London: A new study has revealed that just thinking you had a good night's sleep creates a 'placebo effect' that improves your brain function and cognitive abilities.
Researchers Christina Draganich and Kristi Erdal from Colorado College found that students who were told they had a good night's sleep, even if they did not, performed better on attention and memory skill tests than those who had been informed they had slept badly, the Independent reported.
The researchers said what the students were told about their sleep is known as "placebo sleep" and the effect of that information was a placebo effect, which has to do with the person's mindset regarding his or her treatment.
They concluded saying that these findings supported the hypothesis that mindset can influence cognitive states in both positive and negative directions, suggesting a means of controlling one's health and cognition.
The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition.
