Jon Skelton

February 1, 2024

Sleep

While the advantages of a restful night's sleep are vast and extensively documented—rejuvenating brain cells, repairing skin, enhancing productivity and mood, and fortifying major bodily systems—it is estimated that approximately 20 million people in the UK suffer from sleep-related issues, such as sleep deprivation and insomnia.

Whether one routinely wrestles with sleep challenges or is bracing for the impact of a bustling festive season, there are strategies to ensure improved and more tranquil sleep from now into the new year and beyond.

Focus on something else:

Many people resort to sleep aids to monitor, analyse, and enhance sleep quality, with the global sleep aids market projected to reach £162.5 billion by 2030. However, fixating excessively on achieving sufficient sleep can backfire, causing heightened stress and elevated cortisol levels. If you find yourself obsessing over your sleep, distractions like mindfulness practices, pre-bedtime journaling to address anxious thoughts, and even eliminating clocks and aids altogether are prudent choices.

Enhance Sleep Sounds:

ASMR, beyond its prevalence on platforms like TikTok, has shown promise in facilitating easier sleep initiation. Describing the response to soothing repetitive sounds, ASMR audio has been found to induce a psychologically comfortable state, releasing relaxation-promoting chemicals like oxytocin and dopamine.

Calm Down:

Living in a perpetual state of stress undermines a good night’s sleep. Minimizing stress and maximizing relaxation is crucial. In addition to conventional stress-relief methods like box breathing and gentle pre-bedtime stretches, incorporating humming into your evening routine can stimulate serotonin, activate the vagus nerve, and engage the parasympathetic nervous system for a “rest and digest” phase.

Get some exercise:

Sleep and exercise share a reciprocal relationship, influencing each other positively when done regularly. Exercise regulates cortisol levels, encourages melatonin production, and helps balance body temperature. Yoga, with its combination of physical de-stressing and breath work, is often recommended as a pre-bedtime activity.

Eat well:

Avoid stimulants close to bedtime, opt for protein-rich foods containing tryptophan, and pair them with complex carbohydrates for optimal serotonin conversion to melatonin. A high-fibre diet, featuring foods like leafy greens and legumes, supports deep, slow wave sleep, crucial for overall restoration.

Get Outside:

Counterintuitively, adequate daylight exposure is essential for a good night’s sleep. Daylight helps reset the body clock, regulating the release of hormones such as cortisol in the morning and melatonin in the evening. Sunlight exposure also stimulates serotonin production, a key factor in melatonin production.

Get in the tub:

A disrupted circadian rhythm due to stress or poor habits can affect sleep. Bathing, by gently raising core body temperature, encourages drowsiness and promotes better alignment with natural rhythms. Adding lavender essential oil or magnesium-infused bath salts further enhances the relaxing effects and supports sleep.

Conclusion

If all else fails – talk to someone like me. Hypnotherapy improves sleep by inducing deep relaxation, addressing underlying issues contributing to sleep difficulties, modifying negative thought patterns, establishing positive sleep associations, and teaching relaxation techniques.

By guiding individuals into a focused and relaxed state, I can help you reduce stress, anxiety, and negative beliefs associated with sleep, promoting a positive mindset conducive to restful sleep.

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Beth Redfern

2024-01-29

I highly recommend working with Jon of Balance Your Brain. I found his combination of coaching and hypnotherapy hugely helpful in dealing with some unexpected stressful events and was really impressed at just how quickly things changed with his help. As well as being great at what he does, he’s also really professional and very nice. He immediately put me at my ease and I felt very comfortable talking to him. Thank you Jon!

Finn Hewlett

2024-01-02

I went to Jon when I was in a bad place. And I have suffered from anxiety in the past. I think opening up as much as possible is the best way to achieve the best results in therapy. In the first couple of sessions i wasn’t being completely honest with Jon or myself. But as soon as I began to open up and be completely honest I then started to receive the information that was needed in order for me get over these negative thoughts and emotions. I would highly recommend Jon to anyone who is going through a bad period, or even if they feel they may be going down the wrong path in life. Jon helped me to understand my brain and the processes it can go through that can either send you down a negative spiral of thoughts and emotions. But the same way it can do this, it can be done in a positive way as well. Highly recommend.

