Mention hypnosis, and the image that springs to mind is a caped magician swinging a pocket watch, seducing otherwise sensible people into barking like dogs. But hypnosis is more than a stage show act.

Your eyelids are getting heavy, your arms are going limp and you feel like you're floating through space. The power of hypnosis to alter your mind and body like this is all thanks to changes in a few ...

A strange mystic swings a pocket watch back and forth, repeating the phrase "You're getting sleepy, very sleepy," giving them absolute command over their subject. That's not how hypnotism really works ...