A guest at Ananda in consultation with Shikha Sud, clinical hypnotherapist and energy healer

 

In our first conversation discussing my sleep problem, Shikha said something that made me take a sudden and a long pause to think.  “The question to ask here is not why aren’t you sleeping, the real question is ‘Do you want to sleep’?” These words led to an awakening, I started to laugh and replied ‘Oh god, yes you are right, the answer is no! I don’t want to sleep, it’s not that I can’t, I just don’t want to!’ With the truth floating to the surface as easily, I again realised the strength of a spiritual hypnotherapist, who accepts an answer only if the words are spoken without the critical and analytical interference of the conscious mind. “The subconscious speaks in metaphors, making it not just tough but impossible to lie, there is no mechanism present in the subconscious to manipulate the truth” says Shikha.

‘Bedtime procrastination’ is the fastest growing reason for developing a sleep disorder. The digital world has extended our work and waking hours, making us available to every call of action outside our own bodies. It is a psychological phenomenon that starts in the mind or the subtle body. What affects the subtle reappears on the physical as fatigue, sleep deprivation, shallow breath, slow thinking & bad decisions. In time this grows into insomnia, heart conditions, hormonal imbalances, obesity or diabetes.

Nobody develops insomnia overnight. Breaking the big problem down, Shikha recognises insomnia as an outcome of one’s inability to rest, or even worse, the unwillingness to rest. “Your mental habit pattern is now a physical anatomical truth, you aren’t addicted to anything ‘outside’. You are addicted to stimulation, or a sympathetic nervous system overdrive, which in turn has switched off your faculty responsible for rest responses. Now you are tired and yet so awake!”

Shikha goes on to add that, “In my experience, sleep is very closely linked to the emotional baggage we choose to carry in our subconscious mind. Sleep is a way for our subconscious mind to make us aware of what we need to process or vent or act upon. Night rituals for Insomnia one can find online can range from with calming essential oils, chamomile tea, gentle face and foot massage, switching off devices an hour before sleep, soothing music on apps - the list goes on. But what we need to understand is that a mind that has restlessly activated itself with tasks to process and complete at a subconscious level will only activate more if we get caught up in these rituals, which for some could become another to-do list. So, stop fighting and start Listening to what is going on within”.

 

Here are some suggestions that will go a long way in your relationship with deep sleep.

CONNECT TO YOUR INNER SELF

Mind will demand attention at bedtime like a toddler. We spend most part of our days tuning out our feelings and our need to act is in accordance with what others think, feel or expect from us. Create dedicated space in your day to do things you love to do for yourself. Connect to how you feel about all that happened in the day. Make your inner child feel happy and heard every day. 

TRANSFER THE MENTAL CLUTTER ON TO PAPER 

Before you go to sleep, write all that is going on in your mind. Try not to edit or make sense of what you write. Simply transfer the jumble of thoughts or feelings on to the paper - as is. Once it is all down on paper and there is nothing more to write - destroy the paper. Mind reads it as release and completion. Practiced over a period of time this exercise brings many insights from the subconscious to conscious awareness. 

WHEN IT COMES TO NIGHT RITUALS, TRY NOT TO TRY TOO HARD

Create one simple night ritual for yourself and stick to it. It takes time for the mind to get used to a ritual and create an association of ritual with sleep. Keep it simple. 

FIX THE BASICS

Avoid pushing your body into the stress cycle. Once it goes there it only peaks further up. Wake up as close to sunrise as possible, exercise, eat healthy, eat all three meals on time - well before sleep time. Let your body know you are nourishing it with love. A fixed routine helps ground the mind into the now.

DETOX THE PHYSICAL BODY

A physical system loaded with work of cleaning the insides will find it hard to rest. Get a Holistic Detox or a Panchakarma periodically especially with the change of each season. A lighter, free flowing circulation in our physical self, makes it easier for the mental self to feel light. 

SEEK HELP - WORK WITH YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

If you have tried everything and sleeplessness still persists, then it might be a good idea to try working with a Hypnotherapist* to understand deep seated cause of your sleep disorder. A Hypnotherapist facilitates you to connect to your own subconscious mind to understand the deep, underlying issue and alter the perception of the issue by reconditioning negative behaviour patterns.

Listen to Shikha Sud in conversation about childhood influences and behaviors