(no music) #14 Relax & Sleep Hypnosis Daily (Jason Newland)

Hello and welcome to Sleep Hypnosis Weekly. My name is Jason Newland. Please only listen to this when you can safely close your eyes.

And I'm a little bit late recording this. Because if you follow this podcast you'll know that I, in the title in brackets it says every Friday. And it's now Monday morning.

I don't really have an excuse. I haven't got a doctor's note or a note from me mum. But I just was busy doing other stuff and it's sometimes a little bit difficult to find the time.

Not the time but a space when it's quiet. But even though I'm saying that I've got a bird outside that is really going for it. It's like the only bird out in the garden that's making any sound.

And it's twenty to five in the morning. And I'm not quite sure why. There you go.

But what this has made me think about is how easily we can get distracted by something when it comes to sleeping. I had a conversation with a friend earlier that she actually sleeps in a separate bed to her husband. Because of his snoring and just movements, any kind of movement from another person in the bed or sounds like snoring.

It bugs her, it just like prevents her from sleeping. I did suggest listening to me but she said it's a bit different if you know someone to then listen to a recording of them. Because she's known me since 2002.

So that's quite a long time, what was that, 17 years. So she seems happy enough having her own bed but I don't think it's an ideal situation for a lot of people. And you know I've had insomnia in the past.

I still have moments when I'm sort of wide awake but that's sometimes more due to the bipolar than anything else. Because if I'm on a bit of a high then there's very little point in me being in bed. Because it's more of a chemical thing going on.

But generally I can sleep. I've learnt to be able to just fall asleep. Because I really really like my bed.

And that might seem like a bit of a strange statement to make. But I really do. So a suggestion I would make, and I don't normally give practical suggestions like this.

But I really would recommend making sure that you've got a bed that you really like. And I'm not talking about personality of course, it's a bed. But one that's comfortable.

One that's big enough or small enough. Because some people are more comfortable in a single bed than in a double bed. I spent many years sleeping in a single bed.

But now once I've got my own flat, four years ago, I got myself a double bed. And although I sleep on my own, I make full use of that bed. I spread myself out and I love it.

I love the bed. It's comfortable and I spent a little bit extra money getting a decent mattress. Because that's the main part of the bed isn't it, the mattress.

And I think it was a silent night bed. A mattress thing, like one of those, I forget what they call them. Kind of like two empty boxes really, with wheels and a mattress on top.

Or a duvan or whatever they're called. And also having comfortable pillows. Now this is kind of the most obvious thing in the world.

It's like saying, if you're thirsty then have a drink. If you need to go to the toilet then go to the toilet. If you're hungry then eat.

You know, it's very obvious. But with something as important as sleeping, then I think you deserve to treat yourself kindly. And have a bed that's comfortable and one that suits your needs.

You know, you may need a special bed that allows you to sit up when you sleep. Due to medical issues or whatever. Whatever is needed, then get that.

I remember I saw a documentary, someone was, they moved around. So they had issues with sleeping, but they moved around a lot. And they had, I think it was like a wooden headboard, but also a wooden thing at the bottom of the bed.

But you know, sort of like little poles, so you know, there's gaps between. And he kept, this man, he kept breaking his feet, breaking his toes. Well, my advice would be to get rid of that bottom bit.

Get rid of that thing at the bottom of the bed, because then you won't break your toes. But he continued to have it there. And I know the main change needed was to be able to calm him down.

So that he didn't move around so much during his sleep. And to maybe deal with whatever's going on there. But a more practical, quick start to that solution would be to get rid of that bottom of the bed frame bit.

So if someone's having problems sleeping, and they're sleeping on a really rubbish bed, which I've slept on many. You know, a mattress that's been around since D-Day. Then possibly, it could get in the way of the sleep.

I remember I moved into a place a few years ago. And I couldn't believe there was like springs sticking up, like one of those old metal beds. And the mattress was about three inches thick.

So I changed it and I got a decent bed. And I slept lovely. And it might seem that I'm going on a bit about the bleeding obvious.

But this extends to more than just a bed. It's more than just about a comfortable bed. It's about kindness towards yourself.

It's about having the right attitude, which can increase your ability to sleep naturally. By caring about yourself. Because there's no point caring about yourself for 16 hours a day when you're awake.

And then not caring for 8 hours. In the same way, why would you order a takeaway of food that you don't like? Let's say you don't like eating curries. You wouldn't order a curry, would you? And that's just like a one-off fast food meal.

So you think we spend a third of our life in bed. I probably spend more, but on average, I know when we're babies we spend most of our time in bed. And then maybe into old age, maybe we spend most of our time in bed again then.

