There are few things more damaging to the mind and body than prolonged insomnia or interrupted sleep.
A lack of sleep can cause stress, weight gain, depression, high blood pressure, and even organ disease.
If you’ve experienced issues with sleep, you’re likely already aware of the damage it can cause in your everyday life.
However, there is a solution — one that doesn’t come with a prescription.
Hypnosis is a healthy, natural, and scientifically-based method for getting a good night’s rest. It can help you awake each morning feeling rested and refreshed, ready for whatever life hands you.
In this article, you’ll discover exactly how it works, and what it can look like for you.
Does Sleep Hypnosis Work?
If you’re having sleep problems, you’re not alone.
14.5% of adults struggle to fall asleep at night, and 18% of Americans over the age of 18 use sleep medications.
These medications come with a whole host of side effects, such as drowsiness and impaired focus. That’s why having a safe and natural alternative is so important.
But sleep hypnosis is scientifically proven to help.
For instance, according to this study, it increased “slow wave sleep” by 81% and reduced time spent by 67%.
Additionally, a study by Maren Cordi and Björn Rasch found that after hypnotherapy, participants increased their time in deep sleep by 80% after listening to the hypnosis tape compared with sleep after listening to the neutral text.
Sleep Hypnosis for Anxiety
Sleep hypnosis can also reduce the amount of anxiety you feel around sleep and prompt you to change the way you think about sleeping.
Anxiety is a huge contributor to sleep deprivation and insomnia, preventing so many people from getting a good night’s rest. By easing that anxiety, you’ll find yourself falling asleep a lot easier and staying asleep for longer.
A meta-analysis was done to quantify how effective hypnosis can be in the overall treatment of anxiety. The results were overwhelmingly positive. After the longest follow-up, it was determined that the average participant improved their anxiety levels by 84%.
And not only that—sleep hypnosis can also help you achieve deeper sleep, especially if you find yourself waking up feeling unrested and foggy.
How Hypnotherapy Helps With Sleep
So, how does it actually work?
Hypnotherapy works by accessing the subconscious mind, which is the part of our brain that influences habits, feelings, and involuntary functions.
During hypnotherapy sessions, a hypnotherapist guides you into a state of deep relaxation and heightened focus, similar to the trance-like state experienced right before falling asleep. This state is known as hypnosis, and it involves the mind naturally becoming more receptive to suggestions, but only the suggestions you choose for yourself. Despite what Hollywood has portrayed, Hypnosis is not mind control.
In this deeply relaxed state, the critical, analytical part of your brain (the conscious mind) eases and allows access to the subconscious mind.
A hypnotherapist will then utilize this state to introduce positive suggestions that promote healthier sleep patterns. These suggestions might include visualizing the process of falling asleep easily, feeling comfortable and at peace in bed, or associating certain relaxation cues with sleep.
The suggestions made during hypnotherapy are designed to reshape your subconscious associations with sleep. For instance, if you struggle with anxiety or stress, the hypnotherapist might suggest that you associate bedtime with calmness and security.
Hypnotherapy also uses techniques like visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, and more.
Think of it as a guided meditation with a goal, where you remain in control, but some suggestions and prompts are provided.
The 2 Core Parts of Hypnosis
Part 1: Induction
Sleep hypnosis starts with an induction where the hypnotherapist will help you reach a trance-like state known as the “theta brainwave state”. This is similar to a guided meditation and is a perfectly safe and natural state.
While you’re still completely in control in this state, you are calmer, more relaxed, and more open to suggestion. Again, celebrity hypnotherapist Grace Smith calls hypnosis, “meditation with a goal.”
The induction is only successful with your help. The hypnotherapist needs your consent and a deep focus so they can guide you into a hypnotic state seamlessly. It all depends on your willingness and openness to the results you are their achieve.
Part 2: Suggestions
This is where the real change comes in. While you’re in a hypnotic state, your mind will be at ease and more open to suggestion.
The hypnotherapist will then make suggestions based on what you’ve originally discussed or signed up for (this varies depending on whether you’re having an in-person session, doing self-hypnosis, or using a recording).
If you’re in a personalized session, this is also where “change work” will be done.
Suggestions are prompts that guide your subconscious mind in the right direction, helping you reach your ultimate goal of falling (and staying) asleep.
How You Can Experience Hypnotherapy for Sleep
Self-hypnosis
This can be done using various methods, including visualization techniques, relaxation techniques, hypno-affirmations, mindful awareness practice, and more.
If you’d like a full guide on self-hypnosis for sleep, we recommend reading Close Your Eyes, Sleep by Grace Smith.
Hypnosis Recordings
Hypnosis recordings are perfect if you want to ease yourself into a hypnotic state in your own time. They can be used before sleep to help you relax your subconscious.
