So You're Having a Problem Sleeping?
So You're Having a Problem Sleeping?
By Chris Hoare - November 2026
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It's 2am. You're exhausted, your eyes are heavy, and yet your mind is running through tomorrow's to-do list, replaying a conversation from last Tuesday, and calculating exactly how little sleep you'll get if you drop off right now.
If that sounds familiar, you're far from alone. Most of us have the odd bad night, and paradoxically the darker evenings of autumn and winter can make it worse. When poor sleep becomes a pattern, everything gets harder: concentration, mood, patience, appetite, even how much pain we feel. A good night's sleep makes everything a little bit easier. Sleep is a skill the body and mind already possess, and it can be coaxed back.
Why the harder you try, the worse it gets
Why the harder you try, the worse it gets
Sleep isn't something you can force. It's something you allow. My mother always told me to count sheep, but I don't remember it working... ever. The moment we start trying to sleep, monitoring ourselves, checking the clock, worrying about the consequences, the brain reads that effort as a threat. Stress hormones rise, the body becomes more alert, and sleep slips further away. A familiar scenario?
Over time the bedroom itself can become linked with frustration and wakefulness rather than rest. Many people with insomnia find they feel sleepy on the sofa, then wide awake the moment their head touches the pillow. That's a learned association, and anything learned can be gently re-learned.
Seven habits that help you sleep
Seven habits that help you sleep
These aren't magic fixes, but together they tell your body clock that night is for sleeping.
1. Build a wind-down routine. Doing the same few calming things each evening, such as a warm bath, a chapter of a book or some gentle stretching, teaches your brain to anchor those activities to falling asleep. It starts producing sleep-friendly hormones at the right time. (Please don't fall asleep in the bath, though.)
2. Keep a regular wake-up time. This matters more than the time you go to bed. A consistent rise time, even at weekends, steadies your body clock. Getting outside into daylight soon after waking helps to set it.
3. Switch off screens early. Turn off the TV at least half an hour before bed, especially if you've been watching dramas or action films that keep your nervous system on alert. Use the blue-light or night-mode setting on your phone, tablet and computer, which you'll find in your display settings, and keep your phone out of reach of the bed.
4. Be smart about caffeine and alcohol. Five hours after a cup of coffee, around half the caffeine is still in your system, so try to stop after lunchtime. Alcohol may make you drowsy, but it fragments sleep and dehydrates you, so you're more likely to wake in the small hours.
5. Mind your meals and your movement. Try to finish eating by about 7pm so indigestion doesn't interrupt your sleep. Exercise is brilliant for sleep, but if you train in the evening, finish at least 90 minutes before bed to let your core temperature and endorphin levels settle. We also lose a surprising amount of water through our breath overnight, so drink enough during the day to go to bed well hydrated.
6. Make your bedroom a cool, dark, quiet place. A slightly cool room, around 16 to 18°C, suits most people. Use blackout curtains or an eye mask if needed, and keep the bed for sleep (and intimacy) rather than work, scrolling or worrying.
7. Give your worries somewhere else to go. Earlier in the evening, spend ten minutes writing down what's on your mind and one small next step for each item. Once it's on paper, your brain is far more willing to let it go at bedtime.
If you can't sleep, don't lie there fighting it
If you can't sleep, don't lie there fighting it
If you've been awake for what feels like 20 minutes or more, get up. Go to another room, keep the lights low, and do something quiet and undemanding, such as listening to calm music or a relaxing audio, until you feel sleepy. Then return to bed. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it stops the bed becoming a place of struggle. And try to resist watching the clock: it only feeds the pressure.
A simple slow-breathing exercise can help too. Breathe in gently through your nose, then make your out-breath a little longer than your in-breath. Longer exhales help to switch on the body's natural calming response. If you'd like more ideas, take a look at our blog posts Breathing into Calm, Tap into Calm, and my personal favourite A Walk in the Park.
How hypnotherapy can help with insomnia
How hypnotherapy can help with insomnia
Good habits are the foundation, but sometimes they aren't enough, particularly when stress, anxiety or racing thoughts are keeping you awake. This is where hypnotherapy can make a real difference.
Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation and focused attention, which is very close to the state your mind drifts through on the way to sleep. In sessions, we can:
Teach your body to relax deeply and quickly, so it becomes familiar with the feeling of letting go
Quieten the busy, chattering mind and reduce night-time rumination
Reduce the anxiety and pressure around sleep itself, which is often the real culprit
Re-establish the link between your bed and drifting peacefully off
Give you access to a recording to use at home, so the benefits carry on between sessions
To find out more simply use one of the buttons below to leave us a message or request a callback.
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