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Exercise May Help Increase Levels of “good” Cholesterol
Although exercise may help improve cholesterol levels in general, a certain exercise known as step aerobics may help
increase levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol. Increased levels of HDL cholesterol have been shown to have a protective
effect against heart disease. Researchers from Baskent University in Ankara, Turkey, studied 45 sedentary women in college
for approximately eight weeks. Some of the women participated in step aerobics (three days a week for 45 minutes each day),
some participated in traditional dance aerobics for the same time period and the other women did not participate in physical
activity. After the eight-week period, both groups of active women saw a reduction in their total cholesterol levels. However,
those women who participated in the step aerobics also saw an increase in their HDL cholesterol levels. The findings were
published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness.
What is the philosophy of Yoga?
"The philosophy of yoga is that it focuses on the combination of body, mind, and spirit," It is connecting with
your self on a deeper basis.
Yoga is about quieting the fluctuations of the mind.
For instance, If you are doing yoga, but you're thinking about work or grocery shopping, it's not yoga -- its
exercise, With yoga, you need to bring your focus into the present.
It provides a sense of peacefulness and well-being while energizing you at the same time.
Physically doing the asanas (the yoga poses) is translated as that which is steady and with ease. There is a
stability within the poses and within your mind. Yoga can make you very fit, it conditions your muscles, it energizes you,
it helps you breathe, gives you more tone and balance, and more of a feeling of goodness about yourself.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is the practice of focusing your attention to help you feel calm and give
you a clear awareness about your life. Eastern philosophies have recognized the health benefits of meditation for thousands
of years. Meditation is now widely practiced in the West, with the belief that it has positive effects on health.
Two meditation techniques are most commonly used: concentrative and mindful.
- Concentrative meditation focuses on a single image, sound, mantra (words spoken or sung in a pattern), or your own breathing.
- Mindful meditation does not focus on a single purpose; rather, you are aware of all thoughts, feelings, sounds, or images
that pass through your mind.
Meditation usually involves slow, regular breathing and sitting quietly for 15 to 20 minutes.
Laughter's Effects on the Body
In the last few decades, researchers have studied laughter's effects on the body and turned up some potentially interesting
information on how it affects us:
- Blood flow. Researchers at the University of Maryland studied the effects on blood vessels when people
were shown either comedies or dramas. After the screening, the blood vessels of the group who watched the comedy behaved normally
-- expanding and contracting easily. But the blood vessels in people who watched the drama tended to tense up, restricting
blood flow.
- Immune response. Increased stress is associated with decreased immune system response, says Provine.
Some studies have shown that the ability to use humor may raise the level of infection-fighting antibodies in the body and
boost the levels of immune cells, as well.
- Blood sugar levels. One study of 19 people with diabetes looked at the effects of laughter on blood sugar
levels. After eating, the group attended a tedious lecture. On the next day, the group ate the same meal and then watched
a comedy. After the comedy, the group had lower blood sugar levels than they did after the lecture.
- Relaxation and sleep. The focus on the benefits of laughter really began with Norman Cousin's memoir,
Anatomy of an Illness. Cousins, who was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful spine condition, found that
a diet of comedies, like Marx Brothers films and episodes of Candid Camera, helped him feel better. He said that ten minutes
of laughter allowed him two hours of pain-free sleep.
Boost Your Health With a Dose of Gratitude
If you want to get healthier, give thanks.
What would happen if we extended the tradition of giving thanks, typically celebrated just once a year during the holiday
season, throughout the entire year? Such gratitude would be rewarded with better health, say researchers.
Can just a positive emotion such as gratitude guarantee better health? It may be a dramatic departure from what we've
been taught about how to get healthier, but the connection between gratitude and health actually goes back a long way.
"Thousands of years of literature talk about the benefits of cultivating gratefulness as a virtue," says University of
California Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons. Throughout history, philosophers and religious leaders have extolled
gratitude as a virtue integral to health and well-being. Now, through a recent movement called positive psychology, mental
health professionals are taking a close look at how virtues such as gratitude can benefit our health. And they're reaping
some promising results.
Benefits of Gratitude
Grateful people -- those who perceive gratitude as a permanent trait rather than a temporary state of mind -- have an edge
on the not-so-grateful when it comes to health, according to Emmons' research on gratitude. "Grateful people take better care
of themselves and engage in more protective health behaviors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, regular physical examinations,"
Stress Buster
It's no secret that stress can make us sick, particularly when we can't cope with it. It's linked to several leading causes
of death, including heart disease and cancer, and claims responsibility for up to 90% of all doctor visits. Gratitude, it
turns out, can help us better manage stress. "Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have
tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress," Emmons says.
Immune Booster
Grateful people tend to be more optimistic, a characteristic that researchers say boosts the immune system. "There are
some very interesting studies linking optimism to better immune function," says Lisa Aspinwall, PhD, a psychology professor
at the University of Utah. In one, researchers comparing the immune systems of healthy, first-year law students under stress
found that, by midterm, students characterized as optimistic (based on survey responses) maintained higher numbers of blood
cells that protect the immune system, compared with their more pessimistic classmates.
Optimism also has a positive health impact on people with compromised health. In separate studies, patients confronting
AIDS, as well as those preparing to undergo surgery, had better health outcomes when they maintained attitudes of optimism.
Gratitude in the Face of Loss
Even in the face of tremendous loss or tragedy, it's possible to feel gratitude. In fact, adversity can boost gratitude,
recent findings show. In a web-based survey tracking the personal strengths of more than 3,000 American respondents, researchers
noted an immediate surge in feelings of gratitude after Sept. 11, 2001.
Why would such a tragic event provoke gratitude, and what is its impact? Christopher Peterson, PhD, the University of Michigan
psychologist who posted the survey, attributes this surge in gratitude among Americans post 9/11 to a sense of increased belonging.
These feelings offered more than community building. Gratitude in the aftermath of 9/11 helped buffer people against the negative
effects of stress, making them less likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, explains Emmons.
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