One out of 3 people worldwide suffer from mild to severe insomnia. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) believe anxiety causes chronic insomnia.

• I realized after I completed my first video on fighting insomnia that I had neglected to mention one of the most helpful aids to sleep well at night is good psychotherapy. Having anxiety related to unresolved traumas, whether seemingly minor or big, can run undercurrent, interfere with one’s nervous system running smoothly and cause enough physical attention that it is hard to sleep. Being able to reduce anxiety calms the nervous system so it is easier to relax in the day time and sleep more easily at night.
• One of the most effective methods I discovered in the 1980’s to reduce anxiety and insomnia is listening to guided self-hypnosis meditations. One of the best audios created to help people sleep is a CD included in the purchase of the book I Can Make You Sleep by Paul McKenna. The author has made self-hypnosis CD’s for many years.
• There are also musicians who have studied the use of sound waves for over 30 years and written music designed to help people sleep as well as reduce anxiety. Two of these musicians are Dr Jeffrey Thompson and Steven Halpern. Thompson has a CD titled Gamma Meditation that helps induce sleep. He synthesizes sounds that slow the brain waves. People wrote in reviews of the CD that although their attempts at meditation had failed, listening to this CD helped them reach a meditation state of mind. I found the CD was very helpful to go to sleep. Even on the nights I was unable to go to sleep, the sound on this CD noticeably slowed my thoughts and allowed me to enter a relaxed brain state. You can hear a sample of this CD here: Gamma meditation
• Tones or sounds that have really long wave lengths low on the music scale work best to slow down an over active brain. This is what Stephen Halpern uses in his CD called Pyramid. When I first listened to it many years ago I thought it sounded too strange but it quickly grew on me and is one of my top choices to listen to for help getting to sleep.  He said the first track was recorded in a pyramid.
• You tube has many videos that are audio recordings useful in helping one sleep that don’t have anyone talking. The video that has the most views, 166 million 1-13-2022, is called “Sleep Music Delta Waves-Relaxing music to help you sleep, sleeping music, sleep meditation”. Here is a link to the video: sleep music delta waves. If you don’t have an easily available internet connection, and if you have a smart phone, you can use an app for recording to record these videos and listen to them directly from the smart phone or transfer to a computer or notebook.
• Yoga can be extremely helpful to slow down thinking and increase physical relaxation. Some poses, usually the yoga poses where one is lying down, help more than others. I find poses that open up one’s breathing also help. One common pose used by fitness instructors said to tone the entire body called the plank forces one to breathe deeper. There are numerous yoga routines on you tube to help people sleep. The one I like , called “Yoga for Better Sleep” by Yoga Yak, is 35 minutes long. Link to this video: yoga for sleep
• If you want to learn how to use cognitive therapy techniques to help you sleep better, Christine Korol has an excellent video on youtube called “What is Insomnia and what you can do to cure it with Cognitive Therapy”. She uses cute drawings, charts and easily understandable explanations. She also has a good sense of humor. She herself has suffered from insomnia and uses her own methods to help improve her sleep. Link to this video: koral video
• Recently my chiropractor recommended a supplement to help me sleep that helps me more than the kind of calcium I recommended in my Fighting Insomnia blog post. It is Biotics Bio-CMP-electrolytes of calcium, magnesium and potassium. I take 3 tablets 30 minutes before I go to bed. If I am not in an excited stated, that supplement makes me feel so tired I want to go to bed and puts me right to sleep. If I am in an excited or anxious emotional state, I don’t notice it helps as much. On those nights, I take an extra magnesium or calcium capsule then do 30 to 40 minutes of yoga. The yoga seems to activate the supplements so I can then fall asleep.
• I sincerely hope that what I have written will help you find ways to help you have quality sleep. If you would like to work with me to clear out troublesome thoughts or experiences, call me at 586-799-2399 or write me at suzanneenergy@gmail.com