If you’re considering your first hypnosis session or you’ve already had one and want to understand what happened, this article walks through some of the neuroscience of hypnosis in plain English.
No jargon. No mysticism. Just a look at what researchers have observed in the brain when a trained hypnotist guides someone into this natural state of mind.
The Short Answer
During hypnosis, research suggests that several things can change in the way the brain processes attention, self-awareness, and information.
In simple terms:
- The mental chatter that normally occupies your attention becomes become quieter.
- Your awareness becomes more absorbed in the experience you’re being guided through.
- Suggestions are experienced differently than they would be during ordinary waking awareness.
It’s not that one part of the brain simply switches off while another switches on. Instead, researchers have observed changes in activity and communication between different brain networks.
That’s part of what make hypnosis different from simply being told to change a habit or think differently.
Three Brain Networks Researchers Have Studied During Hypnosis
Neuroscience research on hypnosis—including research led by Dr. David Spiegel and colleagues at Stanford University and published in Cerebral Cortex—has examined changes in several brain networks during hypnosis.
Here’s what some of those findings mean in plain English.
1. The Default Mode Network Becomes Less Active
The default mode network (DMN) is a collection of brain regions associated with things such as daydreaming, self-reflection, remembering the past, imagining the future, and thinking about yourself.
It’s involved in some of the mental activity that continues in the background while you’re going about your day.
Research has found reduced activity in parts of this network during hypnosis.
For someone experiencing hypnosis, this may help explain why the experience can feel quieter or why the usual stream of thoughts becomes less prominent.
Rather than constantly thinking about what happened earlier, what needs to happen tomorrow, or what you should be doing next, you may become more absorbed in what’s happening in the session.
2. The Executive Control Network (ECN) Changes How It Connects
Researchers have also observed changes in regions involved in executive control and self-monitoring during hypnosis.
In everyday life, your mind is constantly evaluating what’s happening:
Does this make sense?
Am I doing this correctly?
What should I do next?
Is this really going to work?
During hypnosis, some of that constant internal checking may become less prominent.
This doesn’t mean you’re unconscious or unable to think critically. You remain aware and capable of making choices throughout the session.
It simply means that your experience of the suggestions may be different from the way you’d normally analyze information in everyday life.
3. The Salience Network Changes Its Activity and Communication
The Salience Network helps the brain determine what deserves attention and plays a role in processing information about what’s happening internally and externally.
During hypnosis, the Stanford study found reduced activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), a key part of this network. Researchers also found increased connectivity between the ECN’s dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula, another important part of the Salience Network.
In practical terms, this may help explain why suggestions can become more closely connected with a person’s felt experience during hypnosis.
That’s one reason suggestions during hypnosis can sometimes become something you experience, rather than merely something you hear.
For example, if you’re guided to imagine your arm becoming heavy, you may actually notice a sensation of heaviness.
You don’t have to force it. You simply experience the suggestion.
So Where Does the “Subconscious” Fit In?
Neuroscience doesn’t use the word “subconscious” in exactly the same way Consulting Hypnotists do.
In hypnosis, the subconscious can be understood as the deeper level of information where many automatic patterns, associations, habits, and responses operate outside of everyday conscious awareness.
When Celeste talks about working with the subconscious, she’s referring to the ability to access that deeper information and identify patterns that may be affecting you.
Hypnosis is your natural ability to access the subconscious mind, uncover information or patterns that may be negatively affecting you, and change them so you can create the changes you want in your life.
This can be particularly relevant when you consciously understand what you want to change but continue experiencing the same automatic response.
You may know you want to respond differently, for example, but still find yourself repeating the same familiar pattern.
Hypnosis provides another way to approach that pattern.
What This Means in a Real Session
Understanding the research can help explain some of the experiences people describe during hypnosis.
Time may feel different
Some people notice that a hypnosis session seems much shorter than it actually was. Others remain very aware of the passage of time.
There’s no single experience that’s considered “correct.”
You remain aware
Hypnosis isn’t sleep or unconsciousness. You can hear the hypnotist, respond to questions, open your eyes, and choose how you participate in the process.
Suggestions may feel more experiential
Instead of simply thinking about a suggestion, you may find yourself experiencing it.
