New research from Harvard University shows that a person’s perception of time can directly affect how fast wounds heal.
Previous studies have hinted at a link between the mind and body, particularly in relation to stress and lifestyle. However, this study is the first to show a direct connection between the perception of time and the seemingly autonomous process of healing, opening up the possibility of incorporating time perception into the treatment of injury.
HEALING AND HUMAN PERCEPTION OF TIME
Published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, the study conducted by Harvard psychologists Peter Aungle and Ellen Langer aimed to determine if the rate of healing was independent of the psychology of the patient or if their perceptions could accelerate or decelerate the healing process.
“Based on the theory of mind–body unity—which posits simultaneous and bidirectional influences of mind on body and body on mind—we hypothesized that wounds would heal faster or slower when perceived time was manipulated to be experienced as longer or shorter respectively,” the researches behind the finding write.
As noted, previous work had found connections between recovery from injury and stress levels, with higher levels of stress potentially interrupting a healthy recovery from injury, but those connections were thought to be primarily physiological in nature.
The researchers also note that previous work studying psychological influences on chronic pain, emotion, and physiological health, and even placebo effects, particularly those involving administration of inert medications, “have led to meaningful improvements in treatments for a broad range of illnesses and injuries.”
Still, this latest study is the first to look at the mindset of the individual, specifically their perception of the passage of time, in relation to recovery rates.
“We hypothesized that experimentally induced wounds would heal faster when more perceived time had passed and heal slower when less perceived time had passed,” the researchers explain, “despite no differences in actual elapsed time.”
Hellbound and Down 