Sussex Exclusive Magazine. Issue 7

HEALTH
HEALTH
use up your REM quota, and as a result
you may find yourself waking up in the
middle of the night (often between 1am
and 5am depending upon when you went
to sleep). And often, you can’t get back to
sleep again.
Then we’re stuck. We need the sleep to
empty the bucket but the volume in the
bucket is causing our sleep to be disrupted.
So, what can we do?
Take back control of what you put in
your bucket. Most of what we fill our
bucket with is imaginary thoughts about
things that have happened in the past
that we can no longer influence or future
events that have yet to happen.
Don’t think about sleep. You don’t want
“sleep” to be a problem because the brain’s
way of dealing with a problem isn’t always
helpful. Consequently, not thinking about
it becomes almost impossible. Therefore,
it can be helpful to try to focus on one or
more of the following to help:
Positively forecast. Fully expect that
you WILL sleep, rather than thinking,
“Oh no, I’ll never get to sleep tonight!”.
We often underestimate our ability to
positively forecast our preferred future.
Get outside and see Sussex. Look for
the small joys like the new shoots of the
bluebells that I saw this morning.
Move. Whether you are an avid runner
or move at a more sedentary pace, getting
outside and moving more will do wonders
for your mind and body. It is often the
thing that we least feel like doing on a
bad weather day, but you will be thankful
when you have. You will find that you
have more energy and feel more relaxed
too. A brisk walk for 20 minutes is all
that that is needed to reduce stress and
inflammation in the body and mind.
Natural light plays a central role in the
regulation of our circadian rhythm, the
body’s internal body clock that tells us
when it’s time to wake and sleep each day.
Exposure to high levels of LUX affect the
production of melatonin, our essential
sleep-promoting hormone.
So what is LUX?
LUX is a unit of measurement of light
level intensity. Have you ever had anyone
say “You’ll sleep well today” after a day at
the beach, “It’s all that fresh air”.
In fact, it’s the exposure to higher levels
of LUX, coupled with the fact that often
we are more active too, that makes us
sleep well. As the mornings are getting
lighter and we face longer day light
hours, it becomes easier for us to get the
much-needed exposure to sleep inducing
chemicals. Getting out before 10 am
exposes you to increased LUX and you
should try and ensure you get at least
10,000 LUX a day depending on what
you’re doing.
• A bright summer’s day provides
100,000 LUX
• Full daylight provides 10,000 LUX
• An overcast day provides 1,000 LUX
• A dark day provides only 100 LUX
• Inside a house provides only 25-50
LUX
So, try to get out and see this wonderful
county in which we live. I know there will
be great ideas in this magazine.
Boost your “feel good” chemicals
(Serotonin, Dopamine and
Noradrenalin).
My daughter will often comment that
she needs to recharge her social battery.
This is often after a whole day at school
or a day with family. Be mindful who you
spend time with. Some people will boost
you, whilst others will drain you. Choose
who you spend time with where possible.
Eat well. If you are able, choose foods
that will nourish your body and mind.
As the
mornings are
getting lighter
and we face
longer day
light hours,
it becomes
easier for us
to get the
much-needed
exposure to
sleep inducing
chemicals.
This means choosing foods that are not
only high in nutrients, but that you enjoy
eating too.
Relax. Introduce time to relax during
the day. Truly switch off. Whether it be
listening to some music, doing some
exercise, reading a book … try to do more
of what you enjoy doing.
When we are relaxed, we can think
clearly, and feel in control of our thoughts
and our actions. When we relax the brain
switches to a low resonance of Theta
waves which allow us to process emotions,
relieve stress and solve problems. I listen
to a guided meditation most nights to
support and improve the quality of my
sleep, but I also practice breath work and
yoga on a regular basis too. Relaxation
doesn’t have to mean lying still and
thinking of nothing; it can be doing the
things that you enjoy.
If you are a chronic insomniac, it’s always
worth telling your GP, just so any medical
conditions can be eliminated. If you just
can’t seem to make improvement, then
you may like to consider finding a good
hypnotherapist or *CBTi specialist. They
will help you to change the subconscious
responses that keep your bucket full and
look at supporting better sleep hygiene.
Once you have your bucket under control
(and hypnosis emulates REM so we have
extra bucket emptying power that we can
use too) you will find that things start to
improve; often quite quickly.
Life is so much better after a good night’s
sleep. You will have a spring in your step
and be able to look forward to the longer
days of daylight ahead.
*Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia
(CBTi) has evolved over the last 40 years
into the most widely respected and highly
regarded treatment for insomnia across the
developed world. The National Institute for
Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK
recommend CBTi as the first-line treatment for
the management of insomnia. The personalised
treatment provided to each client is specific
to them, avoiding unwarranted treatment and
focusing only on the factors relevant to the
client. As such, the programme is more likely to
improve adherence and compliance. It is also
less cumbersome in terms of delivery, making the
approach more efficient and cost-effective than
previous first-generation CBTi.
Holly Stone is
an experienced
Solution
Focused Clinical
Hypnotherapist,
Supervisor and
Senior Lecturer
for CPHT
Surrey with a
special interest
in supporting
those with
Eating Disorders
and poor
relationships with
food. You can
find out more
about her here:
Holly Stone
Hypnotherapy
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