In the last couple of months I’ve been helping clients with their sleep problems.
One client told me he had suffered sleep problems for over thirty years!
If you have ever suffered from sleep problems, you will know that it is completely debilitating. So I thought I would write a new blog post on how to heal sleep problems naturally.
There are many, many reasons people do not sleep well and the problem can take many forms.
Some people struggle to fall asleep until about an hour before the alarm goes off. Others go to sleep straight away only to wake up in the middle of the night – often at the same time.
Of course we can all suffer sleep problems from time to time – perhaps we are worrying about an important work project, or a family member, but long term sleep problems need to be addressed at the source. And as with most issues, shamanic healing can get to the source of most sleep problems.
Over the last 13 years I have helped hundreds of people resolve their sleeping problems – naturally. And yes, the man who hadn’t slept well for over thirty years is now sleeping like a baby! His problem was that he had not properly dealt with or healed a difficult experience in his youth, which always seemed to rise up and haunt him at night.
Another client clearly remembered being given to her mother after birth. She fell asleep peacefully only to wake up and realise that she had been rejected by her mother and left at the hospital until being put into the care system. Her brain therefore created the false belief that it was not safe for her to sleep well, and she hadn’t – for over fifty years!
Last week another client explained that she has her last meal at 7pm, goes to bed at ten pm and falls asleep easily, but every night she wakes up around 3am completely alert and often highly anxious. This scenario often indicates blood sugar control problems. If the brain is starved of glycogen, in order to regulate blood sugar the adrenal glands (found on the kidneys – often the cause of our ‘fight or flight’ response) are triggered by the brain to release stress hormones, which helps to increase our blood sugar back to a safe level. The liver also cleanses itself between 1am -3am and uses lots of glycogen to do this and again the adrenals will be triggered if blood sugar levels are low.
The downside of this is that the release of the stress hormones wakes us up…. and makes us feel anxious! I also asked the client how she felt if she missed or was late for a meal and she replied she would feel shaky and irritable – again this is a sign of blood sugar control issues. The client also suffers from generalised anxiety issues, so we are working together to resolve these and she has been referred to her doctor and also a nutritionist.
The nutritionist will help her to develop a diet to bring her blood sugar into balance. This diet will generally focus on increasing fat, fibre, and protein with some complex carbohydrates while reducing refined carbohydrates such as white rice, pasta and sugary treats. It will help keep her blood sugar levels stable to have three regular meals a day and three healthy snacks with the last at about ten pm. This could be some unsweetened porridge, perhaps made with almond milk, or a handful of nuts. This should ensure she goes to sleep and remains asleep until her alarm goes off.
Personally, I find that it helps me to have the same routine before bed every night. I clean my teeth, take my make-up off and go to bed to read something very light (save the thrillers for the daytime!). I find at 11.45 exactly, my eyes start to droop and my legs start to fidget – a sure sign from my body that its time to turn the light out – and I’m asleep in minutes, waking up naturally at the same time every morning.
I keep my bedroom cool with the window open and TV’s, mobile phones and computers are all banned from the bedroom. Occasionally, if I am feeling stressed I put a drop of natural lavender oil on my pillow which always helps.
There are many reasons why we can suffer with sleep problems, but it is possible to heal them naturally and to enjoy a great night’s sleep.