Hypnotherapy shows promise for sleep disorders

Parasomnias are sleep disorders that can endanger both the individual experiencing the parasomnia and anyone who is sleeping in the same bed as that person. Parasomnias are activations of the nervous system during sleep. Sleep walking, sleep talking, sleep eating, night terrors, restless leg syndrome and teeth grinding are all parasomnias. Some people even experience sleep sex and sleep driving.

Parasomnias are often triggered by depression or stress. If the parasomnia persists and poses risks to the sufferer or those around him or her, medical treatment may be necessary.

Hypnosis is a state of altered consciousness. When someone is hypnotized, he or she is highly suggestible, responding to thoughts implanted in the mind while in a state of deep relaxation. Hypnotherapy utilizes hypnosis in order to modify a patient’s behavior and emotional responses.

A recent study performed at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine’s Sleep Disorders Center wanted to find out if hypnotherapy would be useful as a treatment for parasomnias. Researchers followed 36 patients for a five-year period to see if hypnotherapy alleviated parasomnias and caused lasting change.

Thirty-six patients suffering from a range of parasomnias and ranging in age from 6 to 71 years took part in the study. Children are more susceptible to parasomnias than adults, and 4 of the study participants were aged 6 to 16 years. Each patient was administered 1 to 2 hypnotherapy sessions. Follow-up assessments were given at 1 month, 18 months, and 5 years.

At 1 month post-hypnotherapy, 45.4% of the patients were free of all parasomnia symptoms. At 18 months, 42.2% were symptom-free, and at 5 years 40.5% were still without parasomnia incident. Researchers concluded that hypnotherapy is indeed a viable treatment for parasomnias.

This may also point to hypnotherapy as a way to alleviate stress or depression. Because stress and depression are common causes of parasomnias, the hypnotherapy may be working because it reduces the underlying stress or depression.

Some patients don’t respond to hypnotherapy; certain people are just more susceptible to the hypnotic state. Still, the results of this study positively favor the use of hypnotherapy as a relatively cost effective and side effect free option for treating parasomnias.

© Copyright 2007 Insight Journal Online Magazine.

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