What Happens in the Brain during Hypnosis?
The quintessential question for people who like to understand “the science” behind psychological techniques such as hypnosis is,
What happens in the brain during hypnosis?
In other words, how does it really work? What are the brain mechanisms that lead to tangible results after engaging in hypnosis?
Let’s dive in.
Understanding Hypnosis
Imagine a medicine in capsule form. The medicine is what makes a chemical effect in the body, but in order for it to do its work, it must safely reach your stomach. That’s why it’s administered in a capsule. An empty capsule would do nothing, and pouring the contents of the capsule onto your tongue might reduce the medicine’s potency. Together, the two elements provide the relief you seek.
In this analogy, hypnosis is the capsule. It’s the instrument that allows the safe delivery of content to your body. The hypnotic suggestions offered by Dr. Spiegel (or your licensed clinical hypnotherapist) are the contents of the capsule. These suggestions are the “essence” of the hypnotic experience, but they are nothing without their delivery system.
In Reveri’s Relieve Stress hypnosis Exercise, Dr. Spiegel offers a suggestion to visualize the stressor on the left side of a screen in your mind’s eye and visualize one solution on the right side of the screen. This is an example of a hypnotic suggestion.
When you go into a hypnotic trance, you put yourself in a position to receive the hypnotic suggestions and let your brain accept them. In practice, this can look like a state of relaxation, but it feels different from person to person (and sometimes even from session to session). And there is a lot going on that the eye can’t see!
Brain Activity during Hypnosis
Three brain networks are particularly relevant during hypnosis:
The Salience Network (SN), which is responsible for monitoring information the brain receives and deciding how important it is.
The Executive Control Network (ECN), which manages more complex cognitive abilities like problem-solving, reasoning, and working memory.
The Default Mode Network (DMN), which is most active when our brains are not focusing on the here and now (such as when daydreaming).
The SN is the attention “boss.” It helps the brain choose which network is more crucial at a given moment. Generally during hypnosis, the SN will reduce its activity as the brain reduces the constant monitoring of self-awareness and sensory information, allowing the brain to focus more intently on one thing — the hypnotic suggestions.
The ECN will change activity as well as it reflects on the type of change one tries to facilitate via hypnosis. People with The Poet brain style have greater connectivity between the SN and the ECN, making it easier for the SN to affect ECN activity.
Additionally, when undergoing hypnosis, the ECN and DMN become less functionally connected. A brain using hypnosis is focused more on the suggestions being given here and now.
Tying it All Together
Hypnosis is a technique people can use to help facilitate changes in their behaviors, thoughts, and emotions safely and effectively. It can be used as-needed to generate a specific result, like breaking the habit of smoking or nail-biting, or falling asleep when needed. The state of hypnosis is the capsule, and the suggestions given during hypnosis are the “medicine” within the capsule.
So whatever improvement you’re looking to make in your life using hypnosis, remember that hypnosis is like the capsule. The contents of the capsule are distinct depending on what symptom you wish to address, just as the suggestions you receive during hypnosis will vary depending on what change you want to achieve in your life.
Regardless of your hypnotizability profile, there is great benefit to trying hypnosis for various different goals and seeing what kind of effect it makes on you. Reveri is a safe and responsible method for administering hypnotic suggestions to achieve a range of different benefits, like falling asleep quickly and easily, quitting smoking, reducing stress, and enhancing focus.
Feel free to contact us at support@reveri.com if you have any questions, and check out our FAQs.
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Many Reveri members experience the benefits of self-hypnosis after a single 10-minute session.