On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Close your eyes, take a deep breath…
Imagine you are on a beach, hear the waves.
You are feeling very relaxed, very sleepy…
Hey wait. Not so fast.
I mean, you don’t want to fall into a hypnotic state just anywhere, right?
Interestingly, research published this week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows there might be one place where the magic of hypnosis pays off: on the operating table.
The clinical study showed that women who went under hypnosis just before breast cancer surgery reported less pain, nausea, fatigue and emotional stress. More surprising, they required less anesthetic during surgery.
Psychologists hypnotized the patients for 15 minutes. Subjects were asked to close their eyes and imagine each muscle relaxing, as they were guided to their “special place”. The idea is that hypnosis redirects the patients' focus so deeply that they don’t feel the pain as much.
Hypnosis also led to less time in the O.R. which led to a surprising cost savings of about $700 per patient.
