I was hypnotised by Sainsbury's!

Yep, you read that right.  I mean literally hypnotised.  Not just stood open mouthed and indecisive at the olive counter (which often happens), but ACTUALLY hypnotised by a clinical hypnotherapist, hooked up to an ECG and everything.

Why?  Well, you may well ask.  It was all to do with latest research just released which shows that good, simple food can have more of a mood-boosting impact that many other everyday pleasures.  The results are quite surprising:

• A cool glass of lemonade straight from the fridge on a hot day, elicits a more positive physiological effect than receiving a text message from a loved one.

• Biting into a homemade cupcake is a more pleasurable experience than bagging a bargain in the sale.

• Taking a freshly baked apple pie from the oven and pouring on cream, gives more happiness than finding all the traffic lights turn to green on a journey in the car.

I have to say, I was dubious that I'd actually be able to be hypnotised.  I wasn't sure if it would work on me at all, but closing my eyes, focusing on my breathing and listening to the calming voice of hypnotherapist Susie Woolf I found myself totally and utterly relaxed.  It was an odd experience, I was still aware of where I was and what was happening, but it became dream-like, as though I wasn't actually in the room.

My heart-rate dropped considerably, and when I was fully relaxed, Susie was able to suggest different scenarios to my subconscious and my reactions where recorded via the equipment measuring my heart and sensors on my finger-tips.

The red line shows my heart-rate. Over on the left-hand side is before the start of the experiment. You can see how it drops and stabilises while the hypnosis technique is being carried out.  The 12 bars from the middle of the graph to the right-hand side are while the different scenarios are being spoken to me, and you can see my reactions to them.

I can honestly say now I'm a convert to the power of hypnosis!  When I was 'brought back' I was instantly hit with extreme pins and needles down my arm and fingers.  I had obviously been leaning badly on my elbow on the chair rest and the pain must have been there for some time, so severe was it.  Yet I'd felt nothing!  A bit like when you wake up with pains from a dead arm because you've been lying on it, but you don't notice it at all while you're asleep.

So, the moral of this rather peculiar day out?

If you want a pick-me-up don't head to the sales, but head to the fridge for a refreshing glass of lemonade or heat up a by Sainsbury's apple pie.  And, look into booking some hypnotherapy sessions - I have plenty of issues to address!

Disclosure: I was invited to take part in this scientific experiment and received a small selection of products.  This post contains my own opinions.