How is your relationship...with your bed?

How is your relationship...with your bed?

28th February 2018 09:45 AM

Author: Franca Hood

The idea of bed conjures up different things for different people.  For many people, their bed is a place of sanctuary.  Their own private world.  Deep, restful sleep, or exciting, exhilarating lovemaking, or both... or neither... What's your idea of bed?

If you, like me, enjoy the idea of your bed being a place of sanctuary, you probably enjoy doing things in your bed that make you happy, such as sleeping and lovemaking.  All healthy pastimes, leading to waking up feeling relaxed and refreshed, ready to face the day ahead.

Until that odd night where you can't sleep.  Which might turn into another night, and another... You find yourself going to sleep fine, but waking during the small hours, and struggling to go back off again, or those nights where you find you just can't get to sleep.  Thoughts turning and turning.  Circular thoughts.  Never ending.  Everything seems much more daunting when we think about it during the hours that we should be sleeping.  Instead, you're wondering when you'll get back to sleep, or if you'll get back to sleep.  This can lead to a dread of going to bed, wondering what tonight will bring, eventually falling asleep and then waking up absolutely exhausted.

Some people use their insomnia to go through their problems, or to cram a little bit more work in.  Let me tell you, insomnia doesn't solve problems, it compounds them.

A consistent lack of sleep can start to detrimentally affect other areas of your life.  You can't perform at your peak if you are sleep deprived.  Some of those problems may lead to other bedroom issues, such as lack of sex drive through exhaustion; erectile dysfunction; difficulty in reaching climax; or reaching climax too quickly, because you literally want to get it over with and go to sleep!

If left untreated for lengthy periods of time, a lack of sleep (sometimes coupled with any of the issues I've just mentioned), can lead to bouts of depression.

How can you break the cycle?  You can start by removing all technology from your bedroom.  Don't charge your phone by your bed, and if you use it as an alarm clock, stop!  Go and buy an alarm clock and charge your phone away from the bedroom. 

Then, choose a time you'd like to go to bed, and spend the 45 minutes before that winding down.  If there is anything you need to turn over in your mind, do it before you go to bed, writing it down if necessary.  The subconscious mind will be happy that you have committed it to paper, and it won't start waking you up during the night to think about it.

Reduce caffeine during the afternoon and evening to an absolute minimum, or cut it out altogether, if you can, and consider your alcohol consumption, as alcohol is a stimulant, so try cutting down, or removing alcohol altogether for a period of time, to see if that helps.

I'm a Hypnotherapist, and I help people with insomnia issues, and with issues relating to anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and depression.  The body needs sleep in order to replenish energy and function at even a very basic level.  Our body does its healing whilst we sleep.  We also need to dream (even if we don't remember dreaming) because dreaming is our subconscious mind doing its filing.  Naturally processing the stresses of the day.  If we can't sleep, we can't dream, and if we can dream, we can't dream out our stresses naturally.  If you are relaxed, you will sleep much, much better. 

The very nature of hypnosis is relaxing, and the therapeutic part (hence hypnotherapy) can help you smooth out any bumps or ripples that may be causing breaks in your sleep pattern.  Hypnosis is quite simply a form of deep focus.  It enables you to shut out the outside world, and focus on your inner world, bringing some much-needed attention to yourself and your vital needs through introspection.

 

Franca is an experienced Hypnotherapist, Counsellor and Mind Coach with a broad range of expertise; specialising in Anxiety, Sexual Issues and Fertility Issues.  See her website for more details.

Tags: Hypnotherapy, Insomnia, Sleep

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The views expressed in these blogs are those of the blog authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Bridge Centre for Natural Health.