This article is part of a special series exploring the radical potential of the human imagination. Read more here.
Feeling stressed about an upcoming event? Imagine, for a moment, that you have a magic anti-anxiety pill in front of you that will take away your nerves. Picture its packaging, and feel yourself popping the pill from its foil. Now, visualise bringing it to your mouth, dropping it in, and conjure up the sensation of swallowing it.
These were the instructions that and his colleagues at the University of Basel in Switzerland gave participants in investigating the possibilities of the placebo effect. The participants, university students who were studying for an exam, were instructed to repeat the procedure twice a day for three weeks.
Remarkably, it worked 鈥 those who took an imaginary pill experienced less test anxiety than control participants who were simply asked to report their anxiety levels as the exam approached. 鈥淎nd their performance was significantly better,鈥 says Gaab.
It is now well accepted that placebo pills can sometimes relieve symptoms, and the results from Gaab and his team suggest we can achieve the same effect when that pill exists only in our mind. It is just one of many surprising ways that imagination may help to improve our health, happiness and success. So, what can we do to make the most of these benefits?
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Why visualisation works
The power of visualisation is well known in sports science. 鈥淢ultisensory imagery is a game changer when it comes to performance,鈥 says 鈥嬧 at the University of Plymouth, UK. 鈥淚f you can rehearse all the challenges that you might come up against, you鈥檒l be better prepared in the moment.鈥
When imagining a movement, we often activate the same areas of the brain associated with its execution. These mental rehearsals or simulations help refine the neural pathways we use to perform the task for real, and so can improve our performance.
For instance, researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Chester, both in the UK, to mentally rehearse bunker shots twice a week for six weeks. A second group was told to practise on a real course, while a third was asked to use both kinds of practice. Both the mental and the physical practice groups 鈥嬧媔mproved more than a control group who didn鈥檛 practise at all 鈥 but the greatest gains were made by those who combined the two.
Mental rehearsal has been shown to offer similar benefits for 鈥嬧媑ymnasts and 鈥嬧媌asketball players, while a 鈥嬧 found that performance improved across different skill levels and settings. And it isn鈥檛 just athletes who can reap these rewards: that musicians can enhance their speed and timing accuracy 鈥嬧媤ith mental practice.
鈥淭here鈥檚 now a lot of evidence,鈥 says 鈥嬧 at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy. 鈥淚 think that a lot of the techniques that come from the sports side will definitely be helpful in health as well.鈥
Pagnini points to a recent study by 鈥嬧 at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands and her colleagues: participants were asked to hold their hands in a bucket of icy water, first without any guidance on what to think and then later imagining that they were wearing a warm, waterproof glove.
Peerdeman that when participants imagined wearing a glove, they reported a reduction in their pain. Findings like these could have clinical applications. Other studies have suggested that guided imagery can reduce the pain experienced by people 鈥媑oing through or 鈥嬧
If you struggle to conjure up mental imagery or scenarios (see 鈥淔ive tests will help you understand the full scope of your imagination鈥), don鈥檛 worry 鈥 suggests we can all develop these skills. In 2023, he tested the multisensory imagination of 329 athletes, selecting the 27 with the lowest scores. Half of these athletes were given 鈥渇unctional imagery training鈥, while the rest were put on a waiting list. The training included individual coaching that expanded on whatever vague images and sensations the participants could already imagine. For example, they might be presented with photos or sounds that would help to place them in the necessary scenario and then encouraged to elaborate.
Sure enough, the first group developed more vivid imaginations compared with the controls on the waiting list, who also improved once they were allowed to take part in the training. Importantly, the effects lasted for six months after the training ended. 鈥淪ome people react really quickly, and love it,鈥 says 鈥嬧婻hodes.
Rhodes emphasises that improving your imagination is an incremental process. He recommends starting with a sense that is relatively easy to imagine and slowly adding more details as your confidence builds. 鈥淧lay around,鈥 he says. 鈥淏e an experimenter.鈥
How to daydream your way to new ideas
The uses of imagination aren鈥檛 limited to controlled visualisation. We can also benefit from directionless daydreaming, when we allow our thoughts to wander from idea to idea. Evidence suggests that daydreaming can be allowing the brain freedom to form connections between disparate elements and, hopefully, to come up with something original.
Those light-bulb moments 鈥嬧, however. In general, you need to have done some preparation first, researching the area or consciously brainstorming a few initial ideas. Then you need to allow some鈥, setting aside whatever you are working on and not consciously thinking about it.
Go for a stroll, take a shower or 鈥嬧媏ven a nap, and allow your brain to 鈥嬧媟elax the constraints on its thinking. And, as you daydream during or after these activities, you may find that an ingenious new idea floats into your mind of its own accord.
