Can’t Sleep? Hypnotize Yourself

When a very down-to-earth Editor-in-Chief tells you he found a self-hypnosis video that worked for him, you listen.

“I’ve tried guided meditations before to calm my nerves, but I don’t really buy into the new age spirituality of most meditations. This one is hypnosis-focused: and it works. I fell into a deep trance, where I went into my subconscious and worked on dismantling my anxiety symptoms. After listening to this, I slept ten straight hours and woke up feeling calm and confident. This worked out great, because I had to pitch a big creative idea to a panel. Thanks in part to this hypnosis, paired with theta wave music, I nailed it. This will become a major part of my anti-stress toolbox.” -Riley Hastings

At their base level, self-hypnosis videos are a kind of guided meditation that helps you get around your conscious mind. Creative people tend to have a million thoughts, ideas, and projects in mind at once. This can cause stress, and make it hard for you to sleep.

Hypnosis has a long history in psychotherapy and medicine. The human mind is suggestible. It’s why we are affected by advertising, why we can empathize with characters in a book, and why we can convince ourselves we can overcome insurmountable odds.

I tried out the video and found it really soothing. Michael Sealey‘s voice is very relaxing. Even if you don’t find that the video puts you into a trance, treat it as an audiobook to fall asleep to.

We’re all guilty of using screens too late at night. There’s a heap of data showing why this disturbs our ability to sleep. Blue light and infinite distractions keep us up.

Going from a busy day to just lying there can be uncomfortable for some people, myself included. Using audio-only as a transition before bedtime can help your mind slow down without needing a light in the room to read by (or to watch Netflix).

There are never enough hours in a day, but given the number of chronic illnesses and health risks caused by poor sleep, you owe it to yourself to try to slow down and rest.

Maybe hypnosis will work for you. Maybe another type of guided meditation works better. Either way, turn off your screen and rest.

You’ve earned it.

This week’s challenge:

• Try out a guided meditation or hypnosis video before you go to sleep. This is the Michael Sealey video mentioned in the article. Here is a 24/7 live station for sleep and relaxation music. Or, you could listen to the most “boring video ever made,” a 1998 Microsoft Word tutorial.
• Let me know about your secret sleep weapons. Aromatherapy? Apps? Diet tips? Write below in the comments, or on Twitter.