Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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02.09.2017 |
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The placebo effect makes exercise even more healthy
Physical exercise is psychologically healthy. It reduces fatigue and protects against work stress and burnout. According to German psychologists all of these effects are stronger the more you believe in them. So the placebo effect not only affects how medicines and supplements work, but also the health effects of exercise.
Study
Results
The participants with positive expectations felt fitter, more energetic and stronger after cycling. The positive feeling of vigour hardly increased at all among the participants with negative expectations.
Neurologists see more alpha waves in the brain after physical exercise, but also during meditation and daydreaming, and just before you fall asleep. More alpha activity is a sign of a more relaxed state, more creativity and less anxiety and rumination.
Mothes observed an increase in alpha activity in the brain in both groups after they had cycled. And you guessed it: the increase was bigger in the participants with positive expectations.
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The more positive feelings the participants had about exercise, the more pleasurable they found the half hour of cycling. But that's unlikely to surprise you.
Conclusion
"Beliefs and expectations could possibly have long-term consequences, for instance on our motivation to engage in sports. They can be a determining factor on whether we can rouse ourselves to go jogging again next time or decide instead to stay at home on the couch."
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