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 Mind over matter!

In many countries, the cost of healthcare is increasing, but people dont want to pay extra taxes to pay for it. Perhaps because of this, interest is growing in how the power of the mind can help us stay fit, prevent illness and even treat ourselves when we are ill. Here are six ways that mind power could make a difference.

PLACEBOS

If you give asthma sufferers medicine and tell them it will help their condition, many of them will report that they feel better after taking it, even when that medicine wasnt actually real it was a placebo. Sometimes doctors can measure physical changes after patients take a placebo. For example, their blood pressure may fall. So it seems the placebo effect is not just a trick of the mind.

NOCEBOS

The nocebo effect is a kind of opposite of the placebo effect. You get an illness because you believe you will. When doctors give a patient a drug to treat a serious illness, they tell them about problems (or side effects) that the drug might cause, like a headache or a rash. Experiments show that a percentage of people get these side effects even when the drug they receive is just a sugar pill.

MEDITATION

Scientists have studied monks who have learned to control their bodies by meditating. In one experiment, a monk sat in a cold room with a wet sheet over his shoulders. Most people would get very very cold, but the monk concentrated and increased his body temperature to 40°C. He actually dried the sheet!

THE PAINS NOT SO BAD

Scientists have shown that when some people experience pain, for example in a marathon or at the dentists, they deal with it better for two reasons. Firstly, they prepare themselves beforehand they imagine the pain. Secondly, when they feel the pain, their reaction is less emotional: they think Oh I notice theres a pain in my tooth, rather than Ahhh! That hurts so badly! Help me! The psychologist Dr Martin Paulus has also shown that people can learn how to do this with training.

HYPNOTHERAPY

In 2014, the singer Alama Kante had a successful operation on her throat in France. She was hypnotised before it, so she did not need any drugs and she could sing during the operation. This way her voice was not damaged and she recovered more quickly. Hypnotherapy has also been successful in other areas, such as helping people give up smoking.

DONT GIVE UP

There is a quote that age is a question of mind over matter. If you dont mind, it doesnt matter! In the past, many people stopped playing sport, not because of injury, but because they thought they were too old. However, science is discovering that our bodies can work well into old age, if we dont stop practising. Like Fauja Singh: he ran his first marathon when he was 89 and continued to run after he was 100!