What Happened When I Tried Hypnosis To Get A Better Night’s Sleep

BY ANISA PURBASARI HORTON
10-18-17

When it comes to mastering healthy habits, sleep is probably–by far–the one I have to work at the most. When life gets busy, sleep is the first thing that gets compromised, every time.

But I’ve been hearing more and more anecdotally from friends that when they prioritized sleep, they saw a noticeable difference in their energy levels and focus–even more so than eating a better diet and exercising. And I can’t ignore the research-backed evidence that indicates a small level of sleep deprivation can affect your cognitive performance. I’ve found that when I consistently get even just 15 to 30 minutes less than I need, my focus suffers.

So after years of neglect, I decided it was time I gave sleep the attention it deserves. But I wanted to start with a small habit that I could maintain. I didn’t want to experiment with an elaborate bedtime routine I would never maintain. After lengthy research, I came across a study–conducted by the University of Zurich–that found that women who listened to audio hypnosis before bed experienced 80% more time in deep sleep compared to those who didn’t. This seemed like an easy routine to add to my bedtime, so I decided to give it a go. Here’s how I fared.

MY METHOD OF HYPNOTHERAPY

I wasn’t ready to have a hypnotherapist hypnotize me to sleep for a week every day. Instead I started small with a hypnosis app. There are a lot of options to choose from: a search for “sleep hypnosis” on the iOS App store rendered more than 40 options . All of them make pretty bold claims to “cure insomnia” and improve sleep quality within a week or two.

I was very skeptical. Many had very spammy-looking websites, and it appeared that many weren’t developed (nor conducted) by a clinical hypnotherapist.

I settled on a sleep hypnosis app called Sleep Well, whose own sales pitch claimed that regular use would lead to falling asleep easily and experiencing deep, restorative sleep throughout the night within one to three weeks. The company behind the app states that its hypnosis is “read by a certified clinical hypnotherapist and hypnotherapy instructor.” That sounded better than most.