Wishing you good health may seem like just a good wish, but a new study from researchers at Stanford University suggests otherwise.
Scientists, in particular, have found that convincing someone that they have a genetic predisposition to certain health characteristics, both positive and negative, such as low exercise capacity or a tendency to overeat, can actually make them the body will respond appropriately.
To reach that conclusion, the researchers began by testing over 200 men and women for a gene variant associated with low endurance. They also made them run on a treadmill to measure their actual endurance. The participants were then randomly divided into two groups, one of which was told that they had a variant of a gene that makes them tired easily, regardless of their actual test results. In other words, both groups consisted of members with and without a gene, but only one group was tricked into believing that everyone had one.
The researchers then asked both groups to run on a treadmill a second time, and their abilities adapted accordingly: participants who were told (regardless of the truth) that they had a gene variant associated with low endurance stopped running 22 seconds earlier than earlier. Their oxygen uptake and lung capacity were also significantly lower. Meanwhile, another group, who now believed they were genetically prone to higher endurance, ran longer than before, regardless of which genes they actually carry.
This suggests that mind over matter can be a very real phenomenon. “Thinking about genetic danger or protection can change how we feel, what we do, and - as this study shows - how our bodies react,” lead author Ali Kram said in a press release.
Psychologist and psychotherapist Janet Raymond further explains this phenomenon by comparing it to the placebo effect. “If we believe something will work - or not work - changes in our neurochemical balance will lead to arousal,” she says. “When you act on these feelings, you are connecting the brain to change success in the arena that epigenetically changes your DNA. Much of what we do and how we act affects DNA through this epigenetic mechanism, so it is likely that emotional factors alter DNA.”
Scientists are now stressing that more research is needed to truly understand the link between our genes, our beliefs, and our health.