Why the Placebo Effect is Real

The placebo effect is real and it’s here to stay. In the latest study to prove that fake pills help patients feel better just as much as “real” drugs, researchers at the Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter at Harvard have found that sugar pills can reduce migraine pain.

When patients with migraines were given a fake pill under the expectation that they were receiving a drug intended to relieve headache pain, the researchers found that the patients experienced significant pain relief. In comparison, when these same patients received an active headache drug that was labelled incorrectly as “placebo,” pain relief was not as effective.

The Harvard researchers took the study one step further when they decided to tell the patients that they were swallowing nothing more potent than a sugar pill. The pain-relieving effects of the placebo remained undiminished despite having revealed the deception.

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