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2 Key Things To Do For Physical and Mental Well-Being
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Go to the next Page for an excellent Article By Sandy Clare in S!nny Side "# Fro$ The Star 2 A#ril 2%&'
6 Caring for chro$oso$es AP()* 2+ 2%&' *),)G+ ,).WP/)TS 0Fro$ The Star A#ril 2+ 2%&'1 B SAD C*A(K.
If you’re someone who experiences regular bouts of pressure and have ever thought, “This has taen years off me!, it turns out you could be right" In decades past, medical professionals believed the main ris factors for disease included habits such as smoing, poor diet, lac of exercise, and high blood pressure" #tress wasn’t considered to pose a genuine ris" $owever, in recent years scientists have found that stress can have a significant impact on our health" In 2%%&, molecular biologist 'li(abeth )lacburn won the *obel +ri(e for her research into the antiageing process" The research showed that stress degrades the protective tips of our chromo chromosom somes es -calle -called d “telom “telomeres eres!." !." 'very 'very time time our cells cells divide divide,, part part of the telomeres breas off" /hen the cell divides too many times, these protective tips are lost, which increases the ris of ma0or conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and a weaened immune system" ne study, which monitored people who lived with high levels of stress, found that, over time, there was an average of seven years lost due to how these highly stressed people lived their lives" Thanfully, this isn’t a fate we’re bound to suffer, even if we do experience intense periods of stress" ur bodies produce an en(yme called telomerase that lengthens the protective tips of our chromosomes, and one vital step we can tae to help h elp this process is to learn how to manage our stress" ccor ccordi ding ng to the the /orld rld $eal $ealth th rga rgani nisa sati tion on,, ment mental al ill illhe heal alth th -whi -which ch incl includ udes es depress depression ion,, stress stress and anxiet anxiety. y. will will be the bigges biggestt burden burden of diseas diseasee by 2%3%" 2%3%" The importance of stress management is hardly a new idea, but as +rof )lacburn suggests, we’re now only beginning to realise 0ust how important it is to reduce our stress at a cellular level" #o, what can be done to aid the process of lengthening our telomeres to increase our chances of good health and longevity +rof )lacburn highlights exercise as a ey tonic, and stresses that we needn’t be marathon runners in order to expand our chromosome protectors" In an interview with The 4uardian newspaper in )ritain, she said, “+eople who do moderate aerobic exercise 5 about three times a wee for 67 minutes 5 have telomeres pretty much as long as marathon runners!, runn ers!, adding that telomere shortness is particularly strong in people who partae in little to no physical exercise" 'ven 1%17 minutes of light exercise every day can have a beneficial effect on the antiageing process"
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n alternative option that research suggests has a considerable effect on telomere growth is meditation" /hen we’re under pressure, the stress hormone cortisol begins to flood our system" This is useful in times when, for example, we need to perform efficiently or focus intently on a tas" $owever, when we’re in distress 5 and when there’s no release 5 cortisol eeps us in a state of fightorflight, which suppresses our immune system, causes inflammation, and raises our blood sugar levels" #everal studies studies have suggested that regular regular practices practices such as mindfulnes mindfulnesss meditation meditation or lovingindness meditation, are effective in reducing our stress levels, as they help to lower our breathing, pulse rate, blood pressure and metabolism rates" s little as 1% minutes every day over eight wees can considerably improve our psychological and physical wellbeing" nd while it’s easy to believe the stress that causes us damage comes via traumatic or overwhelming experiences, most of the damage for the body and mind happens when we constantly experience little stresses that build up over time without release" ne reason to explain why this is a growing problem is because we’re often so caught up with being switched on all the time that we forget to unplug regularly, to relax and unwind" /hile most of us lead busy lives, it’s a safe bet to assume that we can all find a spare 1% minutes in our day to destress" The 8en mon Thich *hat $anh recently said that we are so busy that even our text messages and emails are rushed, adding, “/e always have time for at least one inbreath and outbreath before we press 9send’ on a text or email"! $ow true that is 5 there are few tass we perform so hurriedly as when we send messages to our friends and colleagues" The advice to slow down and tae time out on occasion has been around for thousands of years, and now science is able to confirm the wisdom behind some of the old teachings and philosophies pointing the way to good health" Ther There’ e’ss nothi nothing ng we tae tae for for gran grante ted d more more than than our body body and and mind mind"" /hil /hilee they they impressively endure all that we put them through, there’s only so much they can tae before problems start to occur" /ith this in mind, perhaps we should commit to giving them an occasional brea, which might help to add years onto our lives rather than tae them off" Sandy Clare has long held an interest interest in e$otions+ e$otions+ $ental health+ $indf!lness and $editation3 4e 5elie6es the $ore 7e !nderstand o!rsel6es and each other+ the 5etter soci societ etie iess 7e can can cre create3 ate3 )f yo! yo! ha6e ha6e any any 8! 8!eestio stions ns or co$$ co$$en ents ts++ e-$a e-$ail il star29thestar3co$3$y3
