Conclusions Due to exploratory design s and high risk of bias , the effectiveness of hypnosis or hypnotherapy in stress reduction remains still unclear .
Background Although hypnosis and hypnotherapy have become more popular in recent years , the evidence for hypnosis to influence perceived stress is unclear .
In this systematic review we search ed and evaluated r and omized clinical studies investigating the effect of hypnosis on perceived stress reduction and coping .
Psychosocial and Immune Effects of Self-Hypnosis Training for Stress Management Throughout the First Semester of Medical School
This study was a 19-week prospect i ve conducted to determine the effectiveness of a self-hypnosis/relaxation intervention to relieve symptoms of psychological distress and moderate immune system reactivity to examination stress in 35 first-year medical students . Twenty-one subjects were r and omly selected for training in the use of self-hypnosis as a coping skill and were encouraged to practice regularly and to maintain daily diary records related to mood , sleep , physical symptoms , and frequency of relaxation practice . An additional 14 subjects received no explicit training in stress-reduction strategies , but completed similar daily diaries . Self-report psychosocial and symptom measures , as well as blood draws , were obtained at four time points : orientation , late semester , examination period , and postsemester recovery . It was found that significant increases in stress and fatigue occurred during the examination period , paralleled by increases in counts of B lymphocytes and activated T lymphocytes , PHA-induced and PWM-induced blastogenesis , and natural killer cell ( NK ) cytotoxicity . No immune decreases were observed . Subjects in the self-hypnosis condition reported significantly less distress and anxiety than their nonintervention counterparts , but the two groups did not differ with respect to immune function . Nevertheless , within the self-hypnosis group , the quality of the exercises ( ie , relaxation ratings ) predicted both the number of NK cells and NK activity . It was concluded that stress associated with academic dem and s affects immune function , but immune suppression is not inevitable . Practice of self-hypnosis reduces distress , without differential immune effects . However , individual responses to the self-hypnosis intervention appear to predict immune outcomes
Conclusions Due to exploratory design s and high risk of bias , the effectiveness of hypnosis or hypnotherapy in stress reduction remains still unclear .
Background Although hypnosis and hypnotherapy have become more popular in recent years , the evidence for hypnosis to influence perceived stress is unclear .
In this systematic review we search ed and evaluated r and omized clinical studies investigating the effect of hypnosis on perceived stress reduction and coping .