Studies about the Mind-Body Connection
Compiled by Orest Lewinter

VISUALIZING PAIN AWAY: Scientists at Stanford University and the biotech company Omneuron trained patients to reduce chronic pain by just visualizing it and learning to control it....with the help of special fMRI scanners and software. Some could reduce pain by more than 40% (March 2007 Readers Digest, P. 123).

HEALING FROM AFAR: Arizona State University recently published a review of 17 studies on people with heart disease, cancer, infertility, and other conditions. The studies found significant benefits when the patients were prayed for, regardless of the distance separating the patients and the people who prayed.
(summarized in Feb., 2008 Readers Digest, p. 66)

POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS REDUCE STRESS:
A UCLA research team found that students used positive affirmations before being subjected to stress experienced the lowest stress levels. This was verified by before and after cortisol tests of their saliva. (Creswell, Psychological Science, Nov. 2005, vol 16: pp 846-852)

VISUALIZATION LOWERS HEALTH CARE COSTS: In a study conducted by Blue Shield of California, it was found that the use of guided imagery before operations significantly reduced hospital stays and medication costs, resulting in an average savings of $2000 per surgery.

HOT NEWS ABOUT COLDS: Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa. found that people who scored high for positive emotional style in a survey were significantly more likely to resist colds and flu. 193 healthy adults got medical checkups and completed surveys on their emotional style. Positive emotional-style traits included being lively, happy, or calm. Negative traits included being tense, anxious, sad, depressed, angry, or hostile. They were then exposed to viruses that cause colds or flu. The participants were then quarantined for five to six days to see who got a cold or flu.
(Cohen, S. Psychosomatic Medicine, November/December 2006; vol 68: pp 809-815)