Inspite of more than 20 years of scientific research validating hypnosis as an effective tool for positive change, it’s merge into the Greater Boston mainstream has been rather slow. I say this with the perspective of having worked as a consulting hypnotist in Burlington since 2001.
Even though Massachusetts has always been a pathfinder to new technologies, medical breakthroughs and innovations, it is one of 19 states that do not regulate hypnosis. This represents a major hurdle to increased acceptance. The other states include: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
In recent years Dr. Oz, Oprah and Ellen have highlighted the healthy benefits of hypnosis. Major newspapers have as well: L.A. Times (Nov. 2013): Hypnosis: “You are Getting Sleepy, Calm and Thin”; San Francisco Chronicle (Oct. 2012) “Studying How Brain Responds to Hypnosis.” Wall Street Journal (Apr. 2012): “Medical Hypnosis: You Are Getting Very Healthy.”
Inspite of the Greater Boston media’s reluctance report on hypnosis there is no shortage of quality practitioners who have thrived for years, and more are popping up all the time. For example, I have colleagues employed by Winchester Hospital and North Shore Medical Center, and another has received national recognition.
Since 2008, I have hosted the cable access television program, Healthy Hypnosis, which is broadcasted in 25 Greater Boston communities; enlightening viewers about the helpful, healing side of hypnosis. I have also been a regular guest on WBZ radio and authored Healthy Hypnosis: Simple Truth & Practical Use.
New England is also the home of the National Guild of Hypnotists located in Merrimack, NH. The NGH is a nonprofit organization that encourages an exchange of ideas, fellowship, mutual trust and cooperation, while promoting and protecting the art, science and philosophy of hypnosis. The NGH is also a vehicle for legal and legislative action.
I bring a wealth of medical experience as an R.N. into my work as a hypnotist. I specialize in gastric band weight loss hypnosis, where individuals are guided with hypnosis to imagine that they have undergone the popular weight loss surgery technique. I also help clients with stress, fears/phobias, exam confidence, irritable bowel, substance abuse and more.
Every lifestyle choice has the potential to affect your cognitive abilities and health. In recent years, various researchers have found that a habit that most of us take for granted — sleep — may affect our memory in noticeable ways.
Does sleep help long term memories stick?
In a study published in the June 2011 issue of Science, University of Washington researchers studied the role of sleep in forming long-term memories by using a special breed of fruit flies that could be induced to sleep on demand. First, the male flies studied in this paper were “trained” by being exposed to other, genetically engineered males who released female pheromones.
After several courtships and rejections during this training period, some of these flies were then forced to sleep for 4 hours. These sleepers made no further attempts to court the engineered males when exposed to them again — suggesting that sleep had helped form a long-term memory of the earlier deception.
But flies who didn’t sleep were tricked once more by the same genetically engineered males. The researchers in this study concluded that training alone was not enough to trigger memory consolidation — sleep was a necessary component. While this study’s results don’t necessarily carry over to humans, they help cast the role of sleep in a new light.
How lack of sleep could hurt you
Not only may sleep help your memory, but lack of sleep may also hurt your health. A 2010 study from Biological Psychiatry found that chronic insomnia may lead to loss of brain volume. Researchers used fMRI scans to examine the brains of 37 human subjects with and without chronic insomnia. Insomniacs had a smaller volumes of gray matter in three brain areas — and the more serious the insomnia, the greater the loss of volume.
And in 2012, a preliminary study from the Washington University School of Medicine found that in mice, poor sleep may be related to brain plaques associated with Alzheimer’s.
The future of sleep studies
The third of our life that we spend sleeping has always been something of a mystery. Now a new wave of studies are finding indications that while we may appear to be in a stupor, our brains are actually hard at work. It may take many more years or decades before we reach definite conclusions about all the many roles that sleep plays, but most scientists agree that getting a decent night’s rest is a good idea.
Darwin Gillett is the Founder and Director of the Center for Mind-Body Psychotherapy located in Newburyport, MA. He has a Masters degree in social work and is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker.
Jane Winchester is an outstanding hypnotist from Plainville, MA. She has been in the field since 2001 and has helped thousands of clients overcome many of the common problems we all wrestle with. Jane is well known for her laid back, personable approach as well as her intuitive ability to help her clients succeed. [contact]
A Boston area Hypnotherapist, with 10 years of medical experience as an RN, Paul has been helping clients since 2001 to overcome everyday challenges. Read more
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Paul’s Book
Healthy Hypnosis: The Simple Truth and Practical Use Paul explains the A-B-C’s of clinical hypnosis and offers case studies and examples of actual client sessions. This is a must read for anyone interested in this fascinating technique.
