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.