Getting a better night's sleep

Last October I spotted this fox sleeping in broad daylight in my neighbour's garden. I was amazed that he wasn't being mobbed by any of the magpies or crows - they normally let me know when a fox is about.

I'd not been sleeping so easily as this fox recently and all my old tricks and techniques just hadn't got me well-rested. Then I turned to this book - Healing Yourself with Self-Hypnosis by Frank Caprio, M.D. and Joesph R. Berger, revised by Dr. Caroline Miller. I've read various other books on hypnosis but it was quite a while since I'd actually tried it properly. I read this one to re-inspire me and last night before I went to sleep I used it to suggest to myself that I recharge my batteries whilst asleep and feel well-rested when I woke up.

I woke up feeling good and had loads of energy all day. I was even singing whilst I emptied the dishwasher! And believe me that was a big difference!

Something that this book emphasizes is that one first uses the hypnotic state to explore what the problems behind the symptoms really are before planting useful suggestions like "When I awake I'll be fully rested and ready to go". If you too have had difficulty sleeping the sort of question to ask yourself whilst under hypnosis might be "Why do I keep waking up tired?" or "Is there something I need to change about my sleeping habits?"

Some of the general questions they give when introducing this idea of "Autoanalysis" are ones I'll be tackling in future sessions like:

1. How is my health affected by the way I think?
2. What plans have I made for the future?

The first is obviously worth checking out - the second is one of their suggestions that surprised me at first but of course it is the subconscious self that is being asked and I may well have some plans I planted one way or another long ago and that I'd like to undo or at least know about - in fact it seems rather important to check this out.

Have you any other suggestions for things to explore this way?