Imagining performing a specific action is a technique used to great effect by sportspeople
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
This article is part of a special series exploring the radical potential of the human imagination. Read more here.
Feeling stressed about an upcoming event? Imagine, for a moment, that you have a magic anti-anxiety pill in front of you that will take away your nerves. Picture its packaging, and feel yourself popping the pill from its foil. Now, visualise bringing it to your mouth, dropping it in, and conjure up the sensation of swallowing it.
These were the instructions that Jens Gaab and his colleagues at the University of Basel in Switzerland gave participants in a recent study investigating the possibilities of the placebo effect. The participants, university students who were studying for an exam, were instructed to repeat the procedure twice a day for three weeks.
Remarkably, it worked — those who took an imaginary pill experienced less test anxiety than control participants who were simply asked to report their anxiety levels as the exam approached. “And their performance was significantly better,” says Gaab.
It is now well accepted that placebo pills can sometimes relieve symptoms, and the results from Gaab and his team suggest we can achieve the same effect when that pill exists only in our mind. It is just one of many surprising ways that imagination may help to improve our health, happiness and success. So, what can we do to make the most of these benefits?
Why visualisation works
The power of visualisation is well known in sports science. “Multisensory imagery is a game changer…
