Will a placebo boost my sports performance?

Available for over a year

This is an edited version of an episode of CrowdScience. In medicine, it’s long been recognised that a placebo, a sham medicine or treatment, can have a powerful positive effect on a patient’s health. Part of that effect relies on a person’s belief that an inactive substance or treatment (for example, a sugar pill) is in fact an active drug. Placebos come in many forms, and the scientific study of placebo is an active area of research. Anand Jagatia explores the world of endurance sport to find out how a placebo might be used to improve athletes’ performances, as well as his own, and look at how advances in brain science are helping us understand the unusual neurobiology of placebo. And what of the amateur golfer, or rugby or table tennis player - can a placebo help? On an individual level, so called ‘verbal placebo’ is a technique that can help players with anxiety, confidence and concentration, and ultimately make them win more. And what about team sports? When, say, a new manager takes over at an ailing football club, and sparks a massive reversal in poor results, is that a placebo effect in action? The CrowdScience team investigates. Produced by Dom Byrne, presented by Anand Jagatia.