Possibly, in certain circumstances—but the scientific evidence is mixed, and the answer depends on what kind of memory improvement you're hoping to achieve.
Hypnosis has been investigated as a way to influence attention, memory performance, and the retrieval of information. Some studies have reported improvements on particular memory tasks, and one promising clinical trial found that targeted hypnotic suggestions improved working-memory performance in people with acquired brain injuries. However, the evidence does not establish hypnosis as a reliable way to improve memory generally.
There is also an important distinction between remembering more information and remembering information accurately. Hypnosis may sometimes increase the amount of material a person reports recalling, but it can also increase errors, imagined details, and confidence in inaccurate memories.¹
So, hypnosis is an interesting area of memory research, but it is not a dependable memory-enhancement technique for everyone.
What types of memory are we talking about?
Before looking at the research, it helps to distinguish between several different memory functions. They are related, but they are not interchangeable.
Working memory is the ability to hold and mentally work with information for a short period. Remembering a telephone number long enough to dial it is a simple example.
Short-term memory involves temporarily retaining information, such as a name or a short list of items.
Long-term memory involves retaining information over longer periods, from days to many years.
Episodic memory concerns recollections of personal experiences and events, including when and where something happened.
Semantic memory involves general knowledge, facts, and meanings.
Prospective memory is remembering to do something in the future, such as attend an appointment or take something with you.
A technique that improves performance on a working-memory test does not necessarily improve long-term learning or the accuracy of personal memories.
This distinction matters when evaluating claims about hypnosis. A study showing better performance on one type of memory task cannot automatically establish that hypnosis improves every kind of memory.
How might hypnosis affect memory?
Hypnosis involves focused attention and responsiveness to suggestion. During a hypnotic session, a person may be encouraged to concentrate on particular thoughts, mental images, or experiences while following suggestions intended to influence their responses.
Researchers have investigated whether these conditions can affect memory-related processes.
For example, suggestions might encourage someone to feel more mentally alert, concentrate more effectively, or approach a memory task with greater confidence. Researchers have also explored whether suggestions can influence the way people retrieve and work with information.
However, it is important not to assume that hypnosis switches on a hidden memory system or gives someone access to information that the brain has permanently stored but cannot otherwise retrieve.
Memory is a complex process involving attention, encoding, storage, and retrieval. Each stage can be affected by different factors, and remembering is not simply a matter of playing back a perfect recording of the past.
Hypnosis may influence aspects of this process, but that does not mean it can reliably restore lost information or guarantee accurate recollection.
Can hypnosis help improve working memory?
There is some encouraging, although still limited, research in this area.
A particularly interesting study by Jonas K. Lindeløv, Rikke Overgaard, and Morten Overgaard, published in the journal Brain in 2017, investigated whether hypnotic suggestion could improve working memory in people with acquired brain injuries.
The researchers conducted a randomized controlled study involving 49 participants who completed the trial. They compared targeted hypnotic suggestions with a non-targeted hypnosis condition and a passive control group.
The targeted suggestions encouraged participants to experience their working-memory abilities as having returned to their pre-injury level. Following the intervention, the researchers found meaningful improvements on working-memory measures. The improvements were still evident after a period of approximately six and a half weeks without further sessions.²
This is an important finding because it suggests that targeted suggestion may have potential in a particular rehabilitation setting.
However, there are reasons to be cautious. The participants had acquired brain injuries, the study was relatively small, and the results do not establish that hypnosis improves working memory in healthy people generally. Further independent research is needed to determine how broadly the findings apply and how the intervention works.
Nevertheless, it is a promising example of researchers investigating hypnosis as a possible complement to cognitive rehabilitation.
Can hypnosis help you remember information you've studied?
This is a popular question, particularly among students, professionals, and people who would like to learn more efficiently.
Could hypnosis help you remember a presentation, a language lesson, a set of facts, or material for an examination?
It is possible that suggestions aimed at concentration, confidence, or reducing performance anxiety could be useful to some people. However, there is not enough strong evidence to conclude that hypnosis reliably improves the learning and retention of new information in everyday situations.
It is also important to distinguish between feeling more confident about remembering something and actually remembering it more accurately.
A person might feel more focused or optimistic after a hypnotic session without necessarily showing a measurable improvement in long-term retention. To establish a genuine memory benefit, researchers need to test what participants can remember, how accurately they remember it, and whether any improvement lasts.
For now, hypnosis should not be regarded as a proven shortcut to learning or as a substitute for effective study habits.
