New Study Demonstrates That Just Thinking of a Loved One Reduces Pain

by News Release : Nov 17, 2009 : EurekAlert

"The study found that when women were holding their boyfriends' hands, they reported less physical pain than when they were holding a stranger's hand or a ball while receiving the same amount of heat stimulation...This changes our notion of how social support influences people."

REPORTER'S NOTE: I hated going to the dentist when I was a little girl. The only thing that got me through the ordeal was my mother, who would always hold my hand when I needed a shot of Novocain or was getting my tooth drilled. Over the years, I've learned to focus on God's Presence when I'm facing pain. Still, what is it about the men (and mothers) in our lives holding our hands that produces this calm? I think it's spiritual; a way God allows humans to connect in a deeper way. -Teresa Neumann, BCN.

A new study by UCLA psychologists suggests tha, just the thought of a loved one reduces pain, underscoring the importance of social relationships and staying socially connected.

The study, which asked whether simply looking at a photograph of your significant other can reduce pain, involved 25 women, mostly UCLA students, who had boyfriends with whom they had been in a good relationship for more than six months.

The women received moderately painful heat stimuli to their forearms while they went through a number of different conditions. In one set of conditions, they viewed photographs of their boyfriend, a stranger and a chair.

"When the women were just looking at pictures of their partner, they actually reported less pain to the heat stimuli than when they were looking at pictures of an object or pictures of a stranger," said study co-author Naomi Eisenberger, assistant professor of psychology and director of UCLA's Social and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory. "Thus, the mere reminder of one's partner through a simple photograph was capable of reducing pain."

"This changes our notion of how social support influences people," she added. "Typically, we think that in order for social support to make us feel good, it has to be the kind of support that is very responsive to our emotional needs. Here, however, we are seeing that just a photo of one's significant other can have the same effect."

In another set of conditions, each woman held the hand of her boyfriend, the hand of a male stranger and a squeeze ball. The study found that when women were holding their boyfriends' hands, they reported less physical pain than when they were holding a stranger's hand or a ball while receiving the same amount of heat stimulation.

"This study demonstrates how much of an impact our social ties can have on our experience and fits with other work emphasizing the importance of social support for physical and mental health," Eisenberger said.

One practical piece of advice the authors give is that the next time you are going through a stressful or painful experience, if you cannot bring a loved one with you, a photo may do.

   

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Aimee Herd, Editor

Teresa Neumann, Reporter