These are designed to be easy to use and have straightforward instructions, so they’re not going to be difficult to follow. Our Grace Hypnosis app is the gold standard in hypnotherapy recordings.
Private Hypnotherapy Sessions
Private sessions give you more access to your mind and what’s keeping you up at night. In a private session with a Grace Method hypnotherapist, you can address issues in a personalized manner to ensure you’re getting the best sleep treatment.
Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind in Six Weeks
In Grace Smith’s book Close Your Eyes, Sleep, she describes a six-week process that will help you reprogram your subconscious mind to help you sleep better using hypnosis techniques.
Here, we’ll be briefly discussing each week and what you can expect.
Week 1: Turn Off the Alarms
The alarms are the things keeping us awake at night — layoffs at work, past trauma, family anxiety.
We’re often not conscious of what these alarm bells are, but they’re keeping our minds alert, trying to protect us from perceived danger.
During the first week, we need to identify our alarm bells. What is it that we’re seeking at night while we lie awake? Is it reassurance about a meeting? Is it comfort? Is it a night free from racing thoughts about personal safety?
Hypno-affirmations to help you turn off the alarms
- I’m silencing the alarms
- It is safe for me to sleep
- I let the past be the past and sleep deeply now in the present
- I visualize positive memories before bed
- I am worthy and deserving of sleeping well tonight
- The better I sleep, the better I show up for myself (and my family) in the morning
Week 2: Feel Safe to Sleep
For many reasons, people subconsciously feel unsafe to go to sleep. They may not know or understand these reasons at first.
In her book Grace will help you understand what these subconscious fears are and then guide you to overcome them. In hypnotherapy you can ease the mind and body into a state of calm and peace and then visualize a safe space.
Our safe space can be anything that makes us feel safe and secure — a place where we can easily drift off without any worries or disruptions.
Hypno-affirmations to feel safe to sleep
- It is safe for me to close my eyes and rest
- I am most safe during the day when I slept well the night before
- I survive and thrive when I sleep well
- Sleeping well keeps me healthy
- Sleeping well is medicine
Week 3: Put Your Worries in a Box
It’s perfectly natural to have worries. It’s your mind’s way of making sense of your anxieties and talking yourself through all possibilities.
However, worrying can lead to more negative thoughts and, as we know, sleep issues.
For this week, we want to learn to put all our worries in a box. It’s a visualization exercise in which we picture every step of the process—from identifying what we’re worried about to putting those worries in a box, sealing the box, and placing the box somewhere outside of the bedroom.
You can revisit this box in the box in the morning when you’re refreshed and ready to tackle your to-do list.
Hypno-affirmations for putting your worries in a box
- I put all to-dos in a box, and I put the box away
- When I close my eyes in bed, it’s time to sleep, and that’s it
- I can think as much as I want tomorrow. Right now, it’s time to sleep
- I breathe deeply, and everything melts away
- Each night, I sleep better and better
- I am carefree. I am relaxed. I sleep well
- As I prepare for a peaceful sleep, I relax and let go
Week 4: Visualize Having a Wonderful Night’s Sleep
When we struggle with sleep, we come to expect it. We don’t look forward to going to bed at night because we envision tossing and turning, racing thoughts, anxiety, and the stress of being kept awake.
This only prevents us from getting the sleep we so desperately desire.
Instead, we need to visualize having a wonderful night’s sleep. We need to be able to subconsciously believe that we’ll have the perfect eight hours of rest.
Envision everything from the comfort of your mattress and peacefully drifting off to sleep to the way you’ll feel in the morning.
Hypno-affirmations for visualizing a wonderful night’s sleep
- I visualize peaceful sleep
- The more I visualize a wonderful night’s sleep, the easier it is
- When I get ready for bed, I feel calm and comfortable
- It is safe for me to sleep peacefully
- I quiet my mind and sleep
- Every day, in every way, it is easier and easier to have a long, restful sleep
Week 5: Overcome the Final Sleep Hurdles
The previous four weeks have prepared us for a better night’s sleep. However, that doesn’t always ensure that the insomnia or sleep interruptions are over completely.
Life is difficult, and many factors could be contributing to a lack of sleep — medical, career, parenthood, relationships, and more.
If we want to take the next step to having a peaceful night’s rest every night, we need to find a way to address these issues in our daily lives. Deciding what is in our control and what is not is a great step towards this.
As we find it easier to sleep, we need to look at ways to overcome the final sleep hurdles we face in our everyday lives.
