The state of happiness in our daily lives has proven to be serious marker on biological functions that are associated with disease. The old adage “laughter is the best medicine” is true!
Moods are connected to our master glands and the hormones released by those master glands.
Our master glands are powerful tools. The body uses these glands to self-produce its own arsenal of drugs; dopamine, serotonin, relaxin and oxytocin. Once released into our blood stream, they send signals to the body to produce more immune cells.
Experiencing emotions like stress, fear and anger relay signals to the master glands to release powerful hormones. These include cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline. The signals our bodies receive in this condition is the “fight or flee” urge rather than rest and repair. This type of stress ends up raising blood pressure.
Additonally, cortisol, one of the stress hormones released from our master glands, has been linked with conditions such as hypertension and type II diabetes
The proof is in…people who are happier with their daily lives produce healthier levels of key chemicals than those who aren’t.
This “double-duty” by the master glands essentially puts us in control. We are the ones empowered to control signals to our master glands via our emotional state on what hormones to release. Those that increase happiness and give a boost to the immune system or those that cause the “flight or fight” mode to kick in.
Managing emotions is a huge boost to the immune system and fighting cancer or any disease requires a fine-tuned, empowered immune system.
Kelly Turner, Ph.D. author of “Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds,” performed studies on radical-remission survivors (people who survived cancer against all odds).
Out of nine healing factors they all had in common, three of them were directly connected to their emotions:
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- Releasing suppressed emotions
- Increasing positive emotions
- Embracing social support
The body’s best line of defense is a boost in white blood cells. Enjoying a heartfelt belly-laugh or genuine happiness for five minutes is empowered to do this. It seems random kindness and simple acts towards ourselves help keep us healthy.
Studies back it up –
We cannot expect a healthy balanced body if our mind is constantly stressed and full of negativity because they work as a team.
Studies performed on 216 middle-ages men and women living in London, UK revealed that “The happier we are, the lower our cortisol levels during the day” and further more “for men, but not women, the happier we are the lower our average heart rate is.”
It’s time to start focusing more on the positive effects that “happy states” produce and give less attention to destructive emotions like anger and depression.
It’s way too easy to get caught up in our busy lives and forget to address those things that truly make is happy. The very things that provide optimum health benefits.
Happiness is personal. There is no magical or mysterious formula that can take us there. It is a journey we take daily and the best way to be happy is to spend time doing what we love to do.
A person’s health is one of the strongest predictors of happiness in life. It’s happiness that gets us there and keeps us there.
Happy people are healthier people. They have healthier cardiovascular systems and stronger hearts with less risk of contracting diseases like diabetes.
Keep your mind relaxed and as stress free as possible. Focus on feeling genuine happiness as often as you can. Watch the physical health of your body improve.
“Wellness Wake Up Call” can help you do just that…
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