All studies / No. 2
No. 2 · THE BLIND TEST · PLACEBO FIRST
For the first 16 hours, it was secretly switched off.
The fair question about any study: was it real, or did people just expect to feel better? So a doctor in Romania ran a blind test.
- Who ran it
- Dr. Alin Horea Suta, Quantum Clinic, Oradea, Romania
- People
- 44 adults, ages 24 to 85. An earlier group of 41 pointed the same way.
- How it worked
- Two-hour sessions. The first 16 hours with the system secretly off (the screens looked the same), then up to 32 hours really on. Nobody was told when.
- Measured with
- A blood test for the body’s own antioxidant, a heart-rhythm chest strap, 20 brain sensors, and stress questionnaires
What they found
| Measure | Switched off (placebo) | Really on |
|---|---|---|
| Blood: antioxidant protection got better | 9 of 40 people | 21 of 40 people |
| Heart: the body’s “relax” brake (typical rise in heart-rhythm flexibility) | +6% | +18% |
| Brain: calm-but-awake pattern | 22% of people | 63% of people |
| Stress: felt less stressed | 25 of 44 people | 37 of 44 people |
Feeling calmer went up in both phases, because expectation is powerful. The blood, the heart and the brain changed mainly when it was really on.
This is the only study in this guide with a placebo phase. People didn’t know which phase they were in.