This technique is adapted from a hypnotherapy induction script devised by Terence Watts[2] It is based on the neurological concept that people can only hold between 5 and 9 conscious thoughts in their short-term memory[3]. Encouraging people to concentrate on more than 9 things overloads the short-term memory and they can be more easily led into trance.

We will teach you how to do this here, with the end goal being sleep….

Make yourself comfortable in bed

Follow each of these instructions very slowly.

The aim of the exercise is to bring your awareness to a new and different sensation or thought, changing it at regular, slow intervals.

The order of each thought or change in awareness is not important.

It does not matter if you repeat certain changes of awareness or add in your own.

The key is to keep slowly and repetitively brining your awareness to something different until your conscious mind becomes overloaded and gives way to an altered state.

Once you are deeply relaxed, sleep will follow...

Place your right hand on your stomach and your left hand on your chest
Take deep regular breaths in
Feel your right hand rise and your left hand stay steady as you breathe deeply into your stomach
Feel the pillow underneath your head
How soft it is
And the way your head presses deeply into its softness
Smell the familiar smells of your bedroom
Or any aromatherapy oils you have added to your pillow
Feel the indent in the mattress on your bed
From the pressure of your body as gravity pulls you deeper and deeper in
Listen to the sound of silence in your room
There is never complete silence
Recognise the comforting sounds inside and outside your home
Feel the warmth of your body
As it relaxes into the bed
Surrounding you
Drawing you deeper and deeper into a state of relaxation
Listen to the quiet, regular sound of your heartbeat
That is always there
But not noticed in the press of our busy days
Feel the air filling your lungs
Deeper and deeper
Feel the pressure of the covers pressing into your body
Keeping you
Cocooning you
Making you safe and secure
Feel yourself pulled deeper and deeper
Into the realms of sleep
Where your body will repair itself
Making you healthier and stronger
Ready for a healthy, vibrant tomorrow