Placebos Help Ease PMS – Even When You Know They’re Fake
- The Female Body
- May 1
- 2 min read
Women suffering from premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are seeing real improvements in their symptoms—even when they knowingly take placebo pills with no active ingredients, according to new research.
The study, led by Antje Frey Nascimento at the University of Basel, shows that the power of suggestion alone can bring noticeable relief, offering a low-cost, low-risk option for managing the emotional and physical challenges of PMS.
Real Relief From Sham Pills
PMS affects millions of people with periods, causing everything from anxiety and mood swings to cramps and fatigue. While previous research has shown that placebos can help if participants believe they might be taking real medication, this new study goes a step further—showing that even open-label placebos (where people are told up front that the pills are fake) can still work.
In the study, 150 women aged 18–45 in Switzerland with moderate to severe PMS were divided into three groups:
One group took daily placebo pills and were told they were inactive.
A second group also took the placebo, but received extra explanation about how placebos can help through the power of belief.
The third group didn’t take any pills, serving as the control.
All participants tracked their symptoms daily over two menstrual cycles.
Dramatic Improvements
By the end of the study:
Group 1 (placebo only) reported a 50% reduction in symptom intensity and disruption to daily life.
Group 2 (placebo + explanation) saw even more dramatic results: a 79% drop in symptom severity and 83% less interference with their lives.
Even the control group felt better, with a 33% reduction in symptoms—likely due to the psychological benefits of tracking and participating in the study.
“These are significant effects that people feel in real life,” said Stefan Schmidt of the University of Freiburg, who wasn’t involved in the research.
He explains that both conscious and subconscious expectations of relief can trigger real biological responses, such as the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers.
Why It Works
“We live in a pill-taking culture,” Schmidt notes. “Just the act of taking a pill—any pill—can activate expectations of healing.”
When people understand how placebos can help, those effects seem to intensify.
What's Next?
The researchers caution that more work is needed. Participants in this trial may have been more open to alternative treatments than the general population, and it’s unclear how long the placebo effects last or how they apply to different age groups or cultures.
Still, if larger studies confirm these findings, placebos could offer a safe, affordable way to ease PMS symptoms, and potentially other conditions too—no active drug required.
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