Christmas and the New Year are now behind us as we settle back into the routine of our everyday lives. In our busy, modern lives we are constantly juggling work schedules, finances and family life, and all too often we find ourselves feeling too stressed to sleep.

It becomes harder and harder to switch off and the little sleep that you have is interrupted and you can often feel more exhausted when you wake than when you went to sleep!

When we go to sleep then the brain normally reduces stress levels by using something called Rapid Eye Movement, or REM sleep.

Unfortunately REM is limited to 20% of our sleep pattern, so, if there is a lot of perceived stress in your life, then you quickly use up that 20% of REM, and, as a result, you may find that you wake up and struggle to return to sleep.

I use Solution Focused Hypnotherapy to help my clients to focus on positive aspects of their life which helps them to find solutions to certain issues that are bothering them.  We then continue by using safe hypnotic techniques to further reduce stress.

By cutting down on stress in the comfort of the clinic then I find that the client can feel more relaxed and so can then experience a good night’s sleep.

I believe it may take a number of sessions for the effect of therapy to be felt but its effects can be very beneficial – not just for aiding sleep but the techniques can also be useful for helping with weight, stress, performance and anger management issues among other things.

It really is a simple, safe and effective way to help someone control and manage their stress levels – especially at this time of the year when the weather and dark nights can still be a factor in people’s moods. Obviously if you have health concerns then you should visit your GP.