When I was growing up, my family lived in a woodsy, isolated area. There were no houses on either side of us, and behind us were just acres of trees. My two sisters and I were convinced that the woods were full of bears that would sneak into our rooms at night. To help calm our nighttime anxieties, our mother sprinkled "bear powder" over our heads.
And it worked. We believed in the magic powder -- and we believed in our mom.
What my mother did by intuition is what scientists have been intrigued by for decades: the placebo effect. The term "placebo" refers to the sugar pills given to patients during medical trials -- researchers compare what happens if no drug is given to how the drug being tested works. They've found that a placebo can have an effect all its own. Tell someone she'll feel better if she takes a pill and she often will, even if it's a phony one.
The same goes for any kind of "fake" treatment. A person can even bring about a placebo effect: Studies have found that warm, reassuring doctors are better able to help people get well than cold, impersonal ones. The warm doctor may not be any more skilled than the cold one, but his patients respond better to his treatment because they like him.
Numerous studies have found that simply believing you'll feel better can lift depression, reduce pain, ease asthma attacks, and even make arthritic knees feel less creaky. Scientists don't know why, but whether a counterfeit cure works because it actually changes the way the brain works (as some research suggests) or simply because it's boosted by the power of suggestion, it still requires some faith in make-believe. That may be why kids, so quick to swallow that a chubby guy in a red suit can squeeze down a chimney, are so easily influenced by them. "To some extent, placebos are about the effect of the human imagination," says Ted Kaptchuk, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
And when they're administered by Mom or Dad or another beloved caregiver, they can be all the more potent. Ways for parents to enlist their child's imagination to dry a tear, ease an ouch, conquer a fear, and more:
Balms for bedtime
Nighttime can be scary. There are so many things to be afraid of in the dark -- bad dreams, ogres under the bed, bears in the woods. A stuffed teddy or favorite blankie can go a long way toward easing those fears. So can powders and elixirs created to keep creepy intruders away.
Dana Sullivan of Reno, Nevada, taught Liam, 8, and Julia, 6, to say "Good night" to the monsters that the two believed lurked in their bedroom. "I told them that the only reason monsters are mean and scary is that no one is ever nice to them, but that if we said 'Good night' and 'Good morning' to them, they'd be happy." Sullivan reports that so far the nightly custom is working well.
Anastasia Rubino, 7, of New Jersey, rubs her stuffed bunny's ear with lavender balm each night before she goes to sleep. While lavender may indeed have mild calming properties, Anastasia's dad, Frank, believes it's the ritual that comforts her.
Lesley Alderman, the health editor of Real Simple, is the mom of a 2-year-old and stepmom of a 12-year-old.
