Chiropractor on Mindset to Improve Health

A review of

Crum AJ, Langer EJ. Mind-set matters: exercise and the placebo effect. Psychol Sci. 2007 Feb;18(2):165-71. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01867.x. PMID: 17425538.

By Dr. Bryan Stephens

Summarized Review Conclusions

Exercise plays a crucial role in our ability to stay healthy. What is often left out, is how the mind set plays into the benefits of exercise for the body. When people become aware of their activities of exercise, the body is able to gain additional benefits from the movements. That was shown through this study of room attendants. The attendants were split into two groups. Nothing of their activities or diet were changed. The only difference was that one group was shown how their daily activities at work helped them accomplish exercise throughout their day. When the groups were compared after the 4 week study, the experimental group had a decrease in weight, body-mass index, blood pressure, body fat, and waist-to-hip ratio.

“Although actual behavior did not change, 4 weeks after the intervention, the informed group perceived themselves to be getting significantly more exercise than before. As a result, compared with the control group, they showed a decrease in weight, blood pressure, body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index.”

Crum AJ, Langer EJ. Mind-set matters: exercise and the placebo effect. Psychol Sci. 2007 Feb;18(2):165-71. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01867.x. PMID: 17425538.

Introduction to the Research

With the awareness that the placebo effect is a very real thing, information has come out that it can impact exercise and health as well. Placebos are not just “inert pills or sham procedures”. In fact, the paper goes on to explain that “Symbols, beliefs, and expectations can elicit powerful physiological occurrences, both positive and negative (Hahn & Kleinman, 1983; Roberts, Kewman, & Mercie, 1993).” The experiment was designed around the belief and expectation of performing exercise through daily work and the effect it had on the body.

Research Methodology

“Each of seven hotels was randomly assigned to one of two conditions: informed or control. Subjects in the informed condition received a write-up discussing the benefits of exercise and were informed that their daily housekeeping work satisfied the CDC’s recommendations for an active lifestyle. Specifically, they were told that exercise does not need to be hard or painful to be good for one’s health, but that it is simply a matter of moving one’s muscles and burning calories (accumulating approximately 200 calories per day to meet the recommendations). They were given specific details of the average calorie expenditure for various activities (changing linens for 15 min burns 40 calories, vacuuming for 15 min burns 50 calories, and cleaning bathrooms for 15 min burns 60 calories), and they were told that although these figures were based on results for a 140-pound woman and each of them would burn calories at a different rate, it was clear that they were easily meeting and even exceeding the Surgeon General’s recommendations.2 This sheet, written in both English and Spanish, was read and explained to the subjects and then posted on the bulletin board in their lounge.3 The subjects were told we were interested in getting information on their health so that we could study ways to improve it, and in return for helping, they would receive information about research on health and happiness. Subjects in the control group were given all the same information as those in the informed group except they did not receive information about how their work is good exercise until after the second set of measures was taken (see Procedure).”

Crum AJ, Langer EJ. Mind-set matters: exercise and the placebo effect. Psychol Sci. 2007 Feb;18(2):165-71. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01867.x. PMID: 17425538.

Research Findings

“Over the course of the study, the percentage of informed subjects who reported exercising regularly (perceived regular exercise) doubled (39.4% to 79.4%), and the average amount of exercise that subjects in the informed group believed themselves to be getting (perceived amount of exercise) increased by more than 20%. It is important to note that although the informed room attendants did report higher levels of exercise at the end of the study, they did not report getting any additional exercise outside of work. In addition, although the subjects in the informed group showed a significant increase in recognizing their work as a form of exercise, their actual workload did not change. Thus, the changes in reported physical activity appear to be attributable not to actual increases in physical activity, but to a shift in mind-set initiated by the information given to them in the intervention. This shift in mind-set in the informed group was accompanied by remarkable improvement in physiological measures associated with exercise. After only 4 weeks of knowing that their work is good exercise, the subjects in the informed group lost an average of 2 pounds,6 lowered their systolic BP by 10 points,7 and were significantly healthier as measured by body-fat percentage, BMI, and WHR. These were small but meaningful changes given the state of health the subjects were in, especially considering that the change occurred in just 4 weeks. All of these changes were significantly greater than the changes in the control group. These results support our hypothesis that increasing perceived exercise independently of actual exercise results in subsequent physiological improvements.”

Crum AJ, Langer EJ. Mind-set matters: exercise and the placebo effect. Psychol Sci. 2007 Feb;18(2):165-71. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01867.x. PMID: 17425538.

Research References

As always with these reviews, these are my takeaways from the article and I encourage you to read the article in its entirety. The references used in this article by the authors of this article are listed here.

Our Message

When you are looking for a Chiropractor near you that you can trust, choose one who will not only get rid of your back pain, neck pain, or headaches but who will also guide you to living a healthier lifestyle to keep you out of pain. Our East Dallas Chiropractors located in Lakewood, near the corner of Mockingbird Ln. and Abrams Rd., are here to teach you that taking care of your mental health and getting the proper nutrients are just as important as the chiropractic adjustment to stay healthy.