I tried sleep hypnosis for one week...🌙✨
Hypnosis is when you are so relaxed that you are in an altered state of mind, yet still conscious. I'm trying sleep hypnosis to improve my sleep quality and to get myself in a mindset where I can be highly susceptible to suggestion. (To read about the benefits of sleep hypnosis click here.) I've decided to do a week long trial with sleep hypnosis by listening to different Youtube videos. I use my FitBit Alta to help track how long I slept and the quality of my sleep. Here's how it went!
Night 1
Sleep Time: 1:21 a.m. - 10:27 a.m. (9 hours 6 minutes)
Sleep Quality: Excellent
Video: https://youtu.be/b4hDRXRnry4 (Sleep Hypnosis for Lucid Dreaming Travels)
This video focused on lucid dreaming, which is when you are aware you are dreaming and have some control over the dream. I slept really good the first night, but did not have any lucid dreams. I became interested in the idea of lucid dreaming and decided to try the same video again on the second night.
Night 2
Sleep Time: 10:23p.m. - 6:39 a.m. (8 hours 16 minutes)
Sleep Quality: Restless
Video: Same as Night 1
OMG! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?!?! I would not try lucid dreaming if you want to get a good nights sleep... When I first woke up in the morning I didn't remember any dreams and felt borderline sick. Later that morning I decided to listen to that video again while awake and remembered a series of lucid dreams! As the speaker would say a phrase, all of the sudden I would remember the dream! Throughout all of the lucid dreams I had two selves, me and me watching me. (I'm kind of creeped out😳) The first dream I remember was watching myself swimming from underwater. Later, I remember the man in the video saying something along the lines of are you here or there? A strange feeling washed over me and I had a sense of one of the me's being here and one being there. Then the speaker said something about a million hands, and the me watching the other me saw a million little hands appear as the me was sleeping. He then said something like, does your conscience want to be here or do you want to relax and let go. I watched as all the little hands release and let go shrinking away. Each of these awake and asleep dreams were about 5 seconds long. It was as if the awake me was watching the sleeping me. I then finally drifted off into a restless sleep. Since one of my goals is to have high quality sleep, I will not be trying any more lucid dreaming during this experiment.
Night 3
Sleep Time: 10:04 p.m. - 6:47 a.m. (8 hours 43 minutes)
Sleep Quality: Average
Video: https://youtu.be/b-cJe-6FUes (Journey to Become Your Ideal Self through Sleep Hypnosis)
This video talked a lot about envisioning your ideal self. It was supposed to give you positive messages through sleep hypnosis. I woke up in the morning not remembering any dreams, but knowing I had lots. As the morning went on, I remembered fragments of dreams. At one point in the video the narrator talked about having two selves such as what I described on Night 2. He said that the sleeping part of you would be completely relaxed, but the concious part of me would keep on listening to the video. I felt as if my body was laying limp, but my thoughts swirled around me. I was in a really good mood when I woke up and felt motivated. I would say this video was pretty successful, but not amazing.
Night 4
Sleep Time: 10:28 - 7:01 (8 hours and 33 minutes)
Sleep Quality: mixed feelings
Video: https://youtu.be/RxIdlBLLhHc (Motivation for Everything - Sleep Hypnosis Session)
The video went on for way. too. long. I slept pretty soundly, but I woke up in the middle of the night and heard the video talking and wondered who was in my room.😂 I liked the idea of positive messages, but to hear someone talking to you in the middle of the night is a tad creepy... This video also has an alarm that would go off after eight hours. All of the sudden I just hear this BEEP BEEP BEEP Wake up! BEEP BEEP BEEP Open your eyes! I have a silent alarm on my Fitbit that wakes me up by vibrations, and I hate being woken up by loud noises. This really threw my morning off.😩 I even fell on the ice on my way to the bus stop!
Night 5
Sleep Time: 11:07 - 6:40 (7 hours 33 minutes)
Sleep Quality: excellent
Video: https://youtu.be/HoKYdHLDuc8 ( Guided Meditation for Deepest Sleep: Ascension from Earth to Stars)
This video was very relaxing and talked about stars quite a bit. I slept like a rock.😴
Night 6
Sleep Time: 10:50 - 6:59 (8 hours 9 minutes)
Sleep Quality: meh
Video: https://youtu.be/5PDRKBcAQ9c (Manifest Desire into Abundance - Sleep Hypnosis)
I was restless 11 times and went in-between deep slumber and restlessness the whole night...
Night 7
Sleep Time: 11:44 - 7:40 (7 hours 56 minutes)
Sleep Quality: amazing
Video: https://youtu.be/SFhBz_wFWzE (Sleep Hypnosis for Creating Your Future)
This has got to be one of my favorite sleep hypnosis videos I have done. It talked a lot about deciding on a goal and setting a deadline to have it done.
Conclusion
I have always wondered if sleep hypnosis actually worked. Well, there is definitely some truth to the matter, although it really depends on the video you are watching. I don't suggest doing sleep hypnosis on a regular basis for deep sleep. On the upside, it was exciting to see what would happen each night. While I will not be participating in this on a regular basis, it is an option to consider if you are having troubles falling asleep. For more information on sleep deprivation check out this article by Greater Minds.
~ GPF
