Close Your Eyes, Sleep: Reprogram Your Mind to Fall Asleep--And Stay Asleep--With the Groundbreaking Power of Hypnosis

by Grace Smith

The number one cause of insomnia is fear of insomnia.

You toss and turn at night, trying to quiet your thoughts enough to fall asleep. Or you wake up hours before your alarm and stare at the ceiling, hoping that this time you'll manage just a little bit more rest before sunrise. Either way, it's actually your fear of not getting enough sleep that's keeping you awake. The only way to finally get a good night's sleep is to retrain your subconscious mind and eliminate that fear.

Grace Smith, world-renowned hypnotherapist and author of Close Your Eyes, Get Free, has helped hundreds of people do exactly that. Using the phenomenally successful power of hypnosis, Close Your Eyes, Sleep teaches you to access your subconscious and get your long-needed rest.

The first step is learning the tools to block out your anxieties to fall asleep quickly and easily at any time of night. But hypnotherapy can take you farther than that: you'll discover how to proactively attack the causes of sleepless nights, ridding yourself of restlessness altogether and achieving the deep, restorative sleep you deserve.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health

250 pages, Paperback

First published August 18, 2020

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Close your eyes, sleep is an amazing guide to helping reprogram your mind to enable you to fall asleep easier and have a much more relaxing and rejuvenating sleep.
This book guides you every step of the way using safe self-hypnosis. I have read through the whole book and am now going through it again slowly following all the steps.
Grace so kindly sent me the app to use for free to accompany this book which I am more than grateful for.
I love the pages of weekly sheets to fill in as you go along. I have the pdf version of this book so cannot fill them in but this would be most useful to people reading the paper format.
I can't wait to finish this journey and sleep better.

[Kate]

This book was intriguing. There was a lot of additional basic advice on getting restful sleep in addition to the self hypnotherapy methods the author uses. I thought it was nice that the author has free recordings and a free app with them as well. I didn't find the book overly helpful, but the ARC I received also had some formatting issues which were distracting.

[Mystereity Reviews]

I got this book last month on Netgalley because I’m a chronic insomniac. Once I get to sleep, I usually stay asleep, so it’s the “getting to sleep” that is my biggest problem. I decided to give this a try, even though I’m not great at meditating and I’ve had trouble “going under” through hypnosis before (thank you, ADHD). So I’m probably not the best person to test whether or not this works but then again..maybe I am? I’ll update in the weeks or months ahead with more on how well this works for me.

It was an interesting read, talking about the science of sleep and the problems many of us face, plus giving good tips and steps to retrain your mind to let go and sleep. I’ll admit, it’s been a bit of a struggle for me so far, but I’m hoping repeated practice will help this work for me. So I’d say, if you’re one of those who are great at meditating and/or visualizing, this book may be of help to you. For those of us who struggle with that, it may take time to see results. It’s mentioned in the book that there will be an accompanying website with video tutorials, but at this time it isn’t up yet (I’ll check back after publication.)

If you or someone you know has problems sleeping, I definitely recommend giving this book a try.

[Amy]

Interesting. Although I am unsure that these techniques are for me. Definetly gives me some more tools and something to think about

[Josephine]

This book has some good tips. She starts out with more basics like what you eat and drink and how much you exercise, so the basic body type things that can mess up your sleep. One thing I liked in the first part of the book is the how to hypnotize yourself script. Then she goes through a 6-week plan to get better sleep with homework in each chapter. There are some interesting exercises and thoughts throughout those chapters. I think this book be really good in print (or at least printable pdf) so you can fill out the forms. Also, the website isn't available yet with the audio that is referenced fairly often in the book and that's probably because the book hasn't been released yet. If you've read a lot of books on mindfulness or sleep, then this book will probably have a fair amount of overlap in terms of suggestions, but it does offer hypnosis scripts and hypno-affirmations to help you along. One other thing I really liked was the idea of saying "cancel, cancel" when you are thinking negative thoughts, and then follow it up with a positive thought.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kaveri Gautam]

"Close Your Eyes, Sleep!" is an enchanting exploration into the world of dreams and the art of falling asleep. Smith provides not just a guide to better sleep but a journey into the realms of tranquility and imagination.

The book tells a story with its structure alone - starting with a gentle invitation to unwind and transition into a peaceful state of mind. Smith seamlessly weaves practical tips and techniques with poetic descriptions that create a serene atmosphere.

One of the standout features of "Close Your Eyes, Sleep!" is its ability to balance scientific insights with the magic of bedtime stories. Smith incorporates elements of sleep science, offering readers a deeper understanding of the importance of sleep while maintaining a lighthearted and whimsical tone, making it an easy yet informative read for all levels.

And of course I have to mention Grace Smith's empathetic and encouraging voice throughout the book. She makes it feel like a personal journey shared between the author and the reader. Smith’s expertise in hypnotherapy is evident in the carefully crafted scripts and exercises that guide readers toward a restful night's sleep.

[Zainab K.]