But as an average, we say a third of our lives in bed. Because I know when I was in my 20s, even late teens, 20s, maybe even into 30s, I didn't get 8 hours sleep. Quite often I'd get a lot less.

Because I was busy. Busy being awake and being silly at times, to be fair. There's television to watch.

You spend a third of our lives in bed. Let's make it a nice bed. Let's make it a comfortable experience.

And even though you may think, what's this got to do with hypnosis? And how's this going to send me to sleep other than by being a bit boring? Well, those of you that listen to me regularly are already tired the second I start talking. You already feel relaxed the second you press that play button on the podcast. And for some people listening to my voice right now, I could talk about anything.

And it wouldn't matter because just the sound of my voice can be enough. In the same way that music, like a certain piece of music, a certain song, maybe a whole album, every time you listen to it you get the same feeling, the same experience, whatever it may be. Maybe uplifting.

Maybe it allows you to get in touch with feelings that you wish to express. Maybe it's just really relaxing. When I listen to the Cranberries album, no need to argue.

No, is it? Anyway, that reminds me of my time living in Ireland. And I was with André, my best friend at the time. He was the original André before André the Ferret.

And when I listen to the album, it's mixed emotions, but it's powerful. And every time, every time I hear the song, you know, there's no need to argue anymore. It just has an emotion, it has a feeling there.

And it is a trigger. The thing is, the word trigger now has, due to online forums and Facebook and things like that, the word trigger seems to have a negative connotation when actually it just means it's a spark, it's a switch. You press a light switch and the light comes on or the light goes off, you know.

And it's the same thing, you press play on this podcast and a feeling arises. And if you're listening again, if you've listened before, then that feeling is going to be one that you like, that you benefit from, that you perhaps look forward to. That feeling maybe of safety, the feeling of non-judgment, the feeling where the pressure is gone.

And if you're like me, a lot of that pressure is self-induced in a sense of, you know, lying in bed thinking I should be asleep by now. That's pressure. And that, well, as far as I'm aware, has never worked for anybody ever, to get to sleep by just saying I should be asleep while I'm asleep.

Because tension, stress, anxiety is the opposite to the feelings required to drift into a healthy, healing, safe, natural sleep. In some ways you could say it's completely the opposite, in fact. It can be a sense of not caring if you fall asleep.

Because you can lie in bed and really not care. Not just not care when you fall asleep, but not care if you do fall asleep. And then you wake up in the morning or whatever time you feel fresh and ready to enjoy the day ahead.

And you've literally done nothing to cause the sleep. It's just happened naturally. It's just happened naturally.

And you can get a little puppy and you can stare at it 25 hours a day and watch it grow. Or you can ignore the fact that it's growing and have no interest in how big your puppy's going to get. Just love the puppy for being your puppy.

But not be interested in how big it's going to be. Either way, it's still going to grow. Because puppies grow up.

They get bigger. And trust me, I used to have, when I was a child, our family dog was a St Bernard. Or a St Bernard.

A tiny little puppy. Tiny, tiny, tiny. It was tiny in the evening.

In the morning it was the size of a house. I didn't need to watch it in order for it to grow. It's like you don't need to take any notice of sleeping or the process of sleeping in order to sleep.

Easily. And I know this may go against the grain in some ways. The idea of just not caring.

Because there's the argument that if I don't care, why would I be listening to this recording? I'm listening because I do care. It's not about not caring about yourself. And if you're not getting enough sleep, then of course it's good to care about that.

But when you're actually lying down, when you're actually prepared to go to sleep, you don't need to care about anything. There's nothing to care about. There's nothing to worry about.

There's nothing to get excited about. There's nothing to remember. And I'm sure that some people may think, well, perhaps they don't want their mind to slow down in case it just stops working.

Which is never going to happen because if anything, the mind works in some ways more when we're asleep. Than at other times when we're awake. Processing information from the day that's passed.

The dreaming. The healing of the body. All the internal organs are still working.

The blood's still being pumped around the body. The lungs are still breathing in oxygen. The heart's still pumping.

The skin, your hair, everything's still growing. The fingernails. Everything's healing, still processing.

But you're asleep. And you don't necessarily need to just turn your brain off. Or your mind.

Turn it down all the way to zero in order to cross that bridge into deep sleep. That is one way to do it. You can also fall asleep when you're thinking.

And trust me, I know I do it a lot. I think I actually bore my own mind into sleeping. By thinking about stuff, trying to work out how many people may be listening to my podcasts in ten years' time.

Based on the growth of the stats over the last six months. I never get to the end of it, I fall asleep. And it's not the same as counting sheep.

Because this is something I'm actually interested in. No offence against sheep, but... It's that process of lying down on your bed. You know, your head touches the pillow.

