Self-guided hypnosis significantly reduces menopausal hot flashes

Baylor University-led study demonstrates over 50% reduction in hot flashes with self-guided hypnosis

Baylor University

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WACO, Texas (Nov. 11, 2025) – Can a simple daily audio hypnosis session help women find relief from one of menopause’s most disruptive symptoms – hot flashes – without medication? A new clinical trial led by Baylor University’s Gary R. Elkins, Ph.D., professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory, suggests it can. By decreasing hot flash frequency and intensity by over 50%, self-guided hypnosis offers a nonhormonal option for the millions of women whose hot flashes interfere with sleep, mood and quality of life.

Published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the multicenter randomized clinical trial evaluated the effectiveness of a six-week, self-administered hypnosis program compared to a sham control using white noise. The study enrolled 250 postmenopausal women experiencing frequent hot flashes, including nearly 25% with a history of breast cancer – a group often excluded from hormone-based treatments.

“It is estimated that over 25 million women in the United States have hot flashes, with up to 80% of women in the general population reporting hot flashes during the menopause transition, and 96% of women with breast cancer report hot flashes soon after beginning anti-cancer therapy,” Elkins said. “While hormone replacement therapy is highly effective in reducing hot flashes, it is not a safe choice for everyone, and therefore, women need additional safe and effective alternatives.”

After six weeks of daily self-hypnosis audio recordings, participants reported a 53.4% reduction in both frequency and intensity of hot flashes, and at the 3-month follow-up, hot flashes were reduced by 60.9% compared to a 40.9% reduction for women in the control group. The guided self-hypnosis intervention had an even larger treatment effect on reducing hot flashes in women with a history of breast cancer (64% reduction after six weeks).  

Self-guided hypnosis: A breakthrough approach

The study is the first to compare self-guided hypnosis with an active control condition (i.e. sham white noise control group), allowing researchers to better understand how much of the benefit came from people’s expectations or the placebo effect.

“This was a major breakthrough and innovation, as almost all prior studies of mind-body interventions have only used wait-list, psycho-education or simple relaxation to compare the active hypnotherapy intervention,” Elkins said. “Also, all sessions were self-administered hypnosis, which demonstrated that women could learn how to use hypnosis for hot flashes on their own with support and guidance.

Elkins emphasized that self-hypnosis provides benefits that are easily learned and practiced using audio recordings or app-delivered hypnotherapy.

“It can be practiced at home without needing to travel for doctor visits, and it is relatively inexpensive compared to in-person sessions,” Elkins said. “Once a person learns how to use self-hypnosis to reduce hot flashes and improve sleep, it can be used for other purposes such as managing anxiety, coping with pain and for stress management.”

At the 12-week follow-up, participants in the self-guided hypnosis group showed a 60.9% reduction in hot flashes as well as significantly greater improvements in sleep, mood, concentration and overall quality of life. Nearly 90% of participants in the hypnosis group reported feeling better, compared to 64% in the control group.

“We are very excited about the findings from this important study,” Elkins said. “Our ongoing research aims to further determine how self-hypnosis can significantly improve sleep for breast cancer survivors and women in the peri- to post-menopause transition.”

Through this and other studies, Elkins and his team have been able to determine that hypnotherapy is the only behavioral intervention consistently shown to reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes to a clinically significant amount among both post-menopausal women and breast cancer survivors.

About the authors

In addition to Elkins, the research team included scientists from Baylor University, University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

• Noel Arring, D.N.P., Ph.D., RN, College of Nursing, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Grant B. Morgan, Ph.D., Department of Educational Psychology, Baylor University,
• Tierney Lorenz, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Vanessa Muniz, M.A., Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University
• Carrie Lafferty, Ph.D., College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Katherine Scheffrahn, B.S., Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University
• Cameron Alldredge, Ph.D., Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University
• Debra Barton, Ph.D., RN, College of Nursing, University of Tennessee Knoxville

Funding

The study was funded by grant 1R01AT009384 from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

ABOUT GARY ELKINS, PH.D.

