Get unlimited access The benefits of hypnosis have long been recognized; it was even used to relieve the pain of soldiers during the Civil War. In recent years, researchers have begun to study its effectiveness in more controlled settings. In one study, for instance, 200 people with breast cancer received either a 15-minute pre- surgical hypnosis session or an empathetic listening session. The patients who had been hypnotized reported less fatigue, nausea, pain and discomfort after their surgery. Moreover, those who had been hypnotized needed lower amounts of analgesics and sedatives. In another study, researchers found that burn patients who were hypnotized before wound debridements experienced a reduced level of pain. Although sample sizes in many studies are small and results are often mixed, research into the effectiveness of hypnosis continues. As a way to promote weight loss or as a smoking cessation tool, studies suggest that utilizing it with complementary strategies can yield positive results. For instance, one study showed that obese patients who had received hypnotherapy for stress reduction were able to maintain their modest levels of weight loss after 18 months as compared to those who received hypnotherapy for calorie reduction and those who got dietary advice only. Use a Hypnosis Mp3 Download to Jump-start the New You