The Mind-Body Connection

Every year our family plough through heaps of magazines looking for inspirational words we can cut out and make a collage that will represent our goals and aspirations for the year....... Last night we got around to do that for 2012 and like always, there were pauses during the evening as we would get caught in reading the articles. There were at times, not much cutting and pasting being done....

I was just as guilty as the boys and their father, but instead of pausing to read, I liked what I read so much I started ripping pages and pages out, not to cut up and use as a collage but because 1)the Good Health Magazine is the best magazine find in a long time and 2) the articles were just too good to be cut up - instead they needed to feature in the 5n2mins blog ;-)

One of the articles I managed to salvage in time was called the Mind-Body Connection by Helen Foster who writes "Your feelings and the way you interact with others, impact on your overall health in some surprising ways" Of the 12 surprising ways your feelings can impact on your health, I have chosen my top 5 - not the top 5 easiest but rather the top 5 I need to concentrate on!.

Expressing love can help to lower your cholesterol

After Professor Kory Floyd from Arizona State University asked a group of people with high cholesterol to write about their loved ones three times a week, they ended up with lower cholesterol levels than the group not involved in writing the love notes. Isn't that amazing - so I'm going to express my love towards my family more often AND eat healthy as well - because I may not be a genuis but I know that what goes in my mouth has to be sorted as well.

Too much anger can upset your gums

Experts at Harvard university found that men who were regularly angry were 72 per cent more likely to have gum disease than calmer men. It is thought that the insulin produced to get your anger on - is the link. I already have sick gums - so getting my anger sorted can help with my gums - who knew right?!

Boredom might kill you

Research by Anne Britton and Martin Shipley of the University College of London found that people who regularly claim to be bored are - wait for it - wait, wait, wait - are two-and-a half times more likely to die in the next 20 years than people who were stimulated. No way, right? Nothing to worry about if you just plain boring because as Britton explains "the state of boredom is almost certainly a proxy for other risk factors rather than a direct cause of death" meaning when you are bored you are more likely to smoke, drink, do drugs and those kinds of things get you killed..... phew!

Positive Thinking Boosts Antibodies

US Scientist Richard Davidson found when researching people's reactions to the flu vaccination, that the pople that were the most optimistic had the highest level of antibodies. So, note to self: here's another reason to listen to your mother whose last words before she passed - be positive!!!

Forgiveness can Help Fight Pain

Experts have shown that forgiving people actually reduces chronic problems such as back pain....according to Dr James Carson of Oregon Health and Science University. Author David Hamilton also points out that forgiveness meditation - where you focus on good things for others - also raises endorphins, the body's natural painkillers..... So you guessed it - another note to self: focus on the good in others and don't keep grudges!

I have some work to do.... how about you? Any mind-body connections that you know of.....

Yours in friendship

Mxo