Insomnia is a cnodition that most people can somewhat relate to – we’ve all had trouble falling asleep during the course of our lifes. But for some people this is a condition that becomes “normal” – and that’s when it’s time to get proactive and do something about it. I’m not talking about taking sleeping pills or anything like that – there are much better ways to fight insomnia.
Sleep is important – don’t take this lightly. You can live fine for many years with sleep deprivation – but it will eventually take it’s toll on your health. Enough quality sleep is an important factor for your mental, emotional and physical health. It affects your cognitive functioning; how clear you think, how well you remember, how fast you learn, how creative you are. It also affects your social life; how you feel, how you behave towards others, and so on.
There are essentially four kinds of insomnia:
- Psycho-reactive insomnia
This is the most common kind of insomnia. It’s what I call the can’t stop thinking sleeplessness. Because what’s keeping you awake are your toughts and worries. Thinking about what happened during the day or some other point in the past, worrying about what could possibly happen in the future. Sometimes it’s even thoughts like these: “Oh, it’s already 1:30 am and I’m still awake, and tomorrow I have to wake up at 6am and go to work. I won’t get enough sleep and then I won’t be focused at work and maybe I’ll make a mistake, and…” So worrying about insomnia can actually be a cause of insomnia. - Exogenous insomnia
This is the kind of insomnia that is caused by something outside – for example noise (like the sound of passing trains, traffic, a snoring partner, loud music that the neighbours teenage kid plays), smells, and so on. In most cases the best way to overcome this is to simply deal with the exogenous factor and change your sleeping environment. The one exception here is a snoring partner – you probably won’t want to get rid of him just to fight insomnia. - Endogenous insomnia
This kind of insomnia is caused by physical sensations. For example, if you’re in pain it might keep you from falling asleep. If you’ve eaten too much, or your nose is clogged or you’re coughing, all these things can cause you to have trouble falling asleep. - Functional insomnia
This is the rarest kind of insomnia – caused by an imbalance in the brain.
Now you’ve got a better understanding about the four categories of causes of insomnia. But what can you do about it?
There are some general rules of thumb to follow.
Don’t drink alcohol before going to sleep. It’s true that alcohol is a depressant and can in some cases help to make you feel sleepy in the short run, but after this (short temporary) effect has worn off you’ll just find it even harder to fall asleep. Instead, drink something warm – not a coffee or tea (unless it’s an herbal tea). This helps you to relax on a physical level.
Why aren’t sleeping pills a good “weapon” to fight insomnia?
One reason – the one that most people know about – is that sleeping pills can create a kind of addiction. You’re body builds up a tolerance and you’ll need more sleeping medication the longer you use it to achieve the same effect.
But even more interesting is that sleeping pills suppress the dream phase of your sleep. But this phase is very important for recharging your batteries. If you sleep without entering the dream phase, you’ll wake up without feeling refreshed and re-energized. That’s what often happens to people who use sleeping medication to fall asleep.
Another thing you can do is to understand your cycles. By cycles I mean periods of fatigue that you experience throughout the day. Find out when your natural “fatigue peak” is reached usually. Then schedule a warm bath an hour before that. Sit and relax in the hot bath for about half an hour to give your body time to unwind and let the naturally relaxing effects of warm water work their way into your system.
Also, keep in mind that the best way to use your bed is to use it exclusively for sleeping. (Well, and maybe sleeping with your partner…). Don’t watch TV while in bed. Don’t read books while in bed. Don’t talk on the phone while in bed. Don’t browse the web while in bed. If you make your bed your designated sleeping place, this will establish it in your subconscious mind as the place where to just let go and allow yourself rest. If you do all kinds of mental activity while in bed, your mind doesn’t have that clear frame. This is just one way to fight insomnia, and it might seem too simplistic, but it’s part of establishing a good sleep discipline.
With a hypnosis download MP3 for falling asleep, you can fight insomnia naturally with the power of your mind. This is great because it helps you to get a better sleep without requiring any kind of external sleep help – you’re essentially training yourself to become a better sleeper.