{"id":396,"date":"2010-08-18T14:16:03","date_gmt":"2010-08-18T14:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/personalpolishing.wordpress.com\/?p=396"},"modified":"2010-08-18T14:16:03","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T14:16:03","slug":"can-relaxation-save-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/can-relaxation-save-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Relaxation Save Your Life?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align:right;\"><strong><em>by <strong>Carole Jackson<\/strong>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bottomlinesecrets.com\/index\/indexes.html?pub=blh\" target=\"_blank\">Bottom Line Health<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Americans are widely recognized as hard workers, but lots of us aren\u00e2\u0080\u0099t quite up to snuff when it comes to relaxation. In fact, the term &#8220;leisure sickness,&#8221; which describes a flulike syndrome that workaholics get from taking time off from the job, is in the running for dictionary publisher Webster\u00e2\u0080\u0099s &#8220;Word of the Year&#8221; for 2010! But far more typical is the vague but persistent sense of guilt that many people experience when relaxing &#8212; as if anything that feels this good can\u00e2\u0080\u0099t possibly be a good use of time. Well, you <em>can<\/em> and <em>should<\/em> relax about that. In fact, there is a great deal of research demonstrating that regular relaxation &#8212; the kind where you really chill out and do nothing &#8212; is as important to your health as eating right and exercising.<\/p>\n<p>Many people assume that effective relaxation requires two weeks at the beach, but that\u00e2\u0080\u0099s not at all the case. Research has shown that even little bits can produce bountiful health benefits that we usually associate with visits to the gym and languorous vacations&#8230; and in fact, to attain the maximum benefits of relaxation, you need to build <em>some<\/em> relaxation activity into every single day. To help you find what works for you, here are research-supported relaxation suggestions that deliver actual health benefits in just minutes&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Grab some midday ZZZZs.<\/strong> A study at Harvard that investigated the napping      habits of more than 20,000 adults discovered that people who took brief      naps (under a half hour) two or three times a week reduced risk for      coronary disease by 12%. Upping the nap ante, the folks who napped three      or more times a week, reduced risk by an astonishing 37%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Just quietly chill out.<\/strong> Yet another study, at New York University, established      that &#8220;wakeful resting&#8221; (otherwise known as just sitting there)      promotes memory and cognition function. The study asked students to      observe images and then take a short rest while remaining awake. During      this nonactivity, they were hooked up to functional MRI brain scans, which      revealed that their brains at rest were busily absorbing and consolidating      the new information just gained.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Get a massage.<\/strong> Many studies have shown that even a brief hands-on session from a pro can      elevate the feel-good brain hormones <em>dopamine<\/em> and <em>serotonin<\/em>,      which are known to slow the heart rate, reduce blood pressure and cortisol      levels and contribute to deeper sleep at night. This deep sleep, in turn,      enables the body to heal in a myriad of subtle but important ways &#8212; for      instance, by facilitating the ongoing repair and regeneration of tissue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>More Powerful Ideas from a Relaxation Expert<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For even more healthful everyday relaxation techniques, I called psychiatrist James S. Gordon, MD, psychiatrist and founder and director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC, and author of <a href=\"http:\/\/edhn.bottomlinesecrets.com\/a\/hBMY44TB74VNIB8SDfuNFNjQQHQ\/dhn3\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression<\/em><\/a>. Dr. Gordon says the way to a saner, healthier and happier life is to practice relaxation at least several times a day. <em>Here are some of his effective techniques&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Close your eyes and breathe deeply into the belly.<\/strong> Sit quietly for a few minutes, eyes closed, belly      relaxed, and breathe deeply, inhaling through your nose and exhaling      through your mouth. If you can do this twice a day, you\u00e2\u0080\u0099ll find that you      can look at the world differently, he says. &#8220;We are constantly in      high gear &#8212; just taking a few minutes like this gives you fresh      perspective and actually changes your psychology and physiology.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Go outdoors. <\/strong>Use      nature as a no-cost, convenient, personal spa. Numerous studies show that      going outside where there are trees and plants relieves stress and      sharpens cognition. It\u00e2\u0080\u0099s literally healing &#8212; a study of patients      recovering from surgery found that those with windows facing trees healed      faster and took fewer pain medications than patients without a view.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Even brief spurts of movement help.<\/strong> It would take pages to list all the proven health      benefits associated with regular exercise &#8212; just one of which is that it      boosts brain neurotransmitters that help ease anxiety. Research has shown      that simply taking a brief walk (indoors or out) can improve your mood&#8230;      leading Dr. Gordon to advise grabbing <em>any<\/em> chance you can to move around, for example, periodically getting up from      your desk to take stretch breaks, walking up steps instead of taking an      escalator, taking a walk after dinner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Build actual activity into your schedule.<\/strong> If you want to maximize your relaxation prescription,      you need to engage in regular, extended periods of exercise. You\u00e2\u0080\u0099ve tried      but failed before? The key to commitment is finding exercise that you      enjoy. As Dr. Gordon observes, &#8220;jogging is great for health &#8212; but if      you hate to jog, it\u00e2\u0080\u0099s not great for <em>you<\/em>.&#8221;      You don\u00e2\u0080\u0099t have to be &#8220;serious&#8221; and &#8220;focused&#8221; to get      the benefits, he adds &#8212; consider dancing each morning to your favorite      CDs&#8230; immersing yourself into the deeply serene environment of a swimming      pool for a few laps several times a week &#8230; biking around the      neighborhood&#8230; sampling different classes to try Pilates, yoga, karate or      the zippy Zumba dance technique &#8212; the list of possibilities is endless.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How Much Do You Need?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Gordon suggests looking to your life for signals that you\u00e2\u0080\u0099re relaxing well and sufficiently &#8212; or that you need a bit more. Signs that you need to increase your &#8220;relaxation prescription&#8221; include a tendency to be irritated and impatient&#8230; difficulty focusing clearly&#8230; insensitivity to the needs of others&#8230; digestive upset&#8230; insomnia&#8230; and feeling anxious or depressed. If that sounds like a typical day or week in your life, it\u00e2\u0080\u0099s time to sit down, breathe deeply and contemplate which of the many relaxation activities sound good to you right now &#8212; and then do them.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Source(s):<br \/>\nJames S. Gordon, MD, psychiatrist and founder and director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, and clinical professor, departments of psychiatry and family medicine, Georgetown University, both in Washington, DC. He is author of <a href=\"http:\/\/edhn.bottomlinesecrets.com\/a\/hBMY44TB74VNIB8SDfuNFNjQQHQ\/dhn3\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression<\/em><\/a> (Penguin), which contains these and many other techniques for relaxation. <a href=\"http:\/\/edhn.bottomlinesecrets.com\/a\/hBMY44TB74VNIB8SDfuNFNjQQHQ\/dhn4\" target=\"_blank\">www.cmbm.org<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health Americans are widely recognized as hard workers, but lots of us aren\u00e2\u0080\u0099t quite up to snuff when it comes to relaxation. In fact, the term &#8220;leisure sickness,&#8221; which describes a flulike syndrome that workaholics get from taking time off from the job, is in the running for dictionary publisher &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/can-relaxation-save-your-life\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Can Relaxation Save Your Life?<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","pmpro-has-access"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4MGMb-6o","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}