In a June 2003 Nursing magazine article, nurses are encouraged to use imagery with their patients, stating: “people with strong imaginations, those who can literally “worry themselves sick” are excellent candidates for using imagery to improve their health.”
The article further states that “imagery has documented physiologic effects: It can lower blood pressure, decrease heart rate, and affect brain wave activity, oxygen supply to the tissues, vascular constriction, skin temperature, cochlear and pupillary reflexes, skin response, salivation, and gastrointestinal activity.