The “placebo effect” in medicine is a beneficial effect from taking a medication, or having a treatment, that cannot be attributed to the medication or treatment.

The beneficial effect occurs primarily because of the patient’s belief that the medication or treatment will work. Multiple studies have demonstrated that the positive health outcome happens because people believe the pill or treatment will certainly help them.

Further, a health care provider’s positive interaction with the patient can contribute to a positive response that is independent of any medication or treatment.

In one study, medical students were given one of two different pills—one said to be a sedative to make them sleepy, and the other a stimulant to increase their energy. In fact, both pills contained the same inactive ingredients that would have no impact on the students at all.

Of the students who received the “sedative,” more than two-thirds of these students reported that they felt drowsy. Conversely, a large majority of the students who took the “stimulant” reported that they felt less tired.

In another classic placebo study, 75 percent of patients who had recent surgery and were experiencing postoperative wound pain reported satisfactory relief after an injection of sterile saline. This injection contained no pain medication at all. Researchers who carried out this work noted that the patients who responded to the placebo all noted a significant decrease in the severity of their pain.

The placebo effect is clearly related to the power of suggestion and to a person’s expectations. But that doesn’t make it imaginary or fake. Some studies show there are actual physical changes that occur with the placebo effect.

In fact, placebo studies have documented an increase in the body’s natural production of endorphins. Endorphins are hormones secreted within our brain and nervous system, and they are one of our body’s natural pain relievers.

In summary, the placebo effect can have very significant medical effects. These effects cannot be totally explained by our current knowledge of human physiology and psychology. Most experts who have studied the placebo effect agree that individuals can dramatically improve various medical conditions, such as a bad headache, simply because they believe they will improve with the treatment given.

In other words, we essentially think and talk ourselves back into health, proving once again that the thoughts we choose in our brain are extremely powerful for our health and how we feel.