Client Testimonial

After 22 years of sleeplessness, Orange Grove Siesta changed Cynthia's life

Twenty-two years ago, Cynthia woke to find her husband, at only 50, had passed on at her side. From then on, she never enjoyed another full night's sleep; she says: "Perhaps it was post traumatic stress disorder, but I never slept again."

Years went by and Cynthia sought every remedy for sleeplessness. She took up yoga, but: "I had terrible tension in my shoulders and head and depressing thoughts that yoga could not help."

Cynthia describes a cycle of insomnia where you become afraid to go to bed, in case you don't fall asleep. Next comes the fear of over-tiredness; that you might over-sleep and be late the next day.

Sleep specialists? No help

A couple of years ago, Cynthia looked for help at a sleep disorder clinic.

She filled in an extensive questionnaire where the last question was: "How long have you suffered from this condition?" She wrote: 'Twenty-two years'.

With wry humour, she describes her meeting with the sleep specialist, who read her questionnaire and had one comment: "For twenty-two years you've had this condition and now you expect me to cure you?"

Sleeping pills provided some relief, but over time she became resistant to them and the dosage slowly increased. At more than twice the original dose, she began to wonder how much more she could endure.

Relief at last! ... Siesta in the Orange Grove

On a visit to London in 2004, Cynthia told her niece, Ruth, about her problem. Ruth listened sympathetically, then said perhaps she had something that would help: alphamusic by John Levine. Incredibly, she had one of John's CDs right there, "Orange Grove Siesta", and she put it on to play.

Cynthia says: "It was so soft and relaxing that I said straight away, "Put it on again". I listened again: it was as if I saw angels, or I was flying in a parachute.

"I asked Ruth to leave the CD with me. That night I put it on to play and lay down on my bed. Again I felt as if I had wings, so quiet and serene. For the first time in 22 years, I fell asleep without pills and slept for more than two hours. When I woke, I took only one pill and went back to sleep for another five hours; at my age, that's a lot of sleep. The music relaxes me. I feel well."