Teaching a New Mother How to Sleep Through the Night

Nicholas PollakOP-ED

Recently a medical doctor asked if I would help a client experiencing depression, night sweats, anxiety. She is consuming large amounts of food and gaining weight. Hypnotherapy was a perfect answer. Her husband wanted me to meet in their home. I told him my travel fee was hefty. He didn’t mind. I had quite a hefty travel fee to which they said they did not mind.

I prefer to see clients in office, outside of their comfort zone. It helps when performing the hypnosis.

Hypnosis is created in one of two ways – overload — speaking rapidly so that the information going to the conscious mind is so fast and thick the mind shuts down, allowing access to the subconscious — and point of fascination. That is staring at an object until your eyelids become heavy. The eyes defocus and close as the person relaxes, and soon he or she is in a state of hypnosis.

Speaking to my new client about anxiousness and overeating at night, the issue became clear, her blood sugar level and too many carbohydrates.

Unmotivated except for playing with her infant son, she did not get out of bed until 11 o’clock. She had a nanny and a housekeeper to help in looking after her son.

Too many carbohydrates and too little protein would awaken her at night. Answering the bell, she would eat.

It was crucial for her to change her eating habits. Her heavy intake of carbohydrates spiked her sugar levels. When she went too long without a meal, she would become nervous and irritable, breathing rapidly as her heart rate increased.
Within half an hour of eating, she would tire and go to sleep, which upset her.

I introduced her to a diet limiting sugar and carbohydrates to the lowest amount, small portions of protein every 2 to 2½ hours.

Within a week she was sleeping through the night. Taking in so many carbohydrates during the day, she would awaken at night because her brain was looking for sugar. In this setting, the brain becomes hyper vigilant, seeking the sugar it needs to run effectively. When sugar was not found, it would create a false fear that produced adrenaline, which swiftly breaks down to sugar and calms the brain until it needs more. As a result of this her sugar levels were constantly depleted.

The diet created a far more even flow of sugar to the brain, and once the brain realized it was getting what it needed on a constant and consistent basis, it ceased to be hyper vigilant, calmed her, and she rested during the night

As her protein intake improved, she stopped taking her depression medication. She was her old self again.

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