Just a matter of the head? Not at all: Psychologist Dr. Barbara Schmidt from Jena University Hospital investigated the influence of hypnosis on our physical performance in a study now published in the journal "Scientific Reports". The results showed that hypnosis can not only increase the subjective feeling of strength, but also objective strength - with long-lasting effects. This can be used both for competitive sport and for the recovery process of patients.
"Where did you get those reserves of strength for the final sprint?". A typical question that sports journalists ask the victorious athletes after a race. The answer is usually something along the lines of"mental training" or"I knew I had more in me". Dr. Barbara Schmidt, a psychologist at the Institute for Psychosocial Medicine, Psychotherapy and Psychooncology at Jena University Hospital, has proven in a hypnosis study that these are not just empty phrases. To this end, she first developed a special so-called "power anchor" during hypnosis sessions with German professional biathletes at the Olympic training center in the Black Forest, which brought out the famous "power reserves" in the athletes.The athletes were supposed to bind their feeling of strength to a post-hypnotic anchor, which they could then activate when needed, especially during a race," explains Schmidt.
Mobilizing powers with the Super Mario Kart star
During the hypnosis session, the athletes should imagine that they are activating the star item from the console game "Super Mario Kart". The star makes the player very fast and invulnerable for a short time, which is indicated visually by colorful flashing and audibly by a certain melody."During the race, the athletes thought of their Super Mario star and the feeling of strength and invulnerability that they attached to this anchor during hypnosis," explains Schmidt. And with success."They were able to unleash their inner strength, so to speak." Schmidt also used the same strength anchor during hypnosis sessions in her current study to check whether hypnosis can actually influence muscle strength. To do this, she compared the grip strength of the hand of a total of 48 study participants before, immediately after and one week after hypnosis. While half of the participants received a 40-minute hypnosis session, the control group read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography "Total Recall" during the same period. The result is clear: the hypnosis group not only felt subjectively stronger than the control group after the activation of the power anchor, they also showed objectively stronger grip strength one week after the hypnosis session.
Specifically, Schmidt and her research team used a hand dynamometer to objectively measure the grip strength of the study participants. These measurements were taken at the beginning of the study for all participants to record the initial level and then after the hypnosis session or book reading. One week later, hand grip strength was measured again before and after activation of the post-hypnotic strength anchor. To classify the subjective feeling of strength, Schmidt used a scale from 0 to 100, according to which the participants were asked to rate themselves. With clear results. "We were able to show that even a single hypnosis session, in which the feeling of strength is linked to a post-hypnotic anchor, in this case the Mario Kart star, increases both subjective and objective strength, with long-lasting effects. Hypnosis apparently not only leads to a change in the mental state, it also brings about changes at the physiological level," says Schmidt.
Using hypnosis for competitive sport and recovery processes
On the one hand, this knowledge could be used in professional sport to improve the performance of athletes. On the other hand, Schmidt recommends considering hypnosis as a non-invasive method for the recovery process in patients, for example in the treatment of ME/CFS. Chronic fatigue syndrome has increased, particularly in connection with Long COVID, and there is still no causal therapy."With the help of hypnosis and a corresponding post-hypnotic power anchor, we can unleash our inner strength and thus positively influence our health," says Schmidt.
