Priming, mindfulness and placebo effect. Association with health, physical exercise and non-structured physical activity. A systematic review of the literature

Objectives. A systematic review of the literature was made that aimed to analyze the influence of priming, mindfulness and the placebo effect on health, exercise and non programmed physical activity. Methods. A systematic research of studies was made in Pubmed and Psycinfo involving the practice of structured exercise and physical activity in general, the influence of interventions based on priming, mindfulness, and an analysis of placebo effect on participant’s health. Results. Four studies were included in this review. Despite some limitations there seem to exist evidence that subliminal psychological process such as priming can influence behaviour in motor tasks and bring benefits in body composition and blood pressure via the placebo effect. The mindfulness seems to be associated with a facilitation of healthy behavior change. Conclusion. There seems to be an indication that placebo effect has an important role in health benefits which come from exercise, namely in terms of body composition assessment, blood pressure and psychological benefits. Priming and mindfulness may act as valid instruments facilitating and modifying people behavior’s, and seem able to potentiate placebo effect in certain situations(AU)