Anyone can overcome sleeplessness and get to sleep fast using this process, even people with insomnia.
During the last few years, I have helped many clients with sleeplessness and insomnia learn how to get to sleep. One client claimed that he had not had a good night sleep in 9 years, even when using sleeping pills! Most of these clients used to be transport truck drivers. They got very good at staying awake… well, kind of awake. The rest of the clients were anxious to solve various day to day problems. In all cases there was some depression. At the very least they were depressed about not sleeping (staying awake).
Although we often think of sleeplessness and insomnia as a sleep problem, the problem is actually in the awake state.
- Anxious type client believes that solving problems requires conscious internal processing. Thinking about unresolved problems causing sleeplessness and insomnia, becomes another problem requiring conscious internal processing. In NLP this is called a calibrated loop.
- Driver type client is very adept at using conscious internal processing to stay awake. Often these clients spent large amounts of time in a trance like state. You know the kind I mean, where you are there but not really there until something happens that you have to pay outward attention to. Most of these client also remember an imprinting event that screams “STAY AWAKE” in their mind.
Here’s what I tell them:
- It’s OK to sleep. IT IS OK TO SLEEP, you are safe, you will be OK and problems will be easier to manage as a result of sleeping. Ever hear “let me sleep on it”? Your unconscious mind is more capable than you at reviewing and sorting information while you sleep. Re-lax. Time to be lax again. It’s OK to forget about all that important stuff for a night, each night.
- Be awake when you need to be awake. Being half asleep when you should be awake, is the same as being half awake when you should be asleep. If you are in a mode that conserves energy while you disassociate, get back in here. Find something to occupy your mind that is outside of your mind. If you are thinking of problems, write them down along with your ideas and musings. If you work at a brain dead job, pay attention instead of daydreaming or get a different job. If you are not working, get a project to work on. Avoid simmering through your day, get a head of steam, crank up the heat to the Boyleying point.
- The easiest way to get your conscious internal processing to shut up and let you sleep, is to give it something to do that helps your mind relax. Focus on letting 3 waves of deep relaxation spread over your scalp and face. Think about letting go of all the tension in your scalp, your face and your jaw. Think about the deep relaxation spreading over your scalp and face and pay close attention, you want to notice when you feel each of the 3 waves of deep relaxation spreading over your scalp and face. If your mind wanders onto other things, come back to paying attention to feeling each of the waves of deep relaxation spreading over your scalp and face. After you feel the first wave, you might notice yourself thinking “It cant relax more than this” but it does! Continue to pay attention and wait for the second wave of relaxation. After the second relaxing wave, you probably won’t notice the third wave relaxing you into blissful sleep.
After a little practice, this process has provided insomniac clients with the ability to sleep anytime and anywhere they want to. Many people find that simply using step 3 above, makes it easy for them to get to sleep fast.