Can hypnosis help you recall forgotten memories?
This is where the evidence calls for particular caution.
Some people believe that hypnosis can uncover memories that have been completely forgotten, including details of childhood experiences or events that happened many years earlier.
The idea can sound appealing. If a memory is difficult to retrieve, perhaps hypnosis can help bring it back.
Unfortunately, the process is not that straightforward.
Memory is reconstructive. When people remember an event, they may combine genuine details with later information, expectations, interpretations, and imagination. A recollection can feel vivid and convincing without every detail being accurate.
Hypnosis may increase the amount of information someone reports, but that does not establish that the additional information is true.
In a 2025 review of empirical research on hypnosis and memory retrieval, Elisa Krackow, Jihan Rashed, and Islay Thompson examined work by psychologist Steven Jay Lynn. Their review concluded that hypnosis did not enhance accurate recall in the studies they examined. In some cases, it impeded recall, while suggestions increased reports of events that had never actually happened. Participants could remain moderately confident in these inaccurate recollections.³
This is an important warning against treating hypnosis as a method of recovering forgotten autobiographical memories.
Can hypnosis create false memories?
Yes. Research has demonstrated that hypnotic suggestion can contribute to false or distorted recollections.
A false memory is a recollection of something that did not happen, or a substantially inaccurate recollection of something that did.
This does not mean that people are deliberately making things up. A person can sincerely believe a memory is genuine even when it contains inaccurate or imagined details.
Hypnosis can make this problem more concerning when a session includes leading questions or suggestions that encourage someone to imagine a particular event.
For example, a person might be asked to visualize a childhood situation, imagine what happened next, or search for a particular experience. Repeatedly imagining an event can sometimes make it feel increasingly familiar. The person may eventually mistake that feeling of familiarity for evidence that the event really occurred.
John F. Kihlstrom's influential review of hypnosis and memory explained that hypnotic suggestions intended to increase memory recall can also increase false recollections and confidence in both accurate and inaccurate memories.⁴
The American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs also warned that memories obtained through hypnosis may involve confabulations and pseudomemories, making them potentially less reliable than ordinary recollection.⁵
This is why responsible practitioners should avoid suggesting that hypnosis can uncover hidden memories or establish that a particular event took place.
Does hypnosis make memories more accurate?
There is no reliable basis for assuming that memories recalled under hypnosis are more accurate than memories recalled without it.
In fact, one of the most important findings in this field is that confidence and accuracy are not the same thing.
Someone may become more certain about a recollection after hypnosis, but increased confidence does not prove that the recollection is correct.
This distinction is especially important in situations involving personal history, traumatic experiences, medical concerns, or legal investigations.
A vivid memory is not necessarily an accurate memory. Additional details do not automatically make a recollection more trustworthy, either.
For this reason, hypnosis should not be used as a way to verify what happened during a past event. If an important recollection needs to be established, independent evidence is much more useful than the intensity or confidence of the memory itself.
Can hypnosis help with memory problems caused by stress or anxiety?
Stress and anxiety can interfere with concentration and make it harder to take in and retrieve information. It is therefore understandable that people wonder whether hypnosis might help when their memory seems less reliable during stressful periods.
Hypnosis is used in some settings to support relaxation and manage anxiety. It is possible that reducing distress or improving concentration could indirectly make certain memory tasks easier for some people.
However, that is not the same as demonstrating that hypnosis directly improves memory.
The distinction is worth keeping in mind. If someone is distracted by worry while studying, for example, addressing the anxiety may help them focus on the material. But the improvement would not necessarily mean that hypnosis had strengthened their underlying memory capacity.
If memory difficulties are persistent, worsening, or interfering with everyday life, it is sensible to discuss them with a qualified healthcare professional rather than assuming that stress is the cause.
Can hypnosis help older adults improve their memory?
This is another area where more research is needed.
Some memory changes are a normal part of aging, while more substantial difficulties can have a variety of causes. These may include medical conditions, medication effects, sleep problems, mood difficulties, or neurological disorders.
Hypnosis has attracted research interest as a possible way to influence cognitive performance, but there is not sufficient evidence to recommend it as a general treatment for age-related memory decline or dementia.
The working-memory study involving people with acquired brain injuries is encouraging, but it should not be interpreted as proof that the same intervention will benefit older adults with different causes of memory impairment.
Anyone experiencing significant or increasing memory problems should seek an appropriate medical assessment. Identifying the cause is an important first step toward finding suitable support.
Can hypnosis help people with brain injuries?
