Is there a best time of day to listen to my hypnosis download?

When we asked this question on our Uncommon Knowledge Facebook page, we got a huge range of answers, showing just how personal this is, but my favourite was from a woman who would set her alarm half an hour early in the morning so she could listen to a hypnosis download before she got up!

Personally I like to experience hypnosis either mid morning, just after lunch or mid afternoon because I find these are the times when I naturally space out a little.

There's a really interesting fact about the way your brain works which can guide you about when to use your download. You see your brain naturally goes into right hemispheric dominance every 90 to 120 minutes - this is known as an ultradian rhythm.

When this happens at night you enter REM sleep and dream, and when it happens during the day you experience a shift in your focus of attention, to a more daydreamy state.

We often override this natural pattern with caffeine or stress-fuelled adrenaline but sometimes its great to use these natural dips in your day to experience refreshing hypnosis.

And of course, there are certain common sense preparations you need to make - in that if you're expecting a phone call or noisy kids to come home or The Rolling Stones to turn up and do a live concert in your living room... that might not be the time to listen.

That said, I sometimes listen to a download while I'm working at the computer. Even though I'm focusing on something else, my brain relaxes and it seems to help my creativity. It goes without saying that you shouldn't do this if you're driving or any time where it is important that you maintain concentration.