2700: How Does Spiritual Health Relate to Your Overall Wellness?

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily and I'm Dr. Neal, your host of the show.

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey there and welcome back to another special Friday edition of Optimal Health Daily where I answer your questions.

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: On the other days, I read health and fitness blogs to you kind of like an ongoing audiobook.

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, I'm gonna keep this intro nice and short so we can get right to today's question and start optimizing your life.

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Today's question came via email.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Kira writes,

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Hello, I had a question I'd like to hear discussed.

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: What can you say about spiritual health being related to overall health? Thanks.

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for taking the time to send in your question, Kira.

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: I really don't end up talking about spiritual health all that much on this podcast so I'm really glad you asked about this.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00]: A book I often do talk about on this show is The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner.

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_00]: In the book, Dan Buettner talks about 20 years of research on those areas around the world where people tend to live the longest.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And not only do they live longer but they often live happier and healthier lives than the rest of the world too.

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: So the author dubbed these areas of the world Blue Zones.

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_00]: And the author found that those that live the longest, happiest and healthiest lives tend to have a few things in common.

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And spoiler alert, they all relate to lifestyle habits.

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And here are just some of those lifestyle habits these Blue Zones have in common.

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: They tend to eat whole foods more often like fruits and veggies.

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_00]: They tend to stop eating before they feel stuffed.

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: They socialize very often.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: They get enough sleep most nights.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: They move quite a bit each day.

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_00]: They manage their stress.

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_00]: They're involved in their communities.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And they tend to nurture their religion or their spirituality.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Now if you or anyone has been listening to this podcast for any length of time really, even just a week,

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: you're probably already familiar with the health benefits of most of the habits I just mentioned.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: But let's dive a bit deeper into that last one, religion and spirituality.

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Here's what Blue Zones author Dan Buettner says about religion and spirituality specifically.

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_00]: People who pay attention to their spiritual side have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, depression, stress and suicide.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And their immune systems seem to work better.

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Now before we dive into how and why this is possible, let's separate the idea of religion and spirituality.

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, could someone define themselves as spiritual but not religious?

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, absolutely. Here's why.

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Being religious means we belong to or follow a certain religion.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Those that follow a specific religion usually attend services within a community of those that share similar beliefs.

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_00]: This means they're socializing that happens automatically and regularly.

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And this idea of socializing regularly relates to other Blue Zone lifestyle habits like socialize often and getting involved in your community.

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, most studies have found that attending religious services within the community probably reduces our risk for chronic disease and early death the most.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Now spirituality is a bit different. Being spiritual may or may not involve a religious component.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: There are lots of definitions of spirituality but here's the one I like best.

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: The recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is purpose to my life and that this purpose is greater than myself.

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_00]: So that means someone can be religious and spiritual but it can also mean that someone can be spiritual but not religious.

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Meaning they can believe that their life has a purpose and they believe in a higher power but they don't follow a specific religion.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: So being religious or spiritual may be helpful when trying to incorporate another Blue Zone habit, managing stress.

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_00]: This is because those that are religious or spiritual may better understand that life events are often not within our control.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_00]: They may believe that what we experience happens for a reason.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, a religious person may believe that life events are in God's hands.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Since life events are not necessarily within our complete control, it can relieve some of the stressful feelings we experience.

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Similarly, a spiritual person may interpret life events as part of their life's purpose or journey and as a result this attitude can relieve stress.

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_00]: That's because as I've talked about many times before, much of the stress we experience is having a lack of control.

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_00]: But if we give up that control to a higher power or to our life's purpose, it can relieve stress.

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Now there are some biases that exist with this type of research.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Specifically the majority of the published studies up until this point tended to include those that identify with Judeo-Christian religions.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: So does that mean that those that follow Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Shinto and so on also experience these same health benefits?

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't know until researchers actually study them.

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_00]: The other downside is the issue of time.

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, how often do we need to dedicate time to religion or spirituality?

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's think about exercise for a minute.

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_00]: We have very clear guidelines on exercise.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity activities most or all days of the week.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: We have similar guidelines for nutrition.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Try to consume at least 5-9 combined servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: These guidelines exist because many, many studies have found that following these specific recommendations will likely keep us healthy.

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: But what are the recommendations for religion and spirituality?

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: There aren't any.

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_00]: So at this point we don't know whether you need to spend 30 minutes a day or 30 minutes a week dedicated to your religion or to spirituality.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: For now it's really up to you.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Now lastly, can someone that's not religious or spiritual still live a long happy and healthy life?

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Remember that many of the benefits of being religious or spiritual relate back to other helpful lifestyle habits like being active in your community and being social.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you again for taking the time to send in your question, Kira.

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Now if you want to submit a question to be answered right here on the show, you can email it to health at oldpodcast.com.

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_00]: You can also call in your question.

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: The number is 161-ILOVE-OHD.

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: That's 1-614-568-3643.

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Or you can submit your audio question on the web at oldpodcast.com slash ask.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: You can even listen back to your message and do retakes before officially sending it in.

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, that's oldpodcast.com slash ask.

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, but that'll do it for another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for listening every day and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.