Hypnosis and NLP tracks while falling...

published by Heather Stoker on Sun, 01/23/2011 - 01:43
English

I'm starting this topic because I'm curious as to others' experience in using these to either help them fall asleep or to get better quality sleep at night.  In the past, I've found guided meditation tracks very helpful in falling asleep.  I'm new to NLP/Hypnosis however.  Last night I tried the hypnosis CD that comes with the "I can make you sleep" book.  This was the second time I've used it, and my intention was to listen to it, take it off and go to sleep afterward but I kept the headband on just in case.  I woke up to the track still looping 4 hours later.

 

What I found was that while I typically lapse into REM within a half hour (and sometimes much shorter) of going to sleep last night I stayed in light sleep for a full two hours before transitioning into any other phases.  So, it looks like listening to the track on loop was actually detrimntal as the continuous dialogue seemed to block me from progressing forward into other phases of sleep.  Of course, this was just one night.  Many nights of data often change the overall picture somewhat.

 

So, what are your experiences/ experiments with how listening to these things while sleeping have impacted your sleep?

Husein Kaba

Mon, 02/14/2011 - 23:16

I have been interested in Hypnosis / NLP for a long time, although I have never found any of the suggestions to have any effect personally. I do find it being very relaxing and regularly do play it before going to sleep and find that many times I will fall asleep at somepoint before it is over.

Sometimes it does play all the way through and I am still not asleep. The one I listen to plays for about 30-40mins or so.. I had hoped it may help fall asleep more quickly and possibilty increase my deep sleep... but so far from what I have seen it does not have much of an effect. At the moment I am logging about 10-15mins of deep / night. I am 29..  I will still try some other tapes to see if they help.. 

I would still recommend them regardless as it does help relax you before falling asleep.

Andrea Castonguay

Wed, 02/16/2011 - 12:50

spazzyjanet said:

What I found was that while I typically lapse into REM within a half hour (and sometimes much shorter) of going to sleep last night I stayed in light sleep for a full two hours before transitioning into any other phases.  So, it looks like listening to the track on loop was actually detrimntal as the continuous dialogue seemed to block me from

progressing forward into other phases of sleep.

 

needsdeepsleep said:

I have been interested in Hypnosis / NLP for a long time, although I have never found any of the suggestions to have any effect personally. I do find it being very relaxing and regularly do play it before going to sleep and find that many times I will fall asleep at somepoint before it is over.

Sometimes it does play all the way through and I am still not asleep. The one I listen to plays for about 30-40mins or so.. I had hoped it may help fall asleep more quickly and possibilty increase my deep sleep… but so far from what I have seen it does not have much of an effect. At the moment I am logging about 10-15mins of deep / night. I am 29..  I will still try some other tapes to see if they help.. 

I would still recommend them regardless as it does help relax you before falling asleep.

I wanted to let you both know that we actually asked John Winkelman, a member of our Science Advisory Board about this last week.  While he recommened the use of relaxing music or audio to help one get ready for bed–especially if you have an active mind–he did say that sometimes the audio itself could be a barrier to deeper stages of sleep.  He also recommened using a timer so that you can fall asleep with the audio on, but not have it be too disruptive.
 

Needsdeepsleep, I 'm not sure what your current bedtime or lifestyle habits are, but if you're looking at other ways to help increase your levels of Deep Sleep, Steve@Zeo put together a list of well-known factors that could affect your final numbers, not to mention how you feel in the morning.  While ZQ–and time in Deep–do vary from person to person, if you have good sleep hygeine but feel tired during the day, it could be a sign that it's time to talk to your doctor or sleep specialist.  

Heather Stoker

Fri, 02/18/2011 - 01:44

I have pretty much given up on hypnosis/relaxation cds.  I've been trying to focus on things that have more concrete results.

 

needsdeepsleep-  I am 32 and when I started tracking last November I had the same dismal deep sleep numbers you did.  I now average 1+ hours a night (in a 5.5-6 hour night of sleep).  The primary thing that helped me may not be able to help you- I weaned myself off of a benzo sleeping medication.  The medication was getting me through a rough period but killing my deep sleep and having the Zeo helped me to see that. 

 

The second thing I did that had a direct impact was that I started taking a high-intensity aerobics class 3 days a week from about 4-5 pm.  I started noticing that my deep sleep went up by 15-20 mins on nights I took the class vs. nights after nothing or doing a lighter workout at 5am.  I can't pinpoint exactly whether it is the greater intensity or the time of day but I suspect that it is a little of both.  It allows my core temperature to skyrocket about 5-6 hours before hitting the pillow.  I also throw in a shower about 90 mins before bed and it is like a 1-2 punch.  To experiment further I'm going to start switching my lower intensity workouts to later in the day to see if I can get a more direct link for whether it is the intensity or the timing that has the greater impact.  Good luck finding what works for you!

Paradise

Wed, 03/02/2011 - 11:14

I haven't had much problem falling asleep 'til I decided to change my sleep hygiene for the hour before bed. My body rebelled at the silence from no tv! I tried the same CD mentioned in post #1. It was helpful but, after a week or so, it became too boring. I also had the same problem of it being on a loop so I imported it into my iPod, gave it it's own playlist and turned "repeat" off. The iPod has small speakers and is on a bedside table.

Still missing "noise", I downloaded some white noise sounds from the iTunes Music Store to my iPod...surf, rain and stream. I love these, especially the surf. Again, I've set these playlists to not repeat.

I haven't notice an improvement in sleep quality with any of the sounds but, like spazzyjanet, I'm tapering off a benzo med and know I won't set myself up for improvement until the taper ends. That said, with chronic PLMD, deep sleep is always affected but I plan on monitoring it with the Zeo to see if I can witness a miracle!