When mother-of-four Hayley Dawes hit her forties, she started having panic attacks about going to bed.
Almost overnight she stopped being able to go to sleep and the more the insomnia crept in, the worse her anxiety would get.
Hayley, now 55, found herself taking so many sleeping tablets to cope that her doctor eventually turned her away. It was a chance meeting with a fellow insomniac in a cafe in Notting Hill that introduced her to CBD drops which turned her life around.
© Getty ImagesSo much so, a year later she quit her job in interior design and set up her own company, Dreem Distillery, selling her signature CBD product, 'Dreem Drops', in prestigious locations such as Selfridges, notching up celebrity fans including Poppy Delevingne and Trinny Woodall along the way, with Trinny saying the drops help her sleep "like no other."
Here, Hayley shares her experience of sleeplessness and reveals her top tips for overcoming insomnia.
Overcoming insomnia
"I only started struggling with my sleep 10 years ago," Hayley begins. "I worked long hours at the time, entertaining clients most nights of the week after starting my working day at 7 am. I would get home at 10.55 pm and expect to hit the pillow at 11 pm and fall asleep.
© Instagram"When I hit my forties, suddenly the wheels fell off and I couldn't sleep like I used to. The moment you arrive in insomnia-land, there is huge anxiety about going to the bedroom.
"I would have panic attacks just going up the stairs and I tried to avoid the bedroom. Nothing moved the needle for me to try and regain sleep despite trying many techniques and visiting endless sleep doctors.
"I would have panic attacks just going up the stairs and I tried to avoid the bedroom."
"I lived on Xanax for several months. Anything I could get my hands on I would pop and hope for the best, which was usually just a blackout of five hours that would leave me feeling low the next day because I never got restorative sleep.
"Then I met a guy in a cafe in Notting Hill who told me CBD was his key to a good night's sleep. His advice changed my life and I wanted to share it with everyone. Here's what works for me...
1. Broadspectrum CBD
"Broadspectrum CBD changed my life and is what we use in Dreem Distillery's 'Dreem Drops'.
"CBD is from the cannabis plant but there are different types and Broadspectrum CBD does not contain THC, the psychoactive part of the hemp plant. It is the power of the plant that is key and when you add that to key oils it becomes more efficacious, but it is not addictive.
"When I first took CBD, it only came in dodgy-looking green bottles with a hemp leaf on the front. I wanted to make a product that would look good on your bedside table and that was when I had the idea for starting Dreem Distillery."
2. Be consistent
"After hearing about CBD, I took the drops consistently every day, and by night five I was falling asleep and staying asleep – and it only got better from there.
"I took CBD consistently every day and by night five I was falling asleep and staying asleep"
"It surprised me and my family was delighted, particularly my mum who had been worried by the amount of sleeping tablets I had been taking."
3. Have a break
"I am yet to discover what caused my insomnia. But my routine was out of kilter and I was always working or on the go. In hindsight, no one told me small respites in the day, taking a pause, would help my body."
4. Create a reading ritual
"My bedtime routine completely changed in order to help myself fall asleep. Now even if I'm out late, I do the full wind-down routine when I get in; bath, take night drops, and read my book. It drives me mad that some people can fall asleep so easily when I need to go through so many rituals."
© Getty Images5. Have a positive mindset
"Every night I tell myself: 'Tonight I am going to look forward to deep restorative sleep and feel good tomorrow,'
"If you have a rough night, try to look forward to the following day – don't get down about the night that didn't go well for you."
