ABSTRACT
The long historical association between hypnosis and sleep is still reflected in many of the standard induction suggestions that S should enter into a deep, relaxed, restful sleep. There are many parallels between sleep and hypnosis. The phenomenological similarities between sleep and hypnosis raise many interesting theoretical and methodological questions. Behaviorally, sleep is easily recognized. The behavioral evidence for sleep includes the person's general appearance, physical relaxation, lack of communication with and response to the external world, and special manifestations such as snoring. The electronecephalographic (EEG) during hypnosis appears to be quite different from the basic EEG patterns of sleep stages 2, 3, and 4. Most authors agree that the EEG during hypnosis is similar to waking EEG patterns consisting of desynchronized fast activity and alpha activity. Complex cognitive activity may block alpha. The chapter summarizes correlations between the sleep-induced response and factors of hypnotic behavior.
