Hypnosis may quiet the night: a Drug-Free approach to sleepwalking
NCT ID NCT05953207
First seen Jul 14, 2026 · Last updated Jul 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial compares medical hypnosis with standard sleep hygiene education for people who experience NREM parasomnias—such as sleepwalking, confusional arousals, or sleep terrors. Participants attend three treatment sessions and have their sleep monitored with home video recordings and sleep diaries. The goal is to see whether hypnosis can reduce the number and severity of these episodes.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- medical hypnosis
- What this could lead to
- If effective, medical hypnosis could offer a drug-free way to reduce sleepwalking and related episodes.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial, and hypnosis may not work for everyone. Results may not apply to all parasomnia patients.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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110 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Aug 2023
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Patients with NREM parasomnia (N=60): Inclusion Criteria: * Non-REM parasomnias diagnosis according to the international classification disease of sleep disorders * Willling and able to give informed consent * Reporting at least one parasomniac episode per month * Reporting at least one parasomniac episode the month prior Exclusion Criteria: * Refusal to use the home video recording device * Current or planned intake (during the next 2 months) of medications/substances that may interfere with sleep architecture (e.g., hypnotics, neuroleptics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines) * A comorbid significant somatic disease altering the brain (e.g., cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, dementia) * A comorbid sleep disorder (e.g., apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) \>= 20/hour, REM sleep behaviour disorder, restless legs syndrome with symptoms more than 2 days/week) * A comorbid psychiatric disorder (e.g., severe depressive or anxiety disorder or psychotic disorder) Healthy volunteers (N=50): Inclusion Criteria: \- Adult (≥ 18 yo) willing and able to give informed consent. Exclusion criteria: * Presence of NREM parasomnias diagnosis, or any other concomitant sleep disorder; * Current intake of medications/substances that may interfere with sleep architecture (e.g., hypnotics, neuroleptics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines); * A comorbid significant somatic disease altering the brain (e.g., cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, dementia); * A comorbid psychiatric disorder (e.g., severe depressive or anxiety disorder or psychotic disorder); * Current history of psychiatric or neurological disorders (e.g., migraines).
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Centre hospitalier universitaire vaudois (CHUV)
Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, 1005, Switzerland