Crossing your arms reduces the intensity of pain you feel when receiving a painful stimulus on the hand, according to research by scientists at University College London. Published in the current issue of the journal PAIN, the research shows that crossing your arms over the midline (an imaginary line running vertically down the centre of the body) confuses the brain and reduces the intensity of the pain sensation. Scientists believe that the reason for this phenomenon is due to conflicting information between two of the brain’s maps – the one for you body and the one for external space.
