The brain, for all its wondrous abilities, is very easy to trick. We see it all the time with the placebo effect — doctors prescribing sugar pills or performing sham surgeries have found real health benefits. Studies have revealed that just rinsing your mouth out with a drink containing carbohydrates can improve your performance and reduce your perception of effort. Sometimes, having less information, or the wrong information, can actually be better, especially when it comes to endurance.