Health Strategies Beyond Good Diet and Exercise

When people think of what it means to be “healthy,” often the first things that come to mind are regular exercise, nutritional eating and getting plenty of rest. These are indeed very important, but research shows that there are other strategies worth considering as well. This article looks at five of these "not so obvious" strategies that can help supplement the basics, when it comes to improving one's overall health and sense of well-being.

Get yourself a pet

Having a pet can lower blood pressure (BP). James J. Lynch, psychologist and best-selling author of The Broken Heart: the Medical Consequences of Loneliness, conducted research on cardiac patients and children, which demonstrated that contact with pets can lower blood pressure. His research showed that “those without pets had a fourfold increase in mortality rates compared to patients with pets.” His research also found that “the mere presence of a pet in a room with children had a dramatic effect on lowering their basal blood pressures.”

Another study out of SUNY Buffalo found that stockbrokers with pets had a less precipitous rise in blood pressure when under stress. Share this with the stockbrokers you know and love, especially during this economic climate!

Listen more

Dr. Lynch’s research also found that when people speak, their blood pressure naturally rises, yet when they listen it falls.

While listening is correlated with a falling BP, people with hypertension often fail to listen well and may be more guarded and defensive, which keeps the BP up. When experimenting with three different activities – reading aloud, staring at a blank wall, or watching fish in a tank – it was the latter activity of watching fish that was correlated with the lower BP. And, it was the first activity - speaking - that was correlated with the highest BPs. As Dr. Lynch noted, “attending calmly to the world outside yourself helps lower blood pressure.”

Since we all need to speak to communicate, Dr. Lynch noted that the ways to keep BP down is "by listening more, by breathing regularly while talking, by alternating between talking and paying attention to what the other person is saying." He added that those with hypertension need "treatments that teach them to focus on their relationships and how to communicate in a relaxed way."

For more ideas about ways to improve listening skills, check out karunaweb's article "Become a Better Listener."

Have a massage

Many people know that having a massage feels great - whether it's a bodywork session from a professional or a backrub from our sweetie. But are there substantial health benefits beyond that? While more comprehensive and systematic research needs to be done in this area, the answer at this stage is a promising "yes!"

According to the world-reknowned Mayo Clinic, research suggests that massage is helpful in the following ways:

--Decreasing anxiety
--Decreasing pain
--Improving infant growth in premature babies
--Reducing blood glucose levels in children through increased diet and medication compliance
--Improving immune function in those with HIV
--Improving self-esteem

A 2010 study out of Cedars-Sinai's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences demonstrated that a single massage can actually boost one's immune system. Mark Hyman Rapaport, MD and his team found that a 45-minute session of Swedish Massage Therapy resulted in lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, as well as positive changes in the percentage of cells that are associated with fighting disease.

In a CNN.com article entitled, "How Some Women Never Get Sick," the author suggests that a monthly massage and positive thinking can help women stave off colds. The article also recommends other strategies that may be helpful for women, including eating more garlic and taking a cold shower!

To learn more about massage – how it works and its’ benefits, visit MassageTherapy.com's information page.

Increase social contact

According to University of Chicago Professor John Cacioppo, loneliness may be as bad for your health as smoking, lack of exercise and obesity. You may want to read that sentence again. That's right, it may be as bad for you as smoking cigarettes, not exercising and being severely overweight.

"Loneliness not only alters behavior, but loneliness is related to greater resistance to blood flow through your cardiovascular system," Cacioppo said. "Loneliness leads to higher rises in morning levels of the stress hormone cortisol, altered gene expression in immune cells, poorer immune function, higher blood pressure and an increased level of depression.”

Cacioppo notes that it’s the quality, not quantity of relationships that matter. Spending time with others around whom you can really be yourself is important. If you don’t show yourself or if you hide parts of yourself, you likely won’t feel a strong sense of connection to others. That explains why sometimes people say that they feel lonely even when surrounded by others.

Need tips on how to make friends? Check out wikiHow's practical article on this subject

To read more about the impacts of social isolation, check out the following articles:

--Loneliness undermines health as well as mental well-being, from The Boston Globe

--PubMed's reference to the University of Chicago study on social isolation and health

--SFGate.com article by Katherine Seligman entitled “Social isolation a significant health issue”.

Learn mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness meditation is an ancient Buddhist practice dating back 2,500 years. It involves paying attention to the present moment, with a sense of openness and nonjudgment to whatever arises. Current research suggests that mindfulness practices can help improve physical, emotional and interpersonal well-being.

One study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that mindfulness meditation contributed to positive changes in the brain and one’s immune system. Dr. Richard Davidson led the study which showed a decrease in anxiety, more positive emotional states and improved immune function in those that engaged in mindfulness training.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is one specific type of mindfulness training that has been fairly well-studied. The program is comprised of eight weekly classes that include: mindfulness meditation, yoga, group discussions, and other exercises designed to develop one’s awareness - the key component of mindfulness.

The research findings on MBSR support its effectiveness in a variety of areas, including greater emotional well-being, lower stress and a reduction in medical symptoms (Williams, Kolar, Reger, and Pearson, 2001; Astin, 1997; Shapiro, Schwartz, and Bonner, 1998; Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth, and Burney, 1985).

To learn more about mindfulness in general, read karunaweb's article: "Mindfulness: What It Is and How To Do It"

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For additional tips on the important and well-known health strategy - stress reduction - read Stress Management 101.