Want Less Pain? Don’t Look Away
February 11, 2011
A recent study published in Psychological Science, is shedding light on how the brain processes pain. What you look at can influence how much pain you feel. Contrary to many people’s compulsion to look away during a painful event such as an injection, scientists found that looking at your body – in this case the hand – reduces the pain experienced.
The team also showed that magnifying the hand to make it appear larger cut pain levels further still. The researchers say that gaining a better understanding of this could lead to new treatments.
Watch this explanation and read the full story: BBC
APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website. Effective February 2021, you must be a logged-in APS member to post comments. By posting a comment, you agree to our Community Guidelines and the display of your profile information, including your name and affiliation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations present in article comments are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of APS or the article’s author. For more information, please see our Community Guidelines.
Please login with your APS account to comment.