Page 60 - Time Special Edition Alternative Medicine (January 2020)
P. 60
Training
the Mind to
Reduce Stress
Our hurried, harried lives can make us sick. By changing the
way we think, we can take our brains in a different direction.
And where the brain goes, the body tends to follow
BY ALICE PARK
What’s the first thing you think about gens so that it can cede its share of the body’s en-
when you wake up each morning? Chances are, be- ergy store to other precincts that need to be primed
fore you open your eyes you’re already focused on for the impending onslaught. Muscles pull in more
the dozens of responsibilities that await you. Maybe oxygen, readying for action. Senses go on high alert.
your to-do list starts simply, with getting yourself Somebody might as well have scribbled “Stress
ready for work or packing the kids off to school. was here” across your forehead. And this is on a
But somewhere in those first split seconds you also relatively manageable day. Imagine the toll that
begin to dread the commute or fret about whether stress can take over time. Unchecked, those met-
the cable guy is actually going to show up this time. abolic changes can cause serious ailments, from
Then there’s that nagging pain in your tooth that high blood pressure to obesity to heart disease.
says you shouldn’t put off a visit to the dentist any Long-term stress also runs down cells, tissues and
longer. And don’t forget that you need to call your organs, making them degenerate before their time.
mother to see how Dad is doing after hip surgery. Clearly, when it comes to your fitness, the brain is
You’re not even out of bed, and you’re already men- as important as diet and exercise, because where it
tally exhausted. goes, the body tends to follow. They say the mind
As the clutter of thoughts tumbles into con- can triumph over matter. Harness it well, and it can
sciousness, your physical plant gears up accordingly. beat back sickness too.
Nerve circuits in your brain trip an alarm, letting As higher-order beings, we worry. We also plan
the rest of your body know that harrying times are and organize and ruminate: on average, at any given
ahead. Hormones tip your heart to pump faster. The time we are balancing 150 uncompleted tasks and
immune system slows its patrol for invading patho- 15 unaccomplished goals. Hence the worrying.
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