2901: New Benefits of Mind-body Interventions by Carolyn Joyce with Psych Alive on Meditation and Yoga

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Health Daily, New Benefits of Mind-Body Interventions by Carolyn Joyce of PsychAlive.org and I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator. Hey there, happy Saturday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or OHD, where I act as your narrator of popular health and fitness blogs and always with a bit of my commentary at the end. Now don't forget, we have a bunch of shows covering different topics. Just search for Optimal Living Daily in any podcast app to find them.

[00:00:30] And with that, let's get right to it and start optimizing your life. New Benefits of Mind-Body Interventions by Carolyn Joyce of PsychAlive.org As someone whose worries frequently play at full volume, I'm always looking for effective ways to quiet my mind. Too often, slowing down when my thoughts are racing feels like something easier said than done.

[00:00:59] One thing that helps me is doing yoga. I'm always surprised by the way I can enter a studio tense and on alert and come out calm and unconcerned. There's a little bit of magic in the way that my same circumstances exist, but my attitude toward them has changed. I feel better after a yoga class than I did before, not just because of the immediate endorphin rush of physical exercise, but because of the mental peace that lingers, often long after.

[00:01:28] Yoga is considered a mind-body intervention, and based on my personal experience, I believe in its ability to help manage stress and anxiety. However, new research is saying that mind-body interventions can actually alter the expression of our genes and potentially reduce risk for certain disease. A 2017 review of 18 studies published in Frontiers in Immunology showed that mind-body interventions can reverse certain molecular reactions,

[00:01:55] essentially generating the, quote, opposite of the effects of chronic stress on gene expression, which could lead to a reduced risk of inflammation-related diseases. According to a review published in Neurology, quote, End quote. Common techniques include meditation, relaxation, and breathing techniques,

[00:02:25] yoga, tai chi, and qigong, hypnosis, biofeedback, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Nowadays, there are many studies looking into the efficacy of mind-body interventions on all kinds of physical and mental health issues, from migraines to hypertension. But this new revelation about the way they may affect us on a molecular level may offer a more solid basis for why these stress-reducing practices could lead to better health. As the new study points out,

[00:02:55] there's real indication that, quote, some of the psychological and physical benefits of mind-body interventions are underpinned by biological changes. End quote. So how is this possible? Let's start with looking at the effect of stress on our genes. According to the Frontiers in Immunology Review, stress is, quote, a bodily response to events that are perceived as a threat or a challenge. End quote. Unfortunately, as they point out, quote,

[00:03:34] End quote. Stress can affect our genes in the form of CTRA, a common molecular pattern that has been found in people exposed to different types of adversities, such as bereavement, a cancer diagnosis, trauma, and low socioeconomic status. CTRA leads to the upregulation of pro-inflammatory genes, and the cellular inflammation that results is linked to disease. However,

[00:04:01] most of the reviewed studies suggest mind-body interventions may be associated with a downregulation of pro-inflammatory genes and pathways, and therefore, a reduced risk of inflammation-related diseases. Other research has indicated that mind-body interventions may affect us on a cellular level. A 2014 study of breast cancer survivors found that individuals who participated in mindfulness-based cancer recovery and supportive expressive therapy

[00:04:29] may have been positively impacted on a cellular level. A write-up of the study in sciencealert.com stated that, quote, End quote. Although telomeres' effect on disease and aging are not yet fully understood,

[00:04:56] there's early evidence that shorter telomeres may be associated with several disease states, as well as cell aging, while longer telomeres are thought to be protective against disease, according to a release by Alberta Health Services, who partnered with the University of Calgary to conduct the breast cancer study. Although we may still be in the early stages of understanding all the many ways mind-body interventions can affect us on a molecular or cellular level, these findings open up exciting doors to uncovering their possibilities.

[00:05:26] One thing that science is perhaps further along in understanding, and that may be much easier for us to wrap our heads around, is how mind-body interventions affect our mental health. Results from a 2016 study that compared three popular mind-body interventions, yoga, tai chi, and mindfulness, led researchers to conclude, quote, Mind-body interventions can improve a person's level of mental health when compared to those who do not practice these techniques. End quote.

[00:05:56] Specifically, the authors noted that, quote, Tai chi and yoga were significantly effective in reducing anxiety, while mindfulness was significantly effective in reducing stress. Yet when taking the effect size into account, all three programs contributed to a reduction in both anxiety and stress. End quote. Considering the negative physical effects of stress, not to mention its unpleasant intrusion on our emotional state,

[00:06:23] it seems there's a solid argument for trying a mind-body intervention. Perhaps by incorporating a daily meditation or a yoga practice, we can experience the tangible benefits for ourselves. And how nice to imagine that something that makes us feel more relaxed and more like ourselves may have the added benefit of altering our gene expression, reducing risk of disease, and maybe even lengthening our lives. You just listened to the post titled,

[00:06:53] New Benefits of Mind-Body Interventions, by Carolyn Joyce of psychalive.org, and I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. For the longest time, it was believed that the mind and the body were separate. That the mind was basically everything that could be found in the structure of the brain, and the body was basically everything else. We, of course, now know that it's much more complicated than that.

[00:07:18] I've talked to some who still don't quite believe in this mind-body connection. They don't believe that mindfulness practices like meditation, or yoga, or tai chi, and doing those things regularly can lead to less stress and a longer lifespan. Whenever I run into someone like that, I have them try this experiment. And you can try this along with me if it's safe for you to do so. I have them close their eyes. Then I have them describe the last time they ate something really sour.

[00:07:48] Was it a tall, cold glass of lemonade? Was it a sip of orange juice? Maybe the juice of a lime squeezed into some sparkling water? As they're describing it, at some point I'll interrupt them and ask if they feel anything. Did they feel their salivary glands become hyperactive and start to produce extra saliva in their mouths? Almost always, the answer is yes. I then explain that this is the mind-body connection at work.

[00:08:17] This is because, without actually tasting something sour, just picturing it in your mind, and describing it, led to a change in the body. Again, that's the power of the mind-body connection. So why not use this power in other ways? Like if we're feeling anxious, stressed, or upset, why not distract ourselves and picture something that makes us feel calm, safe, and happy instead? This will immediately trigger a different response within the body too,

[00:08:47] like a slower heart rate, lower blood pressure, less muscle tension, and maybe even a longer and happier life. All right, that'll do it for today. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for listening every day. I hope you're having a great weekend, and I'll see you back here tomorrow as usual, where your optimal life awaits.