For example, imagining warmth may produce a sensation of warmth. Imagining heaviness may produce a sensation of heaviness.
Your thoughts may become quieter
Some people notice that their usual mental chatter becomes less prominent during hypnosis.
Others may still have plenty of thoughts. Both experiences are normal.
The reason everyone’s experience is different is that each person brings their own unique subconscious mind into the process. Their thoughts, feelings, memories, beliefs, and automatic patterns are uniquely their own, and all of these influence how they experience and respond during hypnosis.
Changes continue after the session
Hypnosis isn’t necessarily about what happens only while you’re sitting with the hypnotist.
As you continue your everyday life, you may begin noticing that certain situations, habits, or automatic responses are different as the changes sink in.
Why This Is Different From Being Talked At
When someone gives you advice about changing a habit or reaction, you’re generally processing that information through conscious thought.
You might completely understand the advice and even agree with it—while still finding yourself responding the same way you’ve always responded.
That’s because understanding something consciously doesn’t necessarily change an automatic pattern.
Hypnosis offers another way to approach that pattern. Rather than simply telling yourself what you should do, hypnosis allows you to access the subconscious and work with the information and patterns underneath the conscious response.
For some people, this can make change feel less like constantly fighting against themselves and more like allowing an old pattern to change.
What Hypnosis Isn’t
The experience of hypnosis is very different from the version often portrayed in movies and television.
- It’s not sleep. You remain aware of what’s happening.
- It’s not mind control. You remain in control throughout the session.
- It’s not unconsciousness. You can hear, respond, and open your eyes at any time.
- You don’t get stuck. Hypnosis is a natural experience that you can come out of.
- You don’t lose your ability to make choices. You can decide how you respond to suggestions.
- It’s not therapy. A Consulting Hypnotist does not diagnose or treat medical or mental health conditions.
The Science Is Real. So Is the Experience.
Two things can be true at once. Researchers can study measurable changes in the brain associated with hypnosis, while clients experience those changes from the inside in very personal ways.
Some people describe hypnosis as peaceful or quiet. Others describe becoming absorbed in their thoughts or simply noticing that their surroundings seem less important.
There isn’t one sensation that proves you’re hypnotized. Understanding the science doesn’t make the experience less meaningful. If anything, it gives us another way to understand why hypnosis can feel different from ordinary conversation.
Try It Yourself
Family First Hypnosis is led by Celeste Hackett, a double board-certified Consulting Hypnotist based in Plano, Texas, with decades of experience helping clients work with subconscious patterns.
Her approach is based on the idea that hypnosis is a natural ability you already possess—not something another person does to you.
Family First Hypnosis works with clients on goals including weight loss, smoking cessation, fear and confidence, sports performance, sleep improvement, unwanted habits, relationships, and other personal-change goals.
Every new client starts with a free 30-minute consultation—a real conversation where you can explain what you’d like to change, ask questions, and learn whether hypnosis may be a good fit for your goals.
Call (972) 673-0110 or visit familyfirsthypnosis.com to book your free consultation. Sessions are available in-office in Plano or virtually by video or phone from anywhere in the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hypnosis and the Brain
No. Relaxation can be part of the experience, but hypnosis isn’t simply the same thing as sitting quietly or taking a break. People experience hypnosis differently. Some feel very relaxed, while others remain physically alert and simply notice that their awareness has shifted.
Yes, although people vary in how readily they respond to hypnosis, but hypnosis is a natural human ability. Willingness to participate and the relationship between the client and Consulting Hypnotist can both influence the experience.
They’re different practices, although there can be similarities between the experiences.
Meditation can involve observing thoughts or sensations without a specific goal, while hypnosis generally involves guided suggestions directed toward a particular goal.
There can be similarities. Both experiences can involve becoming absorbed and paying less attention to what’s happening around you.
The difference is that hypnosis is intentionally guided toward a particular goal, while reading is guided toward a story or information.
Hypnosis can be part of the process of changing habits, responses, and patterns, but it’s too strong to say that hypnosis simply “rewires” the brain permanently.
Lasting change depends on the individual, the goal, the pattern being addressed, and many other factors.
No. There’s no single sensation that proves you’re experiencing hypnosis. Some people notice a significant shift in their experience, while others simply feel comfortable and aware.
The experience can vary considerably from person to person.
