How Does Hypnosis Work?
Hypnosis is a state of mind that triggers greater than usual focus and concentration. It is a trance-like state, usually induced by a trained therapist. Being in a hypnotic state should make you feel more relaxed. It opens your mind to suggestions.
Hypnotherapists work with patients to manage anxiety and stress; to treat pain; to change behaviours like smoking or overeating; to treat mental illnesses; and to manage side effects of cancer treatments. Hypnosis may also help with insomnia.
If you were to undergo hypnosis with a therapist, you can expect it to follow these general steps and guidelines:
- The therapist will discuss your goals with you, and outline what you hope to achieve with hypnosis.
- They will talk to you in a soothing voice, suggesting relaxing images and feelings.
- Once you have relaxed into a more receptive state of mind, the therapist will talk to you about your goals and how you can meet them.
- You may be asked to visualize yourself accomplishing these goals.
Hypnosis is not like what you see in the movies. You will not be under a therapist’s complete control, and you will remember the session later. This is a safe, accepted complementary and alternative medical practice that may or may not help you.
About Meditation to Sleep
It isn’t practical to go to a hypnotherapist to help you sleep through the night, or to have a therapist in your home and available at any time. An alternative option is self-hypnosis, or autohypnosis. You can learn to self-hypnotize through guided meditations. It may help to conduct a few sessions with a therapist first.
Once you can self-hypnotize, you should be able to use this strategy before going to sleep. BetterSleep offers several guided meditations with a focus on hypnosis. Use these at bedtime to focus your mind on sleep and relaxation.
Deep Sleep Hypnosis is Effective
Studies show that hypnosis for sleep can be effective and worth your time to try. Researchers have been investigating the connection for decades. An early study compared the effects on sleep of autohypnosis to a placebo and an anti anxiety drug. When the participants used only autohypnosis, they slept longer, took less time to fall asleep, and had more normal nights of sleep.
In a more recent study, women used an audio hypnosis guide before going to sleep. When compared to women who did not use hypnosis, they spent up to 81% more time in deep sleep. They also spent less time awake.
A large review of the literature on sleep and hypnosis evaluated over 100 studies. The authors found that, in general, hypnosis is effective in helping people sleep better. They also determined that hypnosis is a safe way to approach insomnia treatment with few to no adverse effects.
Trying Self-Hypnosis Meditation for Sleep
When you’re ready to try guided sleep meditation and hypnosis, let the BetterSleep app guide you. Prepare For the session by keeping these things in mind:
- Be open. An important part of any kind of hypnosis is believing it will work. Come into sleep hypnosis with an open mind and a positive attitude.
- Set an intention. To help you focus on your goal and to will hypnosis to work, create an intention. For instance, your intention may be to sleep through the night without waking.
- Repeat. In your mind, repeat the intention several times before beginning the actual guided meditation.
- Focus on breaths. Deep breathing is relaxing. Focusing on your breaths is a useful way to direct your attention and block out distracting thoughts.
- Let go. This may take practice, but the point of hypnosis is to let go of the conscious mind. It can be tricky to do, but practice by using meditation regularly and using guided audio programs to help you release.
When you’re ready to try hypnosis and meditation for better sleep, check out the options on BetterSleep. Several of the guided meditations include self-hypnosis. They will walk you through the steps needed to drift off more easily and sleep more soundly.