Then start fantasizing about all your favorite foods ’cause a new study has found that this seems to be a possible way of coping with chronic and acute pain.

The study had

“…60 healthy subjects to submerge their hand in icy water to determine their pain threshold and tolerance. During the second round, participants were instructed to imagine a favorite meal in detail, a neutral scene, such as people walking, or they were not instructed to fantasize about anything.”

The results, according to Dr. Hamid Hekmat, professor of psychology and lead author of the study, was that

‘…food fantasies such as imagining eating your favorite ice cream, chocolate cake or meal had a strong pain-attenuating effect. It enhanced mood, reduced anxiety, and helped coping with ice water pain.”

So what foods did the participants fantasize about…

Well, it’s probably no surprise that chocolate topped the list as the most common food fantasy, with 32% of the participants focusing in it’s mouthwatering qualities.

The next most common…

31% of the participants went for roast dinners, followed by pasta (14 percent), pizza (8 percent) and fruit (4 percent.)

So next time you’ve got a migrane or sore toe, why not try visualizing about that delicious roast dinner, chocolate bar, or banana split.

You never know, it might just do the trick…

(news source)

Post from: Healthbolt