Gary Elkins, Ph.D., professor of psychology and neuroscience, directs the Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory at Baylor University, where he conducts research into hypnosis for stress, sleep, trauma, smoking cessation and hot flashes. Based on his research and publications, Elkins is the leading researcher and expert on hypnosis for hot flashes and sleep disturbances as well as other clinical applications. His research into hypnosis interventions has been funded by NIH grants for over 25 years, and he has more than 100 publications, including books, Handbook of Medical and Psychological Hypnosis and Introduction to Clinical Hypnosis: The Basics and Beyond. His latest book, Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy: What you Need to Know, provides a research evidence-based understanding of hypnotherapy. In recognition of his research, lkins has received major awards from the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and the Distinguished Contribution to Science Award from Division 30 of the American Psychological Association.

ABOUT THE MIND-BODY MEDICINE RESEARCH LABORATORY

The Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory  is committed to a comprehensive research program that seeks to identify, understand, develop and disseminate complementary and mind-body medical interventions (clinical and experimental hypnosis, relaxation-based interventions and mindfulness) in the integrative health care. The research is conducted in part with funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and the internal support of Baylor University.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 11 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website.

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Journal

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.42537 

Method of Research

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Self-Administered Hypnosis vs Sham Hypnosis for Hot Flashes A Randomized Clinical Trial

Article Publication Date

11-Nov-2025

COI Statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Elkins reported receiving personal fees from Mindset Health outside the submitted work. Dr Barton reported receiving grants from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to the institution during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.

 

Trainer identification project treads new ground

Forensic experts are inviting the public to put their trainer knowledge to the test – and contribute to an award-winning research project

Staffordshire University

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image: 

A trainer being 3D imaged.

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Credit: University of Staffordshire

Led by University of Staffordshire and West Yorkshire Police, When All is Tread and Done is exploring new forensic techniques to help identify criminals by their shoes.

Project lead Professor Claire Gwinnett explained: “While CCTV, body-worn cameras and mobile footage is increasingly used in criminal investigations, suspects often cover their faces.

“Shoes, however, can be a distinguishing feature in CCTV footage or images and that is what our research is focussed on.”

The first phase of the project has already received national recognition, winning an award for project leadership from the Police Chief Scientific Advisor and “Innovation in Policing” at the West Yorkshire Annual Policing Awards. It is also the only initiative to receive three consecutive rounds of funding from the Police STAR Fund.

As part of this work, the team developed a fast and affordable method to capture images of trainers under both white and infrared light to simulate CCTV conditions. These scans allow forensic experts to study the shoe upper characteristics.

Using this method, 1,000 shoes from members of the public were collected and scanned. For the final phase of the project, the team is inviting the public to participate in an online trainer identification quiz based on these images.

Members of the public who are interested in taking this a step further also have the opportunity to participate in experiments where they will try to identify trainers appearing in mock CCTV footage.

Professor Gwinnett said: “This is a short, fun quiz that anybody can complete – you don’t need to be a trainer enthusiast to take part! Participants will be asked to identify makes and models of trainers, helping us to understand how people recognise specific brands and characteristics.”

The ultimate aim is to roll out new technology into operational policing, providing forensic practitioners with fast, reliable tools to compare footwear seen in images to known brands.

Research Assistant Dr Megan Needham added: “After three years of funded research, we have taken the idea of using footwear uppers as evidence from early-stage concept to operational reality. The next step is raising awareness — ensuring that this pioneering approach is recognised and adopted, so its full evidential value can make a difference in practice.”

Can you tell your Nike from your New Balance? Take the quiz now.

 

Innovation turns building vents into carbon-capture devices

With a newly developed nanofiber filter, air conditioners, heaters and other ventilation systems could remove airborne carbon dioxide while cutting energy costs

University of Chicago

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A nanofiber air filter developed by the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) could turn existing building ventilation into carbon-capture devices while cutting homeowners’ energy costs.

