Sleep should be the easiest thing in the world. You get tired, go to bed and then fall asleep.
Except sometimes it doesn’t happen like that.
You may feel exhausted during the day, only to become strangely alert when your head reaches the pillow. Perhaps you fall asleep reasonably well but wake at three or four in the morning, immediately check the time and start calculating how much sleep you have left.
After a while, it can feel as though you’ve forgotten how to do something that used to happen naturally. You begin thinking about sleep long before bedtime arrives and wondering whether tonight will be any different.
That is often when people come to see me. We look at what has been happening around their sleep, what keeps their mind occupied at night and how much pressure has gradually built up around going to bed.
I offer appointments at my practice in Hayle and online, using hypnotherapy to support relaxation and help that sleep feel more natural again.
When your mind won’t finish the day
People often tell me that their body is tired but that their mind is still busy.
You might find yourself:
- replaying conversations
- planning tomorrow
- thinking about things you cannot deal with at that time of night
- checking whether you feel sleepy yet
- worrying about how you will manage the following day
- becoming increasingly frustrated with yourself
Sometimes there is a clear reason. Sleep may have changed during a stressful period, after moving house, while caring for somebody or when work became particularly demanding.
Then at other times, the original reason has passed but the pattern has stayed.
The more important that sleep becomes, the more closely you can start monitoring it. Before you know it, bedtime gradually turns into a test you feel you need to pass.
“What if I wake up again tonight?”
Waking during the night is particularly frustrating because there is so little to distract you.
You may look at the clock, work out how long you have been awake and then try very hard to get back to sleep. Every passing minute can feel like further evidence that tomorrow is going to be difficult.
During our sessions, we look at what happens after you wake: the thoughts that arrive, the pressure you put on yourself and the habits that may have gathered around those early hours.
The aim isn’t to make you frightened of waking up. It is to help bedtime and night-time wakefulness feel less like an emergency.
How hypnotherapy may help
Hypnotherapy can be used to aid sleep and support relaxation.
We begin by talking about your particular pattern. I’ll want to know when the problem started, what your evenings look like and what tends to happen when you’re lying awake.
This is also your opportunity to tell me what you have already tried. Many people arrive after experimenting with bedtime routines, supplements, apps, podcasts or advice from somebody who seems able to fall asleep anywhere.
The hypnosis itself may include guided relaxation, calming imagery and suggestions based on what we have discussed. We might also mentally rehearse a quieter approach to bedtime or a steadier response to waking during the night.
Your session is built around you. I won’t simply hand you a list of sleep rules and send you home with another routine to worry about getting right.
What if I don’t fall asleep during the session?
You don’t need to.
Hypnosis is usually experienced as a relaxed, focused state. You may feel deeply settled, or you may simply notice that you are listening to my voice without needing to think about very much else.
You remain aware of what is happening and stay in control throughout. You can speak, move or open your eyes whenever you wish.
The session gives you an opportunity to experience a quieter state and practise a different response to the thoughts and pressure surrounding sleep. Falling asleep in the chair is perfectly fine if it happens, but it isn’t something you have to achieve.
We’ll keep it realistic
I know that most people cannot completely redesign their evenings.
You may work shifts, have children, care for somebody, share a bed with a snorer or live with a pet that has very definite ideas about breakfast time. Advice only helps when it has some chance of fitting into your life.
We can look at practical changes, but I’m not going to insist that every evening must be perfectly calm or that one late night has ruined everything.
Sleep varies. A difficult night can happen without meaning that the next one will be the same.
Personal appointments in Hayle or online
A personal appointment may suit you if:
- your mind becomes particularly busy at bedtime
- sleep has been affected by anxiety, stress or a period of change
- you wake during the night and struggle to settle again
- worrying about sleep has become part of the problem
- you would prefer to talk through your circumstances rather than follow general advice
Appointments are available at my practice in Hayle, Cornwall, and online.
We start with an initial consultation so that I can understand what has been happening, explain how I work and answer your questions. You do not have to commit to a course of sessions.
Prefer something you can use at home?
I created the Cornish 10 Day Sleep Reset for people whose minds seem to clock on for another shift just as the rest of the day is finishing.
It contains ten guided hypnotherapy recordings, with one to listen to each evening. The sessions use calming imagery inspired by Cornwall’s coast and countryside.
The programme gives you something familiar and structured to follow in your own time. The ten days describe the format rather than setting a deadline for better sleep.
You can listen to a free sample before deciding whether it is for you.
Explore the 10 Day Sleep Reset
When to speak to your GP
Sleep problems can sometimes have a medical cause.
Please speak to your GP if the difficulty has continued for several months, is seriously affecting you during the day or may be connected with medication or another health concern.
Medical advice is particularly important if you experience loud snoring, pauses in breathing, gasping during sleep, pronounced daytime sleepiness or episodes of falling asleep unexpectedly.
Hypnotherapy can support relaxation and aid sleep, but it does not replace assessment or treatment for a sleep disorder. Continue taking prescribed medication unless the clinician responsible for your care advises otherwise.
Let’s talk about your sleep
You don’t need to send me a detailed account of every difficult night.
Tell me briefly what has been happening—whether the main problem is getting to sleep, waking during the night or finding that your mind never quite switches off.
I’ll explain how I may be able to help, and we can take it from there.
Contact me about sleep appointments
If you’re unsure whether sleep, anxiety or overthinking is the best place to begin, you can also try my short interactive guide.