Your body automatically relaxes. That's the natural state of things. Your body relaxes more and more.

And sometimes getting into the state, the mental state of not caring. May be the perfect way for you to just drift off to sleep. Sometimes.

Maybe not every time. Maybe rarely. But sometimes.

It can be worth just saying, you know what? For the next six hours, or seven hours, or eight hours. I don't care about anything. Because you don't need to care about anything.

Because when you wake up, everything's still going to be there. If you left a dirty cup by the sink, it's still going to be there when you wake up. If you left your slippers next to your bed, they'll still be there when you wake up.

The wardrobe will still be in exactly the same place. Gravity will still be working. You're going to wake up on the ceiling.

All those things that maybe you were worrying about before. May actually, I know it's a cliche. It may seem a bit lighter, a bit easier to manage after a good night's sleep.

And I know it's a cliche, I know it's something that we've probably all been told. Maybe by a parent when we were children, or someone, an adult. Or maybe a friend as an adult, you know? But there's truth in that.

It's not necessarily the solution to the problem, maybe. You know, if you've got insurance documents that need to be renewed, they'll still need to be renewed after sleeping. Maybe after a night's sleep, you'll have a different perspective.

And decide to shop around to get a better price, or to realize that actually, just get it sorted and move on. That's just an example of something. I used to work in insurance, so I seem to keep coming back to insurance.

But, that's another boring subject that you can bore yourself into sleep. Think about insurance. And if you think insurance is boring, try working in insurance.

Although not all jobs are boring, but it's quite, it's not very exciting. Well, for some maybe it is. I should just be quiet, I'll stop talking.

I'll probably find out that like 80% of the people listening to me are working in insurance, and now they're angry. And then you've got people, maybe you've had a conversation during the day, and didn't go to plan, and you're lying in bed and you're thinking about it. How is that helping? Maybe it is.

You know, maybe it is helping, maybe lying there and you're thinking, oh, okay, I've learned something from this. And then you can let it go. Because the stuff can still be there in the morning when you wake up, or the evening when you wake up, depending on when you go to bed.

Just as the bed will still be there. So it makes sense to worry about stuff if things were just going to disappear while you were asleep. You know, you're going to wake up and you end up just sleeping on the floor.

Where's the bed gone? Where's the roof gone? But that's not going to happen. Maybe you can just relax. Safe.

In the knowledge that you are safe. To just let go. To just enjoy.

That feeling of comfort. That you can appreciate being able to tap into that feeling that you were born with the ability to sleep easily. And naturally.

And you literally can, if you choose, just lay down in your bed. And maybe just enjoy laying in your bed. Laying on your bed.

Enjoy the feeling of the support of your bed. The comfort. The pleasure of increased relaxation.

The nice feeling of having maybe a bit of darkness, you know, like your eyes closed. Maybe less sound. Just a rest.

A rest for your ears. A rest for your eyes. A rest for your body.

For the rest of your body. So that your senses are not required. But you can still hear background sounds.

Because they're there. They're there. And that's fine.

And you can feel temperature. The temperature of the room. You can feel the bed against your body.

Maybe the bedclothes against your legs or your feet. Your hands. The pillows against your face.

Your head. Maybe your neck. The mattress supporting your body.

And that in itself changes your state of mind. Because you're using different senses. You're more aware of those senses that you're using.

Because once you stop using your eyes. And if you're, you know, got eyesight that works fine. You'd use your eyes pretty much all day.

Especially these days of computers. Mobile phones. You know, lots of screens that we're looking at.

Televisions of course. As well as just people looking at people. And the hearing.

Using our ears purposely to hear what's being said. Whether it's music we're listening to. Whether it's a colleague at work.

Maybe it's a teacher, a parent, a child. A loved one, a partner. So we're listening.

But purposely we're listening. We're purposely seeing. But when you're in bed.

There is nothing to look at. With your eyes closed. That sense is no longer being used.

And your ears are no longer purposely being used. They're just taking whatever sounds are there. But no judgement needed.

No anything needed. And then the physical senses. The senses of touch.

Becomes a little bit more prominent. Compared to maybe how it is whilst being on the internet. Or watching television.

Or interacting with another person verbally. The sense of taste is not being used. Everything becomes less.

Yet at the same time more. Because that sense of comfort. Has a huge impact on your mind.

That sense of increased physical relaxation throughout your whole body. Stimulates your mind to also mirror that feeling of comfort. Which in turn increases that sensation of deep relaxation throughout your body.

Which again mirrors with your mind. It's like a loop. It keeps going round and round.

As you become more and more relaxed. The more relaxed your body becomes. The more relaxed your mind becomes.

