ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
Brainwave Modulation & Instigation of Relaxation Response
My audio trances are designed to induce increased alpha (8-12Hz) and theta (4-8 Hx) brainwave activity, promoting deep relaxation and reduced mental chatter. Theta wave dominance enhances calm, creativity, emotional processing, and problem-solving.
Stress Reduction via the Autonomic Nervous System
My audio trances also seek to promote a shift from sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation (fight or flight response) to parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) dominance (rest and digest state). PNS dominance leads to reduced cortisol (stress hormone) levels, lowering systemic inflammation, and preventing chronic stress-related disorders. PNS dominance can also decrease heart rate, lower blood pressure, and reduce respiratory rate, inducing a physiological state that mirrors the neural patterns of deep meditation or sleep.
Neurochemical Modulation & Mood Enhancement
The positive suggestions and invitations to visualize resource states in my hypnosis recordings seek to increase levels of dopamine (reward and motivation), serotonin (mood regulation), and endorphins (natural painkillers and euphoria-inducing peptides). These neurochemical changes can enhance mood, reduce depressive symptoms, and increase overall well-being.
Enhanced Cognitive Function & Neuroplasticity
My hypnosis audio trances are designed to stimulate neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to reorganize itself), leading to better learning, memory retention, and cognitive flexibility. They seek to increase hippocampal activity, which enhances spatial and emotional memory consolidation. At the same time, they seek to reduce activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, helping bypass cognitive rigidity and allowing for easier behavioural change and habit formation.
Improved Sleep Quality & Insomnia Relief
An increase in theta and delta wave activity helps with non-REM sleep induction, slow-wave sleep (deep sleep), and fewer nocturnal awakenings, improving overall sleep efficiency. By dampening activity in the hyperactive prefrontal cortex that keeps people awake with racing thoughts, my audio trances seek to reduce hyperarousal, which is a major cause of insomnia.
Emotional Regulation
My guided hypnotic trances are designed to enhance limbic system processing, particularly in the amygdala and hippocampus, which play key roles in emotion regulation and trauma response. They seek to facilitate emotional reframing by reducing negative emotional reactivity and promoting cognitive restructuring.
Habit Modification & Behavioral Change
My audio trances seek to increase suggestibility by reducing activity in the critical, analytical prefrontal cortex, making it easier to adopt new behaviors. They are designed to help you with feeling more motivated to eat healthier, to exercise, and to break negative habits. My audio trainings seek to enhance goal-directed behavior by strengthening neural connections in the basal ganglia and striatum, which are responsible for habit formation and reinforcement learning.
The Science
A small selection of recent studies that confirm the efficacy of hypnotherapy for a wide range of conditions
Chamine, I., Atchley, R., & Oken, B. S. (2018). Hypnosis intervention effects on sleep outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 14(2), 271-283.
Fisch, S., Brinkhaus, B., & Teut, M. (2017). Hypnosis in patients with perceived stress: A systematic review. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 17, 323.
Kittle, Jessie, & Spiegel, David. (2021). Hypnosis: The most effective treatment you have yet to prescribe. The American Journal of Medicine, 134(3), 304-305.
Lee, H. H., Choi, Y. Y., & Choi, M. G. (2014). The efficacy of hypnotherapy in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, 20(2), 152–162.
Lynn, S. J., et al. (2000). Hypnosis as an empirically supported clinical intervention: The state of the evidence and a look to the future. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 48(2), 239-259.
Milling, L. S., Valentine, K. E., McCarley, H. S., & LoStimolo, L. M. (2019). A meta-analysis of hypnotic interventions for depression symptoms: High hopes for hypnosis? Psychotherapy, 56(4), 537–549.
Nash, Michael R., et al. (2009). Clinical research on the utility of hypnosis in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical and psychiatric disorders. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 57(4), 443-450.
Schoenberger, N. E. (2000). Research on hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 48(2), 154-169.
Thompson, J. M., Waelde, L. C., Tisza, K., & Spiegel, D. (2016). Hypnosis and mindfulness: Experiential and neurophysiological relationships. In A. Raz & M. Lifshitz (Eds.), Hypnosis and meditation: Towards an integrative science of conscious planes (pp. 129–142). Oxford University Press.
Thompson, T., Terhune, D. B., Oram, C., Sharangparni, J., Rouf, R., Solmi, M., Veronese, N., & Stubbs, B. (2019). The effectiveness of hypnosis for pain relief: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 85 controlled experimental trials. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 99, 298–310.
Valentine, K. E., Milling, L. S., Clark, L. J., & Moriarty, C. L. (2019). The efficacy of hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 67(3), 336–363.