Sleep Eating

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Permalink Reply by Kelley Woods on December 4, 2009 at 11:31am

Hello Candace,

Sleep eating is usually a result of another underlying issue, including an influence of prescription medicine, alcohol or nicotine use, chronic stress, abnormal sleep pattern or even organic medical disfunction. It is important that your client has a medical diagnosis and supervision for this disorder if she has not already obtained it...

Interestingly, the majority of sleep eating sufferers are also chronic dieters. There is something in the process of denial of food that comes out in the sleep state to promote the person to "unknowingly" raid the fridge in this state. This theory is upheld in the evidence that much of the food consumed during these late night forays is high in sugar and fat content, although there are reports of consumption of unusual foods such as catfood or soap, also.

Your intake with this client will reveal clues as to which direction to take. Does she have a lot of stress and emotional tension? Has she been on a perpetual "roller coaster" diet? What does she think is served by this sleep eating behavior?

I imagine that teaching her to release her restricting emotional energy will help to alleviate her sleep eating. A further exploration with Parts Therapy will let her know (if necessary) the reasons for her behavior and give opportunity to reconstruct it to her future desired benefit.

I hope this helps! It's an interesting case.

Best wishes,

Kelley

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Permalink Reply by Chris Witherspoon on December 4, 2009 at 1:35pm

I would check to see if she is taking any medications to assist her sleep. Several sleep aid medications have side effects that cause the person taking the medication to do thing while still in a sleep state.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Cole on December 4, 2009 at 2:38pm

Candace
It is more common than most suspect that a person on Ambien or a similar medication will do all sorts of odd, counterintuitive behaviors in the middle of the night with no recall the next day. I know of a case where someone did several loads of wash in the middle of the night at a laundrymat. Remember the unconcious mind processes the last thought you have before you fall asleep all night long and it WILL solve the problem.
Kelley's advice is sound and I am not going to repeat it here, except to add one more suggestion that if it is related to medication that you make the prescribing Physican aware of your involvement and obtain a referral to work with her. Then I would suggest she lock the frig or alarm it in a way that might awaken her and re engage concious thought. Cat food tastes terrible and soap ,,, well Yuck.

Hugh Cole
The Pretty Goodest Hypnotist on the Planet.

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Permalink Reply by Candace McLean on December 14, 2009 at 12:07pm

Hi Kelley,

Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate your advice. I am seeing this woman today, so will be sure to ask her about her medication, stress, habits, dieting, etc. I will let you know how it goes! Again, thank you so much for all the great advice. -Candace

Kelley Woods said:

Hello Candace,

Sleep eating is usually a result of another underlying issue, including an influence of prescription medicine, alcohol or nicotine use, chronic stress, abnormal sleep pattern or even organic medical disfunction. It is important that your client has a medical diagnosis and supervision for this disorder if she has not already obtained it...

Interestingly, the majority of sleep eating sufferers are also chronic dieters. There is something in the process of denial of food that comes out in the sleep state to promote the person to "unknowingly" raid the fridge in this state. This theory is upheld in the evidence that much of the food consumed during these late night forays is high in sugar and fat content, although there are reports of consumption of unusual foods such as catfood or soap, also.

Your intake with this client will reveal clues as to which direction to take. Does she have a lot of stress and emotional tension? Has she been on a perpetual "roller coaster" diet? What does she think is served by this sleep eating behavior?

I imagine that teaching her to release her restricting emotional energy will help to alleviate her sleep eating. A further exploration with Parts Therapy will let her know (if necessary) the reasons for her behavior and give opportunity to reconstruct it to her future desired benefit.

I hope this helps! It's an interesting case.

Best wishes,

Kelley

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Permalink Reply by Candace McLean on December 14, 2009 at 12:10pm

Hi Chris,

Thank you for the info. It seems they should have this kind of warning on the packages of sleep medication... It really is quite alarming! I'll post how the session goes. -Candace

Chris Witherspoon said:

I would check to see if she is taking any medications to assist her sleep. Several sleep aid medications have side effects that cause the person taking the medication to do thing while still in a sleep state.

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Permalink Reply by Candace McLean on December 14, 2009 at 12:16pm

Really, laundry? I guess anything IS possible. Hmmmm.... I wonder if I could get myself to do the vacuuming while asleep; I hate vacuuming... :) Kidding aside, I can see how this would be very scary for someone -- not consciously being aware of what you're doing. I am meeting this client for the first time today, and will post my findings. Also, your point about getting a referral is well noted. Thank you Hugh! -Candace

Hugh Cole said:

Candace
It is more common than most suspect that a person on Ambien or a similar medication will do all sorts of odd, counterintuitive behaviors in the middle of the night with no recall the next day. I know of a case where someone did several loads of wash in the middle of the night at a laundrymat. Remember the unconcious mind processes the last thought you have before you fall asleep all night long and it WILL solve the problem.
Kelley's advice is sound and I am not going to repeat it here, except to add one more suggestion that if it is related to medication that you make the prescribing Physican aware of your involvement and obtain a referral to work with her. Then I would suggest she lock the frig or alarm it in a way that might awaken her and re engage concious thought. Cat food tastes terrible and soap ,,, well Yuck.

Hugh Cole
The Pretty Goodest Hypnotist on the Planet.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Cole on December 15, 2009 at 6:12am

Hi Candace
You dislike vacuuming? Why don't you call me on Skype and we can discuss all the reasons why vacuuming might become fun for you in future. ..... You might even find yourself lovingly selecting a brand new Dyson super vac to take your game to the new level. ,,, Just kidding ... Have a great day

Hugh Cole
The Pretty Goodest Hypnotist on the Planet

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Permalink Reply by Candace McLean on December 15, 2009 at 6:25am

Hi Chris -- Thanks for the advice. As it turns out, this client is not on any medications, prescribed or over-the-counter. However, she has been dieting for years. Thanks again for helping me out. -Candace

Chris Witherspoon said:

I would check to see if she is taking any medications to assist her sleep. Several sleep aid medications have side effects that cause the person taking the medication to do thing while still in a sleep state.

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Permalink Reply by Henxy on December 16, 2009 at 4:07am

Hugh, are you advertising?! lol!

Hugh Cole said:

You might even find yourself lovingly selecting a brand new Dyson super vac to take your game to the new level. ,,,

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Cole on December 16, 2009 at 6:26am

I don't Know .. Are you buying ? :-). They have a lovely Trackingball and can go anywhere or so I am told.

Hugh Cole

Henxy said:

Hugh, are you advertising?! lol!

Hugh Cole said:

You might even find yourself lovingly selecting a brand new Dyson super vac to take your game to the new level. ,,,

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