# When do you listen?



## 19615 (May 20, 2006)

I still on the first CD, but I am wondering if I am doing this correctly. I usually listen before going to sleep, and wind up falling asleep within the first few minutes. Should I be awake the whole time?


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## 13326 (Jul 27, 2005)

Hi SA and welcome...I am listening to the CDs for the 2nd time now - the first time I listened to them in the day as I was worried about falling asleep (but I think I was so conscious about staying awake that this was detrimental!) - this time I am listening to them in bed at night - totally relaxed. I normally come around after the session has ended (which Marilyn says is good as it means I am relaxed) - I then switch off my CDs and sleep soundly. I have been told that dropping off is not a bad thing! The CDs are fantastic and I have found them so beneficial! Good luck with your progress...


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

Welcome SA!!







No worries at all about falling asleep - take a peek at the booklet and also the FAQ thread on this page - just go with whatever your body needs at the time, and you will be fine!Feel free to join us here as we support each other along the journey!All the best to you...


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## Pat_H (Aug 31, 2000)

I try to go to bed earlier so that I can listen to the cd before bedtime but most of the time I go to sleep anyway, but sometimes not. I just go with what happens.


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## kitkat17 Lady of the Loo (Jul 21, 2005)

HI and welcome. I too fall asleep EVERY time. SOmetimes I wake up at the end when Mike is counting. I want to know what all he says but I fall asleep every time. Take careKat


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## Screamer (Aug 16, 2005)

Lol, I think I only heard about 2 full sessions of Mike's. The rest of the time I was snoring before he'd even finished the intro! Good luck with them, I hope you see some results soon!


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## 20250 (Jul 14, 2005)

Welcome SA, Here's to your successful journey! I fell asleep during most of the sessions. I managed to stay awake less than 5 times out of 100 days. I still don't know what is said on session 5. But, Oh well. It worked and that's all that matters. Somebody is always hear if you have any questions. The main thing is to stay commited to giving yourself this 30 minutes each day, except for the scheduled days off, of course







. You deserve to feel better.Good Luck to you.


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## Gutguy22 (Jul 6, 2004)

Interesting question. I'd be curious if the studies that show Hypnotherapy helps IBS had the subjects not fall asleep. I don't know the answer, but I suspect they did. If there's evidence for effecting behavior/cognitions through listening to things while asleep I'd like to see it. It has to have been tested. While falling asleep once in a while probably isn't a big deal, my guess is that it is only effective during the portion you are not sleeping. It is supposed to be a state of focused awareness, and I know when I fall asleep listening to the tapes when I wake up I find I'm not usually attending to the tapes at all. People may talk about unconscious stuff, but if that were the case why not just set a timer and have it come on in the middle of the night while a person is sleeping? Being asleep is not the same as being in a hypnotic state (EEG patterns, etc) so IMO you should do it at a time when you are least likely to fall asleep. Just my 2 cents.


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## 13326 (Jul 27, 2005)

I can not provide any scientific study (although I am sure that some-one within this area of expertise will be able to) BUT When I listen to the session at night I wake up 2 - 3 mins into the next session which implies to me that some process is going on in my head/semiconscious state and the CDs have had a positive effect on me!!! Personally I think if you try to force your-self to stay awake then the information on the CD is not going to follow the most functional path to be processed.... (I am not an expert in this field - this is my own personal user perspective!)...


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

I personally like going to bed at night when I listened."What if I fall asleep during the hypnosis session? That was a valid question a few years back, before we had advanced research on the topic. It has been discovered by several research groups that the hearing acts like a surveillance camera. Your eyes close, but you ears cannot close. They remain open always, taking in information constantly. When a mother is "asleep" and hears her baby cry, she will "awaken" immediately. The truth is, we never really sleep, a part of our brain is always alert. That part is our hearing. It stays alert to protect us and or offspring. If someone breaks into your home while you are "asleep," you will be alerted as soon as you hear a noise. Your hearing is "on" 24/7, taking in information and recording it. In hypnosis, we use this to your advantage, so even if you fall "asleep" during the session, your brain is still recording all of the information in your subconscious mind. "The brain is still listening especially in the first 90 minutes after we fall asleep.


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

Here is a brief summary re hypno and brain states:The hypnotic state is attained by taking your brain from Beta, which it is probably in right now, to either the Alpha state or the Theta state Beta Logic and reasoning. Awake, normal, alert consciousness 90% of the day with our brains in the Beta level Alpha Strongest, most prominent brain rhythm. In Alpha, you are relaxed, calm, and aware of your surroundings. This is where you are during that first 20 minutes when you are falling asleep, but not quite asleep. Theta This is where you are after that first 20 minutes when you were falling asleep, and before you are sleeping deeply. Active dreaming takes place here (and its accompanying rapid eye movement [REM]) The level achieved during hypnotherapy Deep programming takes place. Characterized by deep relaxation and clear mental imagery. This is where you aim to go when you meditate. You can also experience painless surgery etc. in Theta.


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## Gutguy22 (Jul 6, 2004)

Interesting article on a study:Harvard Gazette"In hypnosis, people don't lose control and go into a zombie-like state where they can be made to do things against their will. They don't have to lie down, you can enter a state of hypnosis standing up, even standing on your head. Patients don't even go to sleep, rather, they enter a state of absorbed awareness, not unlike losing oneself in a good book or favorite piece of music." http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n01/bernik/hipnose_i.htm"Hypnosis leads to several alterations of the sensorial perception, higher intellectual functions, increase of memory (hyperamnesia), attention and motor functions. It establishes an altered state of consciousness, a state that simulates sleep but it is not so (the person does not sleep during hypnosis): the electroencephalogram (EEG) registration of the patient under hypnosis is that of alertness and not of sleep."Sleep stage information:Psychology World - University of Missouri"In a normal night's sleep, a sleeper begins in stage 1, moves down through the stages, to stage 4, then back up through the stages, with the exception that stage 1 is replaced by REM""This stage is also, associated with a unique brain wave pattern too, in that during REM sleep a sleepers brain waves demonstrate characteristics that are similar to waking sleep, a combination of alpha, beta, and desynchronous waves."


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