topic: 202111281849- Placebo Notes alias: tags:#permanent-note
My writing (250-300 words)
Going down a Placebo rabbit hole
The human body is weird.
I encountered an article this week about how just thinking you got a good night’s sleep actually improves your cognitive performance. I’m very careful around the claim that “your perception is your reality,” but I also have to admit that our minds are really powerful when it comes to influencing how we act in the world.
What is placebo sleep and what should I do about it?
It seems that the idea of placebo sleep is rooted in this one study from 2014. As far as I can tell, it’s the only major study on the topic.
In the study,
(1) they asked participants to rate how they slept the night before
(2) gave them a quick 5-minute lesson on sleep and REM cycles
then the placebo part:
(3) Hooked them up to machine (that does nothing), “measured” their sleep, and then told them their previous night’s rest was just what they needed
In the experiment, the belief that you got enough sleep was enough to boost cognitive performance as if you had actually slept well the night before.
My 2 big takeaways from the study
#1 Education about how the body works plays a big part in health.
The days when coaches and doctors could just talk down to their patients are gone.
I learned this firsthand when I was experiencing chronic pain. The first step on my path to recovery was educating myself on how pain works (4min). Through that I became less anxious and fearful, and I could take care of my health better
When it comes to health- teaching someone how their body works is important. And communicating it well is a skill that coaches need to learn.
#2 Relying on ‘objective’ trackers can backfire. There’s merit to subjective measurement
In the past, I was obsessed with tracking my sleep data on my smartwatch.
Some days, I would wake up feeling good, but my watch would tell me that I didn’t sleep enough. Then everything would backfire. I would get anxious. I would second guess my sleep. I would worry about making it up the next night.
By focusing on your overall sleep experience (1min) and not just the data, you can improve the quality of your sleep and feel more rested when you get up in the mornin