Michael speaks to me in his calming, sultry voice as I lie in bed.

In soothing, almost melodic tones, he asks me to breathe in and out slowly, willing my tense body to relax. He asks me to quiet my mind and be present with him. Present with my breath and my body. I begin to breathe with him.

Inhale calm and joy.

Exhale fear and stress.

I feel my body and brain move into a kind of symbiosis. This man is a genius at bringing me to a point where I can truly give myself over to the moment.

Too bad Michael is only a disconnected voice on YouTube, because I am convinced he would be the perfect boyfriend.

I have been chronically under-rested for years now, so my attempts at meditation have been less than successful. If I am still for too long, I fall asleep. So I wanted to find other ways to connect with my higher self.

I have a close friend that is a wonderful hypnotist, and I benefit from our sessions together. In order to understand hypnosis better, I turned to Google, and my search turned up not only great articles about the science behind hypnosis, but also hundreds of hypnosis videos available for use. I scrolled through the list, and there were hypnosis videos available for so many issues—from weight loss to addictions, confidence to anxiety—and there it was: connecting to your higher self. Even better, some of these were sleep hypnosis. This was something I knew I could do!

Although hypnosis is a widely documented method lauded as a therapeutic technique in articles from Psychology Today to the American Psychological Association, there is not much documentation available about sleep hypnosis. Although there does not seem to be much hard, scientific data available, the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming from people who want to fall asleep easier, gain confidence, or attract love and/or prosperity. I have recommended it to life coaching clients that have insomnia, anxiety, or bouts of deep sadness. Whether it is the power of suggestion or fact, most have had good results from just pushing play on their phones when they go to bed at night.

There are a plethora of options available, but when I came across Michael Sealey’s seductive voice, I was hooked. Whether or not I have quantifiable proof of the effectiveness, I know that I feel better with self-hypnosis as part of my self-care routine. And bonus: Michael has hundreds of recorded sessions, so it will take me a while to get bored! If you are interested in incorporating sleep hypnosis into your routine, here is a start:

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Author: Lisa Foreman
Image: Pixabay
Editor: Leah Sugerman