If you’re chronically sleep-deprived, "Close Your Eyes, Sleep" could be a lifesaver. Through Grace’s insights, you’ll get a personalized understanding of daily habits that negatively affect your sleep. Through the power of hypnosis, your sleep and life can transform for the better within a couple of months by integrating into your daily routine effective tracking tools to log your personal progress as well as tailored self-hypnosis practices. If you want more energy, focus and balance in life through better sleep, this book is for you.

[Kylie Nel]

It is fascinating to learn how the subconscious mind continues to operate while we sleep, and I adore how Grace Smith teaches the concepts of hypnotherapy, the mind, and sleep within this book. It is straightforward to understand and apply. I've also been able to understand better how my experience of trauma has impacted my sleep. This is a great tool to help you track and improve your sleep over 6 weeks!

[Jo-An]

This book is required reading for my hypnosis certification training. I find it useful in looking at insomnia in a holistic manner. It contains useful studies on sleep and insomnia that I can use to educate potential clients. Some of the techniques in this book can be used to address issues other than insomnia.

[Jackie]

One of the most amazing books that I've read, not only does it gave me tools on how to help my clients in my private practice, rather it has provided me with lot of useful information related to neurology & brain science (my field of specialization as a Trauma Specialist).
I would definitely recommend this book for everyone .. it is a MUST read book.

[Selin Ebeci]

This book teaches the science of sleep, it doesn't only have self-hypnosis techniques but also teaches other tips like living according to the circadian rhythm, other stress management tips. Great book not only for people with insomnia but also for people who likes to fine tune their sleep routines.

[Mel T]

Interesting concepts regarding sleep and why people don't sleep. Close Your Eyes, Sleep is a useful guide to self-hypnosis. Grace Smith is a world-renowned hypnotherapist and in this book teaches the tools to use hypnosis to achieve better sleep.

[Jennifer]

I was pleased to receive this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I found a couple takeaways, but the overall process isn't for me. I will be adding the book to our Little Free Library to give our neighbors an opportunity to enjoy it.

[S C]

I guess it has some interesting info on sleep. But it's a self help book pushing products. I hate that.

[Caít]

DNF

[Laura]

Loved this book! I had the audio version so I especially like the hypnosis after each chapter. I’ve been sleeping like a baby! For anyone but especially those who suffer with insomnia.

[Betsho Mokgatlhe-Dinonyane]

This read has changed my view of sleep. My biggest change was anxiousness around sleep. It’s definitely made an amazing impact. Beyond grateful.

[G H]

Hypnotherapy for overcoming insomnia works amazingly well! I've used Grace's approach successfully with my clients who went from sleeping very poorly to sleeping like a rock after only 1-2 sessions.

[Beth Brinati]

The book is very powerful. It really helps you get to the root of your sleep problems.

[Sarah]

I didn’t find this especially insightful. Most of the content focused on broad, well‑known techniques, and a significant portion felt more like promotional material than meaningful guidance.

[Edele T F]

I was an insomniac for 36 years, sometimes staying up all night for 2 weeks in a row and getting only a 15 min nap a day during recess. My average sleep per day was a total of 3 to 4 hours the majority of the time. I had practically given up on my getting enough sleep, because of almost 4 decades (the majority of my life) of repeated failures. I felt as if something was seriously wrong with me, and that I was unredeemable :(
I went through this book a couple of times, memorizing most of it, and took the full package of 8 hypnotherapy sessions of the Close Your Eyes Sleep Program offered by Grace Space.
Although simply reading (and rereading) this book was not enough to transform my unhealthy sleep pattern, doing the hypnosis quickly yielded positive results! After my first hypnosis session on bettering my sleep, I already slept deeper! During my 2nd week, I saw a major breakthrough:
For the first time in over 45 years, I found it hard to recall a recent, unpleasant social interaction! The incident had occured only 9 days prior - I have a great memory, but my mental storage system had been extremely indiscriminate, remembering minor and major things equally, whether they were helpful or unhelpful. I was used to holding grudges for a decade - and yet I had to strain myself to remember what had happened less than 10 days before!
This was a huge shock to me, to the point that I worried I may have gotten Alzheimer's! Luckily, it wasn't that. My memory stayed great in the areas it was needed!
During the 5th week, I noticed I had even forgotten an unpleasant social interaction of only 2-3 days old!
The biggest reason for my loss of sleep in the few decades leading up to my taking this Close Your Eyes Sleep Program was my regret and resentment in social interactions. Therefore this change had the greatest impact on my ability to sleep.
With this program, I was able to raise my sleep from 3 hours per day to 6 hours per day!
If you only have access to the book, I'd say to first read it through without pressuring yourself to follow any steps. Then, start the basic self-hypnosis. Even once a day is good. If any hypno-affirmation doesn't feel 100% right for you, alter it to something that does, following the tips for effective affirmations. Focus on the chapters and affirmations that are relevant to you, and go at your own pace. You deserve to have healthy sleep!