Symptoms that may be
associated with insomnia include: feelings
of overwhelming tiredness, and inability to
cope; irritability; headaches; other
physical aches and pains; anxiety and
depression. There are a number of causes of
insomnia, these include:
1) environmental causes such as persistent
noise, extremes of temperature, or sleeping
in a strange bed.
2) physiological factors such as illness,
high fevers, physical pain, indigestion,
skin irritation, and hormonal changes.
3) psychological factors such as anxiety
about health, work, financial matters or
relationships; difficulties in making
important decisions; or emotional upsets
following the loss of a close friend or
relative. Another important psychological
factor in insomnia is that sufferers may
become so anxious about their inability to
sleep, that this anxiety further adds to the
problem, setting-up a vicious circle which
may lead to chronic insomnia.
Hypnotherapy can be used
to treat insomnia because it helps people to
experience the state of mental relaxation or
`letting go` which lies in between
wakefulness and deep sleep, and so makes it
easier to pass from one to the other. Indeed
the word `hypnosis` itself comes from the
Greek word `hypnos` meaning sleep. The
number of sessions required for effective
treatment ranges from four to eight. The
treatment is natural and safe, and carries
no risk of harmful side effects.