In a paper recently published in Science Advances, researchers from the lab of UChicago PME Asst. Prof. Po-Chun Hsu developed a distributed carbon nanofiber direct air capture (DAC) filter that could potentially turn every home, office, school or other building into a small carbon-capture system working toward the global problem of airborne CO2.

A life-cycle analysis shows that – even after factoring extra CO2 released by everything from manufacture and transportation to maintenance and disposal – the new filter is 92.1% efficient in removing carbon dioxide from the air.

“Every building already has ventilation systems that move large volumes of air every day. By integrating our carbon-capture filters into these systems, we can remove carbon directly from the air without building new plants or using extra land,” said first author Ronghui Wu, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University who was a postdoctoral researcher in Hsu’s lab at the time of the research. “It’s a practical and scalable way to make carbon capture part of everyday infrastructure.”

On the largest possible level, replacing every building air filter with this new model could remove up to 596 megatonnes of carbon dioxide from the air – the equivalent of taking 130 million cars off the road for a year.

But on the individual level, every home, office or school that switch to DAC filters should expect lower energy bills. One study from 2024 indicated those savings could be up to 21.66%.

“Normally, air-conditioning systems need to pull in a lot of outside air to keep indoor carbon dioxide levels low,” Wu said. “Our filter removes carbon dioxide inside the building, so the system doesn’t have to bring in as much outside air. That means less air needs to be heated or cooled, which reduces the energy consumptions in HVAC.”

Regenerated by sunlight

Current direct air capture technologies are massive, corporate-owned affairs requiring major investments in land, power and other resources. Hsu likens it to solar power – a technology once confined to utility-owned solar farms, but now a network of large farms and small rooftop panels working toward the same energy goal.

"These rooftop panels are possible because sunlight is more or less uniform. The CO2 from air is similar,” Hsu said. “We propose, using experiment and computation to demonstrate, that indeed we could retrofit our buildings to be part of the decarbonization effort.”

Creating a practical, real-world filter is a balancing act. The UChicago PME team had to ensure that the filter removes more CO2 from the air than the amount added by manufacturing, transporting, installing, maintaining and eventually disposing of the filters.

The team’s carbon nanofiber–based polyethylenimine (PEI) material would create a reusable filter that could slot into existing HVAC systems, similar to the air-purifying high efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA) filters. Unlike HEPA filters, which head to landfills as garbage every six months to a year, the carbon-capture filters would have the CO2 removed regularly and be returned to service.

Hsu and Wu envision an ecosystem where municipal waste management systems haul off the filters weekly with the garbage and recycling.

“They would have these saturated filters from household ventilation systems and commercial buildings, then replace them with new ones,” Hsu said. “They’d ship the saturated one to a centralized facility to dissolve the CO2 or make it into highly concentrated CO2 to capture or, even better, convert to high-value chemicals or fuel.”

The new material was specifically designed to show excellent solar absorptivity. This means the CO2 can be removed from a saturated filter through solar thermal methods – including literally leaving the filter out under the sun.

“It has to be able to regenerate using renewable energy,” Hsu said. “The most common way to regenerate CO2 with solvent, is by heating it up. If you burn fossil fuels to heat up the solvent, then you will probably end up emitting more carbon dioxide than you capture.”

While the global benefits would rise as more places adopt the filter, lower energy bills aren’t the only benefits an individual would see from installing a direct air capture filter.

“This kind of air filter can also improve indoor air quality, especially in places like classrooms and offices where many people share the same space,” Wu said. “By keeping indoor carbon dioxide levels low, it helps people stay more alert, focused, and healthy.”

Citation: “Distributed direct air capture by carbon nanofiber air filters,” Wu et al, Science Advances, October 17, 2025. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adv6846

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Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adv6846 

Article Title

Distributed direct air capture by carbon nanofiber air filters

 

Discussion approach improves comprehension for 4th, 5th graders, study finds

Researchers developed AI model to process months of qualitative data in just 48 hours

Penn State

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Small-group discussions designed to help elementary students engage in conversations that promote critical analytic thinking, reasoning and deeper understanding of the content they read increased critical thinking over time for fourth- and fifth-grade students, according to a new study by a team that includes researchers from the Penn State College of Education. It’s the latest evidence in support of Quality Talk, the “deliberate approach to discussion that transforms student engagement” developed by P. Karen Murphy, associate dean for research and outreach in the Penn State College of Education.  

