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February 14th is the busiest day of the year for New Zealand florists, as thousands of bouquets of red roses, complete with hearts and chocolates, change hands as a symbol of romantic love. Valentines Day can see hearts soaring and fluttering with pledges of undying love, or cringing in disappointment for those passed by. While Valentines Day is really a bit of commercialised fun, the health benefits of loving and being loved are real, measurable, and profound. The power of love makes a real difference to our wellbeing and state of health.
All the studies looking at love, both the intimate kind as well as other forms of supportive relationships, and general connection to others, show that feeling loved, cared for and “connected” to others, does our body and mind a power of good! Love can even overcome physical illness. Scientists at Yale University looked at the arteries of nearly 200 men and women. Those who felt the most loved and supported had substantially less blockages in their arteries than those feeling unloved! 10,000 men with all the risk factors for heart disease, were questioned about their love relationships. Those who felt unloved by their wives had twice the amount of angina as those feeling loved, despite the fact that they all shared similar health problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure etc.
Even our immune system benefits from feeling loved and connected to others. Social ties with friends, family, workers and community that involve love and intimacy of any type seem to offer the same immune enhancing benefits. Dean Ornish MD, has spent a lifetime looking at the body/mind connection, and in particular the healing power of intimacy. He says, “when you feel loved, nurtured and cared for, supported, and intimate, you are much more likely to be happier and healthier. You have a much lower risk of getting sick and, if you do, a much greater chance of surviving”.
The HeartMath institute in California has amassed a mountain of research confirming the health improving and life affirming effects of love. By studying the heart's rhythms, researchers have discovered that when we feel love, or any positive emotion such as compassion, caring, or gratitude, the heart sends messages to the brain and secretes hormones that positively affect our health. Whenever we feel stressed or mad or worried our heart beating rhythms become disordered and incoherent. Conversely, whenever we feel love and appreciation the heart switches to a very rhythmic, coherent, beating pattern. These coherent heart rhythms actually effect the higher brain centres which cause an inner synchronisation of the systems in our body, which then affects how we think, function and fight off disease.
Even as little as five minutes of feeling enraged or stressed, boosts the amount of the stress hormone cortisol coursing through our veins. While cortisol will help us fight or flee from our stress, it also suppresses our production of vital disease fighting antibodies, for up to six hours. Conversely, spend as little as five minutes basking in the warm glow of loving feelings, compassion and gratitude, and you reap the benefits of a substantial boost in those same antibodies, lasting for several hours.
Measuring the stress hormone cortisol, and the “anti aging” hormone DHEA, is believed to be a very good way of revealing the effects of stress and aging on the body. In a HeartMath study, 30 people were taught how to feel love consciously. One month later, DHEA and cortisol levels were measured. Amazingly, the stress hormone cortisol had decreased by almost a quarter on average, while levels of the anti aging hormone DHEA showed a massive 100% increase!
When you sit across the table from your beloved, and stare dreamily into their eyes, stars exploding in your brain, you are literally getting high on the rush of brain chemicals known as endorphins. These natural morphine like substances are produced by our brain, sex organs, immune system and heart, when we are “in love”. Not only do they make us a little crazy as we float through the day in a haze of bliss, they also do great things for our immune system. Endorphins stimulate special immune system cells called Natural Killer cells, which fight cancer.
If you'll be spending Valentines day with a child, parent, dog, or other beloved pet, you won't necessarily be missing out on the health benefits of loving. Feeling intense and constant love for a person other than an intimate partner, (even the four legged variety with lots of fur) will still qualify you for health benefits! Loving a pet does wonders for your blood pressure, immune system, and general stress levels. Our little furry friends even help us to recover faster and live longer after major surgery!
Reproduced with kind permission from The Sunday Herald.
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Lynda Wharton is an experienced and widely respected journalist, columnist, author, health researcher, speaker, acupuncturist and naturopath.
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