Caroline

2023-10-30

We went to Jon as my daughter age 9 has been battling some fears/mental blocks in gymnastics with backwards tumbling. My daughter felt at ease with Jon and could talk and explain her feelings even though she struggles with communicating. Jon has built up her confidence, she is now believing in herself and backward tumbling is making progress.

Jane Harden

2023-10-28

Jon was brilliant can not praise enough, been a smoker for 30 years and tried many time to stop, this time with Jon's help it has worked 7 weeks now ! 😀

Jessica Easley

2023-09-30

I searched up hypnotherapy and anxiety to look for help for my son. Up came Jon! My son hated school and was starting GCSEs and I thought Jon may help to get him through the last few months. He was amazing! He totally understood a 16 yr old mind and how he felt. My son could really open up and talk to Jon, he looked forward to every session and came out a more positive happier child. Jon taught him to turn situations around and override the negative thoughts. His advice has now helped him pass 8 GCSEs and has settled into 6th form so easily and made new friends with his new found confidence. I can’t thank Jon enough and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him. If you need help contact him you won’t regret it!

Rich Brassett

2023-09-06

My sessions with Jon were always really insightful and his thoroughness and way of explaining things helped me to really uncover certain issues that we then worked on. I would highly recommend speaking with Jon, i've seen significant growth in myself.

James

2023-06-22

I have struggled a lot over the years with negative thinking and severe anxiety. Jonn has really helped me deal with these issues and re train my way of thinking to the point were I now no longer feel the aniexty at all. His a true gentleman and can't thank him enough.

Alex Green

2023-06-14

Jon has helped me immensely with my career and performance. I can't thank him enough for all his help so far.

april clarke

2023-06-06

Jon was an amazing Hypnotherapist. He helped massively with my anxiety and allowed me to think positively about situations which made me more motivated and overall happier. Thank you so much Jon, I very much recommend Jon to anyone struggling.

Lucy Skelton

2023-05-26

Client testimonial. “Full disclosure, I’m Jon’s wife. But as anyone knows, your family can give you a much harder time than anyone else, so my husband really had his work cut out with me! Anyone who knows me, will tell you that I hate flying. Since I was a kid, I’ve hated flying. I’ve tried so many ways to cope; medication, copious amounts of alcohol, fear-of-flying courses, clinging to aircraft staff & family for dear life and shear avoidance…it’s safe to say, I’ve got the t-shirt. And Jon’s had to put up with my vast array of ‘techniques’ for the past 20 years! Jon suggested trying out some hypnotherapy on me. I’ll hold my hands up, I was sceptical; not because I didn’t he was good at what he does or that hypnotherapy doesn’t work, I just thought…it’s weird, you’re my husband…and I’ve tried everything already! This is just me, it’ll never go away. So fast forward to this photo. This is me on a plane during take off, returning from Edinburgh this weekend. I’m listening to my hypnotherapy recording (my husband is in my ear!) and I’m in happy-land. I never thought this would be possible. I’ve gone from being unable to sleep before a flight and stressing about every tiny detail of the journey (the packing, the ride to the airport, literally everything)…to gliding through security, browsing the shops and even sleeping on a plane! I couldn’t eat 24hrs before I flew (regularly vomiting in the toilets before boarding, through nerves). I can now can eat on a plane. Yesterday I even ate lunch before I got on the plane. That’s huge! My longest running coping strategy was alcohol. Although I felt like it worked, it really didn’t. I would be anxious & stressed about getting drunk enough before my flight (speeding everyone through security as quickly as possible to get to a bar). Trust me there’s nothing glamorous about drinking vodka at 8am with your kids in tow. It also ruined the beginning of my holiday; I’d often not remember the landing airport, left bags on planes and spent the first day of my holiday in bed royally hungover. My fear of flying genuinely stopped me from living my life how I wanted to. I would turn down trips or change the destination to avoid a long flight or a flight at all. I now can’t wait for my next holiday. It’s safe to say, it’s changed my life and my family’s. If you feel how I used to about flying (or any fear for that matter), give Jon a try…it could change everything for you.”