The most recent study, co-authored by Murphy, is now available online ahead of publication in the December issue of Learning and Instruction. Using a new artificial intelligence (AI) approach to assess qualitative data — like conversations — the team analyzed data from nearly 400 small-group discussions that were collected as part of a larger research project. They specifically focused on identifying instances where fourth- and fifth-grade students’ class conversations aligned with key discourse indicators — the ability to elaborate on an explanation and to explore discussed ideas with others — known to be associated with high-level reading and subject comprehension. The researchers spent years developing a discourse coding manualto guide the AI analysis process for this type of research. They dedicated approximately a month to preparing and finalizing the specifications for the study’s AI model, which then processed the data in about 48 hours. 

“Essentially, we wanted to identify when students were able to express their thinking about the subject matter being taught in ways that moved beyond just simple statements and answers and instead included reasoning and evidence in support of what they were saying,” said Murphy, who is also a distinguished professor of educational psychology and Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member. The team was most interested in two particular indicators of high-level comprehension: individual argumentation and collaborative argumentation, which refer to elaborating on an explanation and exploring a topic in exchanges with others, respectively. Carla Firetto, Associate Professor at Arizona State University and lead author, expanded on these indicators, “as students engage in the discussions, they can express individual argumentation on their own, as they express their own thinking as they talk, or they can co-construct in the discussion with each other, going back and forth to come to an understanding together.” 

The data from the almost 400 small-group conversations would have taken up to a semester of work by undergraduate and graduate research assistants to prepare for analysis, Firetto said.  

“By using AI, we were able to gather insights about students’ growth from data we collected in a prior project funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, but had not been able to investigate before,” Murphy said, explaining that the traditional way of coding discussions — individual researchers listening to the conversations and marking for specific indicators — was too time consuming and cost prohibitive. “This paper shows how AI can be leveraged to advance the field in ways that were not previously possible, ” explained Firetto.

Murphy noted that while data can now be processed quickly, it took the team many years of conversations about whether certain examples of talk meet or do not meet the definition of the codes, resulting in a very clear set of rules to help inform the prompts used to train the AI, yielding better and clearer results.  

“We are still just scratching the surface of learning what AI tools like this can do and how to best balance the trade-offs,” Murphy said, noting that the approach could work for researchers in any field that deals with qualitative data, as long as they have a clear manual for defining the features of importance. “AI certainly offers some tangible advantages with regard to efficiency and scalability.” 

Firetto said the team was particularly concerned about data protection and took several steps to ensure the information was appropriately anonymized and secured before the AI-driven analysis. 

Importantly, the researchers noted, not only can this approach be used in future research projects with new data, but also for previously collected data that may still have valuable information waiting to be discovered. 

“Researchers who are involved in large, multiyear projects that gather troves of qualitative data often find that the data go un- or under-analyzed,” Murphy said. “There is often so much more that we could still learn from those data, but there are rarely sufficient resources to analyze it in a traditional manner. Overall, it is exciting to think about how we might extend this approach to other projects we have and to explore whether there are other research questions we can return to now that were not previously feasible.”  

Other contributors to the paper include Penn State doctoral students Emilee A. Herman and Yue Tang; Emily Starrett, math program manager at the Hamlin Robinson School; Jeffrey A. Greene, associate dean for research and faculty development and McMichael Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Lin Yan, doctoral student from Arizona State University. 

This research was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education; Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Innovation internal grant funding at Arizona State University; and the McMichael Professorship in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Journal

Learning and Instruction

DOI

10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102208 

Article Title

Investigating grade-level and text genre effects in Quality Talk discussions: An AI-powered discourse analysis of upper primary students’ high-level comprehension

Article Publication Date

1-Dec-2025