A good night's sleep is essential for everyone. We all know we feel better when we sleep well, and now scientific studies are beginning to explain why. Researchers are discovering that there are many hormonal and biochemical processes that take place as we sleep which are crucial for our health and wellbeing.
"People think of sleep as a waste of time," says Professor Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Chair of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of California, Irvine. "But it's essential. A correct sleep-wake cycle is as important to health as any other thing in our lives."
Life has been adapting to a light-dark cycle since the beginning of the planet. The term circadian rhythm - or biological clock - refers to a person's internal rhythms of biological activity. Most of the time, this 24-hour cycle in the physiological processes of humans, animals and plants is linked to the natural light and dark cycle of day following night.
Not sleeping enough runs counter to the body's internal clock, throwing many basic bodily functions out of sync. Now scientific evidence suggests that disrupted circadian rhythms may cause a kind of biological revolt, raising the likelihood of obesity, cancer, reproductive health problems, mental illness and gastrointestinal disorders.
Chronic sleep deprivation may carry some of the same risks as disrupted circadian rhythms, says sleep researcher Eve Van Cauter, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. "Lack of sleep disrupts every physiologic function in the body."
It may occur when a person has created a habit of remaining awake and active late into the night, and has forgotten how to drift off into sleep.
It may occur when a person has subconscious worries or concerns that continue to nag at them even when they wish they could let go of them and go to sleep.
The subconscious mind is the seat of emotions and habits, and so this is the best place to address the problem.
During hypnosis, a person can enlist the aid of their subconscious mind in recreating the natural rhythms of sleeping and waking, so they can once again sleep soundly through the night and awaken to the new day with their body rested and their mind refreshed, thus improving their quality of life.
Session One
Engage the subconscious mind and renew the steps of letting go and drifting off that can naturally lead to sleep.
Session Two
Attend to any specific concerns or triggers that may be creating prolonged periods of wakefulness, releasing them or finding healthier ways of responding to them.