![]() ![]() The question, then, was how badly I actually wanted to shift my sleep schedule. When we’re deeply relaxed and feeling safe, we become open to suggestion, but only those suggestions we want.” Actually, the degree to which you want the result, that’s the implication for how fast you’ll see the result. That’s another key piece to hypnosis that most people don’t know because they think it’s mind control-if it were, all hypnotists would be billionaires. Of course, this doesn’t mean that in a theta state, we’re completely open to a hypnotist’s bidding: Smith explains, “If I said to you while you were deeply relaxed, ‘It would be really awesome for you to rob a bank and give me all that money,’ you would reject it because it’s not something you want. So if we want to stop nail biting in the middle of taking the bar exam, that’s a tough time to try to do that because we’re berating ourselves-we’re nervous, we’re stressed, and the body just needs to survive.” Whatever habits were previously made, that’s what we start to rely on. Smith says, “Most people try to make a change when they’re really stressed out, and that’s actually the worst time because when cortisol’s pumping through our body, we’re very resistant to change. This might be one reason New Year’s resolutions so often fail: the pressure of changing our lives after a season of holiday-related stressors is counter-intuitive. This is because our mind is allowed to wander nonjudgmentally, so it makes sense that we would be receptive to new thoughts and ideas in the theta state.Īs Smith put it, “ When we go into the theta state, we’re so relaxed and we’re feeling so safe that at that point, if I made a suggestion to you that it would be good for you to go to sleep earlier, your body and your brain are in a place to accept that suggestion.” That deep relaxation is key for hypnosis’ success. Theta waves are the result of an even deeper level of relaxation, and they’re responsible for the seemingly out-of-nowhere epiphanies we get when we’re showering, running, or falling asleep. Alert brains are in alpha mode, while normal meditation leaves practitioners in a beta state. To put it simply, our mind’s functioning follows different levels of brain waves, which coincide with our moods and productivity. “When we access the theta brain wave state, we become open to suggestion. “ I call hypnosis meditation with a goal,” explained Smith. I had no idea what to expect from my initial session with Smith, and the first surprise came when I learned that hypnosis isn’t about getting very sleepy or Get Out–esque mind control. All of these hacks had failed my steadfast internal clock, so I wasn’t particularly confident that hypnosis could reset my system-but in the spirit of adventure, I was willing to try anything. I had tested methods for easing my clock back before-wake-up lights, multiple alarms, a bottle of dubious “wake up on time” vitamins from Amazon that caused a college professor to ask if I was using drugs. So when an email from hypnotherapist Grace Smith recently landed in my inbox, asking me what I would change about my life if given the chance, my answer was easy: I wanted to become someone who woke up early, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. ![]() (Plus, I recognize that at some point, I might like the option of joining the rest of the world and taking on a job that requires me to experience mornings.) Most importantly, I want to change my sleep cycle because when I’m awake for them, I actually love early hours: the thin, buttery sunlight, the tranquility, the potential of a full day stretching out ahead of me while I sip my coffee… I want to be a morning person. Even if I slept straight through the morning, research has shown that falling asleep and waking up earlier contributes to greater positive thinking, mood regulation, and mental clarity. or 8 a.m.) and then doze off again, only to rise, groggy and a little moody, at my “normal” time. The problem is that when I think about it, this might not be what my body wants: I tend to wake up earlier (around 7 a.m. ![]() and wake up at 10 a.m., which isn’t particularly shocking for a freelancer. My natural circadian rhythm is set, so I doze off around 2 a.m. ![]() In fact, there’s only one habit that consistently hinders my mood, productivity, and overall quality of life: my sleep cycle. I can confidently say that I’m happy with most of my vices: I enjoy and appreciate the occasional cocktail, chicken tender, or Netflix binge, and at this stage in my life, I’m pretty diligent about balancing any “guilty” pleasures with activities that make me feel well and contribute to my long-term goals. ![]()
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