“You are getting sleepy.” “Sleep!” “When you wake up…” The whole vocabulary of hypnosis is borrowed from sleep. The word itself comes from Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep.
It is one of the most misleading labels in psychology. A hypnotized person is not asleep, and understanding the difference clears up a good deal of confusion.
How the name stuck
In the 1840s the Manchester surgeon James Braid noticed that mesmerised people looked as though they were sleeping: eyes closed, still, relaxed. He called the state “nervous sleep” and coined the word hypnotism.
He soon realised his mistake. His subjects could hear, speak and respond. He proposed another word, monoideism, meaning attention held by a single idea. Nobody adopted it.
What the brain is doing
Sleep and hypnosis can be told apart by recording the brain’s electrical activity.
Sleep has a well-defined sequence of stages, each with its own signature: the slowing and characteristic bursts of light sleep, the large slow waves of deep sleep, and the distinctive pattern of dreaming sleep with rapid eye movements.
Hypnosis shows none of these. The brain activity of a hypnotized person is that of someone who is awake. Depending on what they are doing, it may resemble relaxed wakefulness or alert concentration.
Researchers established this by the middle of the twentieth century. Reflexes that disappear in sleep are present in hypnosis. Brain imaging since then has shown hypnosis associated with changes in networks of attention and self-monitoring, not with the shutdown seen in sleep.
The differences that matter
| Sleep | Hypnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Largely absent | Present |
| Hearing and responding | Very limited | Yes |
| Attention | Switched off | Narrowed and focused |
| Memory afterwards | Little or none | Usually good |
| Brain activity | Sleep stages | Waking patterns |
| Voluntary control | Lost | Kept; you can stop |
| Biological need | Yes | No |
The key contrast is attention. In sleep it is turned down. In hypnosis it is turned up and aimed at one thing.
Why they get confused
- They look alike. Closed eyes, stillness, slow breathing.
- The language. “Sleep,” “deeper,” “wake up.”
- Relaxation. Most inductions use it, though it is not essential.
- Time distortion. People often misjudge how long they were hypnotized.
- People do sometimes fall asleep during hypnosis.
You can be hypnotized while wide awake
Relaxation is a convenience, not a requirement. In “alert” or “active-alert” hypnosis, people have been hypnotized with their eyes open while pedalling an exercise bicycle, and responded to suggestions as well as in the conventional kind. Athletes use it. Children are often hypnotized with their eyes open, fidgeting and chatting.
The edge of sleep
There is a state that sits near both. As you drift off at night you pass through a brief twilight zone, sometimes with vivid images and a floaty feeling. It is called the hypnagogic state, and a similar one occurs on waking.
It shares a feeling of drifting with deep relaxation in hypnosis, and many sleep recordings aim to lead people gently through it into sleep. But it is the beginning of sleep, not hypnosis: attention is dissolving, not focusing.
What if you fall asleep?
It is common, especially if you are tired, lying down, or listening at bedtime.
- If the aim is sleep, that is the goal achieved.
- If the aim is something else, you have probably missed the suggestions. Evidence that people can take in new information during true sleep is weak.
- Dozing lightly is different from sleeping. Many people feel they drifted off, yet respond at once when asked to open their eyes. That is deep relaxation, and suggestions given then can still be effective.
To stay awake for a daytime session:
- Sit up instead of lying down
- Do not practise straight after a large meal
- Choose a time when you are alert
- Keep sessions short
- Keep your eyes open, or half open
- Give yourself a job: follow the imagery actively
Can hypnosis replace sleep?
No. Some hypnosis schools claim that a few minutes in a deep state equals hours of sleep. There is no good evidence for this. Sleep performs essential biological functions, including clearing waste from the brain and consolidating memory, that relaxation does not replace.
A short rest in hypnosis can be refreshing, like any break. It is not a substitute for a night’s sleep.
Can hypnosis improve sleep?
Possibly. Hypnosis before bed may help people fall asleep by reducing the mental effort and worry that keep them awake. In one study, highly suggestible women spent more time in deep slow-wave sleep after listening to a hypnotic recording. Reviews describe the evidence as promising and mixed.
So hypnosis can lead into sleep, even though it is not sleep.
Sleep-learning
The idea of absorbing a language or giving up smoking from a recording played while you sleep has been sold for a century. It does not work in the way claimed. Suggestions need a mind that is attending.
The bottom line
Hypnosis borrowed its name and vocabulary from sleep, and has been misunderstood ever since. Sleep is attention switched off. Hypnosis is attention focused. You can be hypnotized with your eyes open on an exercise bike, and if you actually fall asleep, the hypnosis has stopped.
Next in the series: The Pre-Talk: Why the Conversation Before Hypnosis Matters Most
This article is for general information and is not medical advice.