Insomnia Checklist – Sleep Hypnosis

From my experience in helping people to sleep better I’ve compiled a checklist of things to make sure you are doing in order to get a good nights sleep. I’ve also included information about sleep hypnosis for you to check out too. 

1) Caffeine stays in your system for up to 14 hours after you ingest it; so it;s usually wise to avoid coffee, tea, chocolate and cola drinks after lunchtime.

2) Reading 20 mins of fiction before bed can help you to switch off and relax before sleep

3) Keep computers, ipad and mobile phones out of the bedroom and try to refrain from using them in the hour or two before bed. The blue light they emit as well as the over stimulation of the brain (and possibly those work emails, eh?) can keep you up.

4) Write yourself a to do list for the following day so that you don’t have ‘To do’s’ floating around your brain as you try to sleep.

5) Make a list of any worries that you have before bed and tell yourself that you will park these worries for now and return to worrying about them in the morning.

6) Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet, wear ear plugs or headphones and an eye mask if necessary.

7) Try listening to a relaxing recording .

8) The food supplement 5-HTP causes us to increase levels of serotonin in the brain which can help you to feel more calm and settled.

9) Try a few yoga asanas or gentle stretches if you can’t get to sleep or if you wake up in the night. These can help to relieve tension from the body.

10) Try some 7,11 breathing. Breathe in for a count of 7 and out for 11. The ‘counts’ can be as fast or slow as you live, it’s the ratio that’s important. Continue for a few minutes and you are activating the parasympathetic nervous system, ie. Rest and digest mode, which can aid sleep.