Are You Thinking Yourself Sick? A New Study Says It's Possible

Have you ever been convinced you were coming down with something, even before you had any symptoms? A new study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that people who consider themselves to be unhealthy or susceptible to colds, for example, do in fact get sick more often. The mind is a powerful thing, friends.

Researchers studied 360 healthy adults with an average age of 33. The participants assessed their own health as either excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. The group was then exposed to the cold virus and then monitored for five days for any signs of illness.

Here's what happened: People who rated their own health as poor had a "greater susceptibility to developing clinical illness." And while researchers did not say these factorscaused the cold virus to take hold, it's worth noting that "poorer self-rated health also correlated with poorer health practices, increased stress, [and] lower positive emotions."

The conclusion? Think positive! Reframe those thoughts of "Ugh, everyone is coughing, I'm probably going to get sick" to "I'm going to get a great night's sleep and I'll be fine. I'm healthy." It certainly can't hurt. 

Courtesy: MSN