Our method: how a session is made

Method set and overseen by Stéphane, founder of Alcyonia. Reviewed on October 29, 2026.

1. Techniques with a track record

We don't invent techniques. Every session draws on methods described for decades by their founders and practitioners: Alfonso Caycedo's sophrology, Johannes Schultz's autogenic training, Edmund Jacobson's progressive muscle relaxation, yoga nidra, Herbert Benson's relaxation response, Jon Kabat-Zinn's mindfulness and, for the Sleep hypnosis section, the approaches of Milton Erickson and Dave Elman.

These techniques are gathered in a production manual: for each one, what it does, how to guide it, how fast to speak, and what never to do.

2. What the research says

We rate the strength of the evidence as we do across the site, from A (strong) to D (doesn't hold up).

• Progressive muscle relaxation and autogenic training · B: the American Academy of Sleep Medicine guideline (Edinger et al., J Clin Sleep Med 2021) mentions it as a relaxation technique. We use it to unwind, with no promise about insomnia.
• Slow breathing · B: slowing your breath, especially the out-breath, calms the body (Zaccaro et al., Front Hum Neurosci 2018; Balban et al., Cell Rep Med 2023).
• Mindfulness, letting thoughts pass · B: trials show better sleep quality (Ong et al., Sleep 2014; Rusch et al., Ann NY Acad Sci 2019).
• Images and stories to occupy the mind · C: calm imagery helps people fall asleep faster than letting worries spin (Harvey and Payne, Behav Res Ther 2002). Sleep stories themselves have barely been studied yet.
• Descent suggestions and deep sleep · C: an audio session increased deep sleep in highly suggestible people (Cordi, Schlarb and Rasch, Sleep 2014), but not in others. It's a small study.
• Random images (cognitive shuffle) · C: a promising idea with very little research behind it.

In short: the evidence on sleep comes mostly from small trials. These sessions help you relax; they don't treat insomnia.

3. A carefully built method, step by step

1. A recipe. Each session pairs a moment (before bed, waking in the night, a nap…), a technique, a setting and a length. That's what you see below the player.
2. The writing. The script follows the rules of our manual: slow sentences, long pauses, no surprises, no words that wake you up.
3. A strict automatic check. Every script goes through a detailed checklist: technique, pacing, safety, language. A script that doesn't pass is reworked or set aside.
4. A specially crafted voice. Soft, unhurried and slow, it is designed and refined to carry you into relaxation without ever waking you.
5. Careful sound. Every recording goes through an automatic check before it goes out, so no stray noise pulls you out of relaxation.

4. Our articles and guides

Every article starts from a question people really ask about sleep. It is based on reliable sources (health bodies, published studies): our tools open each source, then cite it in the text, with the full list at the end of the article.

An automatic check then compares every statement with those sources, along with the caution and clarity of the text. An article that fails this check is rewritten; if it still fails, it is not published. Our articles inform about sleep: they give no medical advice and are not a substitute for a doctor's advice.

5. Our safety rules

• No promise of a cure, no medical advice.
• Always a way out: if an image doesn't work for you, the session invites you to simply follow your breath.
• Never while driving or doing anything that needs your attention.
• If you're being treated for a mental health condition, or a session makes you uncomfortable, stop it and talk to a health professional.

6. Who's behind it

Alcyonia was created by Stéphane, who chose the techniques, wrote the manual's rules and oversees what gets published. He is not a doctor or a certified sophrologist: that's why the site only talks about wellbeing, never about health.

Did a session bother you, or do you have an idea? Write to us: we read every message.

Read our editorial promise →