Hypno-affirmations to overcome the final sleep hurdles
- I sleep well all the time
- I love my bedtime routine
- When I wake up, I feel happy and rested
- It is getting easier and easier to feel good about sleep
- I am sleeping wonderfully at night
- I feel wonderfully sleepy
Week 6: Embrace Your New Identity
At week six, you are no longer an insomniac. That is not your identity anymore. You don’t struggle with sleep, and it’s not an excuse you use as you sip a coffee to regain some energy.
When we reach this stage of the journey, we need to embrace a new identity, one of a person who sleeps well. We are rested, energized, and ready for the day.
Find out who you are without insomnia. Learn your daily habits and routines from scratch, no longer clouded by exhaustion.
Hypno-affirmations for embracing your new identity
- I am a wonderful sleeper
- I enjoy calm and peaceful dreams
- I wake up feeling great
- Each night, I sleep better and better
- Every day, it gets easier to have a long, deep sleep
- I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow
Of course, this isn’t all you’ll find in Grace’s book. If you’re interested in seeing her full process for reclaiming your nights, click here.
The Results of Sleep Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy has helped so many people regain the joy of a good night’s sleep. In this section, we’ll show you some examples.
What Real People Have to Say
These are everyday people who have used Grace Method sleep hypnotherapy and came out on the other side sleeping deeply.
Here are some reviews from our Grace App:
1. Elizabeth Smith
“I thought [hypnosis] was interesting but something out of reach to the average person. There is a guy who does hypnotherapy commercials here in Phoenix and he seems super shady. I always thought if you wanted to go to someone reputable it would be way too expensive. After the death of my daughter in 2009 I've struggled to fall asleep and stay asleep.
I've battled insomnia and it got so bad that sleeping pills didn't even work. There would be times I would be up for several days and it took a toll on all aspects of my life. I started using Grace Space, not thinking it would really work. The $47 a month was way less than I was spending on sleeping pills and such. After about a week, I was able to not only fall asleep but stay asleep. I'm fairly certain I can sleep anywhere now. All areas of my life have improved. It was so beneficial that I've now signed up for Grace's hypnotherapy school.”
2. Leah Peterson
“I didn't “buy it”.. or I thought even if [hypnosis] works for some people, I wouldn't be one of those people. I was extremely skeptical. Major anxiety issues, which were causing me to have frequent insomnia [were issues I wanted to fix with hypnosis]. The first session was spontaneous – a quick “tryout” on my sister's bed..
I wasn't prepared to vocalize my problem, so this was just a general relaxation hypnosis – I was completely shocked at the way I felt throughout the session.. so completely present, but also like I was under a heavy spell. It was very strange, but I felt great the rest of the entire day – it almost came in waves, a feeling of complete contentment and spikes of giddiness. I really wanted to try again, but this time with a specific goal in mind.
So I scheduled an appointment with Grace at her NYC office and let her know that I would like to tackle my anxiety and sleeplessness. The session was short, I was able to use a lunch break and go right back to work. And I slept SO well after. It felt like a physical & separate being had been living inside me, taking up space and disrupting my whole system. And Grace Smith was able to transform that energy so it was just me in there – I felt afterwards like my body was mine again.”
3. Rebekah Borucki
“I have lived with anxiety and panic attacks associated with phobias and family issues for most of my life. I have found means of healing myself, but I looked to Grace Smith to provide even more tools to accomplish goals that I wasn’t able to on my own – more specifically, chronic nightmares and relationship issues with family members. I’ve had several sessions with Grace Smith, and each one left me with a greater sense of calm and empowerment.
The most remarkable result was the instant cessation of my chronic nightmares. I began to sleep better, helping me to function better during the day and improving my overall mood. Not only would I recommend hypnosis to anyone struggling with similar issues to mine, I would recommend it to everyone.
Hypnosis isn’t just for people with problems. It can also be a tool to improve work performance, strengthen personal relationships, and develop a deeper understanding of self. I use a lot of Grace Smith’s techniques in my personal meditation practice and with my own students. Grace is an understanding, gentle, and compassionate hypnocoach who was sensitive to my personal needs and limits. I always felt in control during our sessions. She felt more like an assistant to my self-healing, which left me with an even strong belief that I have the power to change my circumstances for the better.”
Start Your Hypnotherapy Session With Us
Hypnotherapy for sleep is about equipping yourself with tools for a lifetime of better sleep, reduced stress, and overall improved well-being.
If you're curious to see how hypnotherapy can transform your sleep, why not start with a guided session?
Explore the Grace app and have a look at our tailored hypnotherapy sessions for sleep. It's an easy and accessible way to get into the world of hypnotherapy right from the comfort of your home.
For those who prefer a one-on-one approach, you can easily book a consultation. It's a great opportunity to discuss your specific needs and receive personalized guidance.
However, if you want to delve into self-hypnosis under the guidance of a renowned expert, Grace Smith’s book Close Your Eyes, Sleep is a good choice.