And there's less worrying or thoughts about this or about that. Because even though you may not consciously have decided. That when you're lying down in bed.

You don't care about anything. Because you don't need to. Because it's not required.

It's no longer necessary. Just in the same way as you don't wear your best suit when you get into a bath. You know.

You take it off. You may have had a job interview. You may have been to the wedding or something like that.

Or you might just wear a suit for work. But you don't get into the bath with the suit on. You take it off because it's not needed for that particular activity.

Just in the same way. Worries, concerns, things that were bothering you previously. Are not necessary.

When you're lying in your bed. Just in the same way as that suit. And your shoes.

And your socks. Is not necessary when you're in a bath. Or in a shower.

Because when we go to bed. I don't know about you. But I think most people dress down to go to sleep.

They dress with less clothes. Maybe take off the clothes of the day. Put pyjamas on or maybe tracksuit bottoms.

A t-shirt. Maybe take your socks off. I know some people take their makeup off.

You know everyone's got their own routine. So we do that physically. So it follows that perhaps we should also do it mentally as well.

So as you get ready for bed. Maybe you're wearing jeans. You take the jeans off.

Perhaps you can allow thoughts and concerns that were in your mind. At that point when you were wearing the jeans. To just drop off with the jeans.

If you let the jeans drop to the floor. Let those thoughts drop to the floor. The jeans will still be there when you wake up in the morning.

And I realise not everybody wears jeans. I don't anymore. I used to.

But it can be for anything. It can be for your shoes. I don't think many people go to bed wearing shoes.

Or boots. Or skis. That would be weird wouldn't it? You take them off.

Skis are great if you're skiing. You don't take skis into a sauna. You know if you go, I've been to a skiing resort in Bulgaria.

Years ago. You go into a hotel that I was staying in. You go into the bar or the restaurant.

It's not full of people with skis on their feet. And all dressed up with the goggles and the gloves and all that stuff. All the equipment.

It's not necessary when you're eating. Not necessary when they're in the pub or the bar. But very necessary when they're skiing.

Just in the same way as you wouldn't go to work or to the supermarket or to school or college. Or a wedding in your pyjamas. So when you're in bed it's a different thing.

It's a different space. When you're in bed it's a different mindset. Totally different mindset.

It's an opportunity to just let go. And I know that I use those two words very regularly. Not just in these recordings but in many other deep sleep, whisper hypnosis sessions or relaxation sessions.

But they're important words. To let go. Is to just... You don't have to do anything to let go.

If you're holding two heavy bags of shopping. One in each hand. Letting go takes no effort.

You just let the bag slip out of your fingers and that's it. It doesn't take any effort. The effort is picking the bags up.

Letting them go is no effort. That's why sleeping is kind of the easiest thing in the world. But we forget.

Somewhere along the line maybe we've forgotten that. Forgotten how easy it is. It's as easy as letting go of two bags full of shopping.

Two heavy bags. Just letting them go. That relief.

You know there's pleasure in that moment. You know if you've just walked a long way. You get inside your home and you sit down.

Maybe you've made yourself a cup of tea or whatever. But you sit down. That initial feeling is bliss.

Or maybe you've been working all day and you get home and you take your shoes off. Shoes that you've been wearing for the last ten hours. Your feet feel so comfortable.

Because you've let go. You haven't done anything. It's the opposite of doing something.

Letting go is just stepping out of the shoes. Letting the shoes fall to the floor. And letting your feet feel wonderfully relieved.

Without any help or assistance from you. And sleeping is exactly the same process. Just letting go.

Involves doing nothing. Don't have to do anything. Just let go of everything.

No clinging, no holding on. Let go of those bags of shopping. Because let's face it.

When your body is completely relaxed. What else are you going to do but go to sleep? If you're lying down in your bed. Comfortable bed.

And your body is completely relaxed. And your mind is also completely relaxed. What else is going to happen? Other than just drifting in your own time.

Drifting into a deep natural sleep. Without any effort. Because not only is effort not needed.

Effort is banned from the sleep process. Because effort is the opposite to sleeping. There's no effort required.

As long as you can get into your bed. Safely lay there. Your body and your mind does what's required naturally.

Relaxing you. Your body and your mind. And you can just enjoy the feeling.

Without any expectations. Other than I guess expecting to just fall asleep. Because that's the natural thing to happen.

And you can expect it. You don't have to want it. You don't have to need it.

In fact the less you care. The easier you drift. Into a deep natural sleep.

And it's a lovely feeling. To just let go. Without letting go.

Letting go without actually doing anything. And just enjoying the moment. Enjoying the feeling.

Enjoying just being. Just being. Just sleeping.