating insomnia..” The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis, 28 1 (1980): 1-5 . https://doi.org/10.1080/00207148008409822.

G. Graci et al. “Evidenced-Based Hypnotherapy for the Management of Sleep Disorders.” International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 55 (2007): 288 – 302. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207140701338662.