Insomnia: What are the causes of Insomnia

 Insomnia (to be habitually unable to sleep) or sleepless nights may be caused by a wide range of issues.  It is always important to eliminate possible physical causes before undertaking therapy.  Some of the physical/medical causes of Insomnia are:

• Nasal/sinus allergies
• Gastrointestinal issues
• Endocrine problems such as hyperthyroidism
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Neurological conditions 
• Chronic pain
• Low back pain​
• Restless Leg Syndrome (10% of the population has disrupted sleep as a result of this syndrome)
• Sleep Apnea (obstructed airways block oxygen causing a person to wake up repeatedly)
• Menopause

Mental health issues can also lead to insomnia, these include:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress

​Lifestyle choices and events can also cause insomnia e.g.

• Working at home before bed particularly on screen based equipment
• Using screens e.g. smart phones, ipads laptops within an  hour of bed time
• Watching TV in bed
• Caffeinated drinks 
• Shift work
• Eating too close to bed time, particularly spicy foods which may cause heartburn
• Irregular bed times
• Drinking Alcohol - it may help you fall asleep but cause you to wake up as you become dehydrated
• Smoking, nicotine is a stimulant
• Major life event e.g. bereavement, divorce, illness, loss of job, loss of pet

How do you cure Insomnia?

Hypnotherapy for Insomnia
Increasingly researchers believe that insomnia is an issue of the brain being unable to stop being awake.  The brain has an awake mode and an asleep mode, and occasionally it may (for any of the reasons listed above) forget how to switch from one mode to the other.  

Sometimes the brain will become so caught up in trying to find resolution to a perceived problem that it will process in a loop and resist attempts to switch it into sleep mode, similar to a computer becomes hung.  You may be aware of this in that you are aware that you ruminate  without being able to make any progress, even if it's to decide to set the repeating thoughts aside for the night to be dealt with in the morning.  Where Anxiety is involved the brain remains hyper-vigilant ready to prepare you for flight if the danger it's anticipating comes to pass.

​Hypnotherapy for Insomnia reminds the brain how to make the switch from wakefulness into sleep.  It may be necessary to resolve an underlying issue in order for this to be done effectively so that long term benefits may be enjoyed.   In Hypnosis  the brain can resolve outstanding issues, removing any active emotions and filing the memory away for reference.  Hypnosis will reintroduce the process of switching into a drifting, dreaming sleep and familiarise the brain with it's known protocol.  Sleep is an innate skill that we are all born with, so we are simply reminding the brain how to initiate one of it's own processes. 

You can resolve insomnia by addressing the issues above, making lifestyle changes, reducing stress and adjusting your diet and exercise routine.  If you find that it is still an issue for you, I recommend you try Hypnotherapy.  


If you'd like help overcoming insomnia to get a better nights sleep  Call us today on 0435 923817 or use the contact form above

Check out our Hypnotherapy for Insomnia recording
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Read our Blog on  Sleep

9 Tips For A Good Nights Sleep:

1. No Screens for at least an hour before bed (including TV and phone)
2. Avoid spicy food within 3 hours of bed time
3. Make your bedroom a restful environment, preferably no TV
4. Do a relaxing activity before bed e.g. take a bath, 10 minutes of mindfulness, some gentle stretching
5. If you're worrying about something, write it down, look at it briefly and decide to think about it in the morning
6. Avoid Alchohol, Caffeine and Nicotine before bed
7. Get some sunlight during the day to help in your brains production of melatonin
8. Get some exercise during the day
9. Avoid day time naps if you've been having trouble sleeping at night

Improve your sleep with Hypnotherapy