A new client contacted me after his sister’s successful therapy, which was quick and extremely effective. He wanted the same kind of help.
A high school student and gifted musician, he loves to play and has his own band. Unlike many his age, he is committed to his music. Judging by what I heard, his future is promising.
The problem: Ever since he was 12 years old he has been a sleepwalker. Every time, he gets out of bed at the same hour, at least three times a week, walks around the house for half an hour, often waking other family members, upsetting everyone’s sleep.
How to stop this?
He wants to sleep because his sleep deprivation leaves him anxious, hyper, nervous and unfocused during the day.
Sleepwalking is common among children. Usually, they outgrow it. However, it can continue through adolescence. Perhaps 1 percent will sleepwalk into adulthood. Among common triggers are sedative agents (including alcohol), febrile illnesses and certain medications.
Which Type Are You?
In hypnotherapy circles, a sleepwalker is known as a somnambulist, which means a deep level hypnotic candidate. One who can be rapidly hypnotized will go to the deepest levels of hypnosis at mercurial speed. If you have been to a hypnotism show, people that go on stage are deep level somnambulists. That is why the stage hypnotist picked them. My record for hypnotizing a somnambulist is 1.5 seconds, from fully awake to the deepest level. One person in five is a somnambulist.
Somnambulism is created by have a suggestibility of 50 percent and 50 percent, half literal, half inference. These are the two ways we talk. With few exceptions, we talk in both. When we take in information, it is the exact opposite of the way we speak information out. Because most of us do not have a suggestibility of 50/50, we block out some things we hear. Those who have an exact 50/50 are open to all communication. They do not have a means for filtering filter literal or inferential. They take in everything in. This overloads their conscious minds, resulting in a constant state of hypnosis.
Hypnosis is created by overloading the conscious mind so that it shuts down, providing access to the subconscious where suggestions readily are accepted and acted upon. I have told the story before of a woman walking by a television when she heard a commercial for Miracle Grow. Off she went to Home Depot, bought the large bag that had been recommended, but soon realized something was wrong.
She did not have a yard or plants. She lives in a garden apartment.
He Helped Cause the Problem
My teen client’s sleepwalking dilemma was compounded by a poor diet, mostly carbohydrates. Curiously for a teenager, he was not eating often enough. Plus he was smoking pot and drinking alcohol, which caused wildly fluctuating sugar levels that sparked nervousness, anxiety, panic, night terrors.
Once he stopped the pot and reduced his drinking, he began a protein-rich diet. His brain became less hyper-vigilant because it was receiving the correct nutrition to allow it to function from higher functioning, critical thinking levels. Emotional reactions decreased.
There is no real cure for sleepwalking other than ensuring you do not overindulge in drugs and alcohol, and maintain stable blood sugar levels. Add to this a clear bedtime routine. Do the same thing every night before bed so the subconscious accepts the routine as a method of letting itself know the body is preparing to sleep. Hypnosis further relaxes the body. Include suggestions such as “when your feet touch the floor, you open your eyes, wake up, see where you are and immediately go back to bed and to sleep.”
That will help any sleepwalker.
Within a few weeks after solidifying his diet and a bedtime routine, his sleepwalking was put to rest.
Do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net