Prescription drugs aimed at improving sleep (or more accurately: sedating people) have been shown to decrease slow wave sleep. This stage of sleep has been shown to decrease with age, and this decrease has been associated with the development of several neurological illnesses. Slow wave sleep is necessary for human health and well-being, as well as memory consolidation. Which is very much in line with what we find from customer feedback at Pzizz. Ultimately, this study lends weight to the idea that hypnosis can help people achieve increased healthy deep sleep. With the right induction procedure, specific hypnotic suggestions, and suggestible participants, hypnosis can alter sleep patterns for the better. Specifically, hypnosis can increase the time spent in deep sleep (a very important part of the sleep cycle for well-being).įurthermore, because of the careful controls and multiple versions of the experiment, it seems very clear that these effects are not by chance, nor due to the placebo effect, nor due to participant characteristics, nor due to participants trying to please the researchers. Reading further into it, the study showed that there is evidence that hypnosis, under certain conditions, can be effective. It’s hard to find real, unbiased work done on the topic, but we managed to uncover a study in a sleep journal with no connection to hypnosis companies, performed by trained university Ph.D scientists, with proper controls, statistical measures, and methods. This is clinical hypnosis, not the absurd stuff you see in stage shows (as much as I would like to get you clucking like a chicken…).īut clinical or not, there’s still lots of questionable research about hypnosis. Pzizz’s scripts include many approaches, including progressive relaxation, breathing, hypnosis and lots more. So does the voice actually help? Certainly anecdotal evidence would indicate so, but let’s go deeper.
These include regular exercise (but not right before bed), avoiding afternoon naps, avoiding hunger or extreme fullness before bed, lowering stress, making your bedroom dark and quiet, avoiding tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine several hours before bed, and using a white noise machine.So, we know music can improve sleep, even for clinical insomniacs.īut, Pzizz is a combination of music AND voiceover. If sleep hypnosis isn’t for you because you’ve already tried it (and it doesn’t work) or you can’t front the extra cash for therapy right now, there are natural (free) things you can do to boost your sleep quality.
The National Sleep Foundation says people who benefit from sleep hypnosis may notice results after just a few sessions, but about 1/4th of the population simply can’t be hypnotized at all. You’ll feel relaxed, even though your mind will be in a state of deep concentration. Your therapist may softly whisper soothing words during your session, allowing you drift off to sleep after (or even during) your sessions. Rather, you’ll listen to a hypnotherapist’s verbal cues to help draw you into a trance-like state of mind, tuning out your surroundings. The National Sleep Foundation says hypnosis may boost the amount of time you spend in a deep sleep by up to 80 percent, and that deep sleep aids in better memory, healing and feeling restored.Ī swinging pendulum isn’t required for you to enter a deep hypnotic state. If you struggle with sleepwalking, hypnotic suggestion may help train your body to wake up when your feet hit the floor while sleeping. Hypnosis allows your mind and body to relax, and let go of stress and anxiety when you have insomnia. If you’re having trouble sleeping due to disorders like sleepwalking or insomnia, hypnosis may be just what you need to get better zzzs. Hypnosis can also be used to help people sleep better, especially people with chronic sleep disorders. Therapists sometimes use hypnosis to help patients become more susceptible to changing unhealthy habits (such smoking)-or as a therapeutic strategy to help reduce pain, mood disorders, anxiety, depression, gastrointestinal disorders and other health problems or illnesses, says the American Psychological Association. When you’re in a state of hypnosis, you’re awake and conscious but focusing on something so intently that you’re in an altered, relaxed state of mind. Have you been wondering what sleep hypnosis really is and if it’s something you should be doing for better sleep? Knowing more about this type of hypnotherapy will intrigue you, and help you decide if sleep hypnosis is the right fit for you.