Get Some sleep

Sleep Troubles

Ahh… sleep. This is such a big issue for many of my clients and is a big source of personal frustration. Often people tell me they wake up and have to go to the bathroom then don’t fall back to sleep. Your body has a hormone that gets released at bedtime which should keep this from happening so unless you are drinking a lot of fluid at bedtime waking up is a sign that something else is going on.

I have done a lot of research over the years on this issue and created this list of suggestions that have helped many of my clients get a good night sleep. Hope this works for you.

-No alcohol or large doses of sugar 3-4 hours prior to bed: Sugar and Alcohol can have a similar effect on the body’s blood sugar. If you consume it too close to bed your blood sugar can fluctuate often causing you to go to sleep ok but become wide awake a few hours later.

-No Caffeine 3 hours before bed: This one is obvious but often forgotten. Caffeine affects your system longer than you think so stop the soda, coffee and tea well before bed.

-Try a little bit of protein right before bed: Blood sugar fluctuations can cause you to wake up. Try a bit of protein like a small piece of chicken or a boiled egg at bedtime. This will give your body something to work on while you sleep. Exception-protein shakes which are mostly sugar

-No news right before bed: In preparation for sleep your brain waves start to move into patterns similar to the hypnotic state so watching something violence (like the news…) right before bed puts the world’s problems deep into your mind at a time when its more open to suggestions. This is why we often have nightmares about the last thing we watched on TV.

-When wide awake for over 20 minutes get up: Tossing and turning for the next hour will not help you sleep and puts a strain on your relationship. Getting up usually helps to reset the body’s clock and will help you get better rest the next night.

If you are waking up with a “To Do” list in your head try just putting a small notebook by your bed and writing down your ideas. Sometimes if you just write it down you can go back to sleep.

Troubles and worries will always be there and allowing them to rule your life will only make you miserable. Try these suggestions plus the sleep MP3 available on my blog and you may find yourself sleeping comfortably again.

">http://www.healthyhabitshypnosis.com/Audio/Sleep.mp3

I am still doing my Bi-Weekly weight loss support group. The next meeting is on July 12th at 6:30 and the topic is “How to end Emotional Eating”. Hope you can join us!