Increasing handgrip strength through the post-hypnotic suggestion of strength
- Conditions
- Hand grip strength of healthy participants
- Registration Number
- DRKS00032788
- Lead Sponsor
- niversitätsklinikum Jena
- Brief Summary
Hypnosis can enhance athletic performance, such as improving soccer and basketball skills (Barker et al., 2010; Schreiber, 1991). In our study, we investigate whether hypnosis can also affect muscle strength. Prior research on the impact of hypnotic suggestions on muscle strength shows heterogeneous results. This study aims to investigate the impact of hypnotic suggestions of strength on physiological strength parameters, update research, and clarify previous findings. To measure strength, we use handgrip strength that is easy to measure and indicates not only muscle strength, but also the general medical condition (e.g. lung function - Chen at al., 2020). We developed a hypnosis intervention that makes participants feel strong. Specifically, they received suggestions to feel strong in their hand and arm. With a link to a post-hypnotic anchor, in our study a star-shaped hand, participants could evoke the positive feeling of strength after hypnosis in their everyday life. We measured objective handgrip strength via a hand dynamometer, and the subjective feeling of strength with a visual analogue scale (VAS) and questionnaires. We tested the effect of the post-hypnotic anchor on two experimental sessions, one in which the post-hypnotic anchor was installed (day 1) and one week later (day 8) (long-term). We also had a randomized control group that did not receive hypnosis. We found no statistically significant differences in objective handgrip strength between groups for all measurement points. However, participants in the hypnosis group showed a significant long-term increase in objective strength compared to their own baseline, evident one week post-intervention (day 8) but not immediately after the intervention. Participants in the hypnosis group felt significantly stronger than the control group immediately after hypnosis, but not long-term on day 8 after activating the post-hypnotic anchor. Participants in the hypnosis group felt significantly stronger with their post-hypnotic anchor compared to their own baseline, both in the first and second experimental session. Our data indicate that hypnotic suggestions of strength can influence handgrip strength on both objective and subjective levels. We show that participants who received hypnotic suggestions of strength significantly improved their subjective and objective strength compared to their own baseline. The increase in subjective strength in the hypnosis group was more prominent and revealed earlier than the increase in objective strength that was only significant one week after the hypnosis session. We conclude that our hypnosis intervention primarily affects strength perception and secondary objective strength. In turn, objective strength that we measured via hand grip strength indicates a better general medical condition, so our findings support the use of hypnosis techniques to help athletes to improve their sport performance and patients to regain their health after a medical intervention.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- Complete
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 48
Good German language skills
Psychiatric disease
Study & Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Hand grip strength, measured via an ISO-certified electronic hand dynamometer as well as subjective hand grip strength, measured via visual analogue scale
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Hypnosis depth, measured via the ISHD questionnaire (Inventory of Hypnotic Depth)