Can Just Thinking You’ve Slept Well Really Power Up Your Day?

A fascinating new study suggests that thinking you got a good night’s sleep may be as restful as actually getting your eight hours of shuteye. In a small-scale Colorado College study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, researchers found that what they termed “placebo sleep” had the power to boost performance. Independent of the amount of sleep study participants actually received, a placebo effect allowed them to perform better on tests if they believed they had received a good night’s sleep.

In the test, which involved some interesting subterfuge, participants were either told they had received more or less sleep than normal regardless of how long each individual had actually slept. People who were told they slept longer scored higher on tests than those who were told they slept less. Researchers concluded that “mindset can influence cognitive states in both positive and negative direction.”

In other words, due to the placebo effect, merely thinking you are well rested is enough to energize your body and mind and allow you to perform as if you actually were well-rested. On the other hand, complaining about being tired can make you feel more tired and negatively impact performance. (Click for detailed test information in The Atlantic.)

The placebo effect is a well-documented but poorly understood mind-body phenomenon that is not uncommon in medical care. When the placebo effect occurs, a person’s expectations cause actual physical results, despite the fact that the placebo has no medical value. The phenomenon is psychological, but the results can be physical. For example, the American Cancer Society says one in three cancer patients report a change in symptoms after receiving a placebo.

While intriguing, the application of the placebo effect to sleep in this initial study raises many questions. How long does the placebo effect last? How often can sleep deficit be safely overridden? And on a practical level, without the extensive subterfuge used in the test, how do you trick your brain into placebo sleep mode? Sleep has a powerful impact on both physical and mental health. The ability to control the mind-body response to sleep through placebo sleep could someday have important health implications; but until that day arrives, meditation, guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation can help you get the sleep you need.