There is a more specific research question here, and the findings are worth following.
The 2017 study by Lindeløv and colleagues provides evidence that targeted hypnotic suggestions may improve working-memory performance in some people with acquired brain injuries.²
The researchers suggested that the intervention might help participants make better use of cognitive abilities that remained available after their injuries.
This is a potentially valuable direction for rehabilitation research. It also illustrates why it is important to distinguish between different kinds of memory difficulties.
An intervention that helps people with acquired brain injuries perform better on working-memory tasks is not necessarily useful for someone who wants to remember names, improve examination results, or recover a forgotten childhood event.
Further research will be needed to establish which patients might benefit, how long the effects last, and whether hypnosis adds meaningful benefits to established rehabilitation approaches.
Is hypnosis better than ordinary memory techniques?
There is not enough evidence to say that hypnosis is generally better than established learning and memory techniques.
For everyday learning, methods such as spaced practice, active recall, and testing yourself on previously learned material have substantial research support. These approaches encourage people to retrieve information repeatedly over time rather than simply rereading it.
Other practical habits can also support learning and memory, including getting sufficient sleep, limiting distractions, organizing information, and taking breaks when concentration declines.
Hypnosis may be worth investigating as a complementary approach for particular goals, such as managing anxiety or supporting a targeted rehabilitation program. But it should not be presented as a replacement for well-established learning strategies.
What should you look for in a hypnosis practitioner?
If you are interested in trying hypnosis for a memory-related concern, it is sensible to look for a properly qualified practitioner who understands the limitations of the evidence.
A responsible practitioner should:
Explain what hypnosis may and may not be able to achieve.
Avoid promising to restore lost memories or reveal hidden events.
Avoid leading questions or suggestions that imply a particular memory must be true.
Be clear about the difference between relaxation, concentration, memory performance, and accurate recollection.
Recommend appropriate medical or psychological assessment when memory difficulties may have an underlying cause.
Work within their professional training and scope of practice.
Be particularly cautious of anyone who claims to be able to recover forgotten memories with certainty or insists that a vivid hypnotic experience proves that something happened.
Good practice means being honest about what hypnosis can realistically offer.
So, can hypnosis be used to improve memory?
The most accurate answer is that hypnosis may influence certain aspects of memory performance, but it has not been established as a reliable general-purpose memory enhancer.
There is promising evidence from a controlled study involving working-memory difficulties after acquired brain injury. However, this finding needs further investigation and should not be generalized to everyone.
The evidence is much less encouraging when hypnosis is used to recover forgotten personal memories. Hypnotic suggestions can increase false recollections and confidence in inaccurate information, so hypnosis should never be treated as a dependable way to establish what happened in the past.
For everyday learning, established techniques such as active recall and spaced practice remain sensible choices. Hypnosis may have a role in selected clinical or rehabilitation settings, but its benefits should be described carefully and realistically.
The encouraging message is that memory is not a single, unchangeable ability. Different aspects of memory can be influenced by attention, practice, health, and other factors. Hypnosis is one area researchers continue to explore, but the goal should always be genuine improvement—not simply feeling more certain about what we remember.
In brief
Hypnosis may help with certain memory-related tasks, and early research suggests that targeted hypnotic suggestions could improve working memory in some people recovering from acquired brain injuries. However, there is not enough evidence to recommend hypnosis as a general way to improve learning, retain information, or overcome everyday forgetfulness.
Most importantly, hypnosis does not guarantee accurate recall. It can sometimes increase false memories and confidence in inaccurate recollections, so it should not be used to uncover or verify forgotten personal experiences. For everyday learning, active recall, spaced practice, and healthy study habits remain more established approaches.
Notes
John F. Kihlstrom, “Hypnosis, Memory and Amnesia,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 352, no. 1362 (1997): 1727–32.
Jonas K. Lindeløv, Rikke Overgaard, and Morten Overgaard, “Improving Working Memory Performance in Brain-Injured Patients Using Hypnotic Suggestion,” Brain 140, no. 4 (2017): 1100–1106.
Elisa Krackow, Jihan Rashed, and Islay Thompson, “Does Hypnosis Aid Memory Retrieval?: A Review of Steven Jay Lynn’s Research,” International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 73, no. 3 (2025): 381–90.
Kihlstrom, “Hypnosis, Memory and Amnesia,” 1727–32.
Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, “Scientific Status of Refreshing Recollection by the Use of Hypnosis,” JAMA 253, no. 13 (1985): 1918–23.