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How Relaxation Promotes Health –
Our Bodies Just Love Chilling Out!
3 Super Benefits ….
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It’s been said time and time again that a little bit of stress is good for you. And to some extent this is probably true.
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You need a bit of pressure to motivate you to do well at work, push yourself in the gym, and stay on your toes in your business relationships.
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But where some stress can be good, a lot of stress is definitely bad.
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The Huffington Post published an article recently on stress: Stress is one of our biggest health concerns in modern society.
Stress has been linked to some of the worst diseases out there, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, which is claiming more and more lives every year.
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The good news today is that there are many modern gadgets to help us relax, everything from zero gravity massage chairs to lights that don’t emit blue wavelengths.
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These have all been designed to help us unwind and undo some of the damage done by our overly stressed lives.
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So what are the benefits of relaxation in a nutshell?
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Relaxation Promotes Health: Super Benefit #1
Lowers Your Risks Of Catching A Cold
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Sheldon Cohen is a psychology professor at the world-famous Carnegie Mellon University.
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His research began way back in the 1990s when he started to suspect that people experiencing trauma were more likely to get sick.
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His research later showed that those who were chronically stressed were more than twice as likely to catch a common cold.
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More recent evidence appears to point the finger of blame at inflammation. The more inflamed our bodies are, the harder our immune systems have to work and the more difficult it becomes for them to carry out their job.
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Relaxation Promotes Health: Super Benefit #2
A Fantastic Memory Booster
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The evidence on the relationship between relaxation and memory isn’t as direct as many scientists would like.
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However, there is evidence from animal studies done on animals as well as indirect human evidence, that relaxation can have an effect on enhancing memory.
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A study was carried out in mice: Chronic stress impaired the functioning of the part of their brains dedicated to higher reasoning processes, like abstract thought and cognitive analysis.
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Studies have also shown that stress makes it harder for memory cells to form, or for learning to be consolidated. This is perhaps why cramming for an exam at the last minute probably isn’t a good idea.
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Studies have also linked stress to Alzheimer’s disease, again suggesting that certain stress proteins in the brain can damage it enough to cause disease processes in the long run.
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Relaxation Promotes Health: Super Benefit #3
Lowers The Risk of Stroke
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In 2007, researchers at The University of Cambridge wanted to find out whether people who coped with stressful life events better had a lower risk of stroke.
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After interviewing hundreds of people, these researchers proved their hypothesis correct: The risk of stroke was more than 24 percent lower in those who could manage their emotions better.
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Another study, this time in 2011, found that work-related stress could also lead to a higher incidence of stroke. Among men in the middle and upper classes, stress at work was associated with a 10 percent higher rate of risks of suffering a stroke.
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