How 5 Minutes a Day Can Improve Your Health and Increase Your Lifespan

A new study published Monday in the Journal of American College of Cardiologydemonstrates that running five minutes a day increases health and lifespan almost as much as running 150 minutes a week. The benefits from exercising intensely for five minutes a day are significant, reducing the risk of dying prematurely from any cause by 30 percent and from cardiovascular causes by 45 percent. These new reports join a host of other recent scientific findings about the power of marginal behavioral changes to reshape lives.

A recent New York Times article focusing on the movement research of Dr. James Levine reported that walking around the office for two minutes three times an hour was more beneficial in reversing the devastating health effects of a sedentary lifestyle than spending an hour at the gym after work. Getting up to get a glass of water twice an hour gets you most of this benefit, with hydration benefits to boot.

In diet, exercise’s “other half” in establishing good living, new research shows that the health and weight loss battle is won or lost at the margin. People who eat a handful of nuts a day are leaner and experience a reduced death rate of 11 percent in comparison with those who don’t eat nuts regularly, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine. New weight loss models show that eating 100 calories less per day (giving up that piece of bread at dinner) will lose you 10 pounds in three years, five in the first year (reverse that equation to see how an extra cookie a day will affect your weight three years from now).

That a marginal behavioral change can have an outsize impact on personal and professional prospects is something that I discovered for myself and wrote about in Small Move, Big Change (Viking 2014). In any area of self-improvement — not just in fitness and diet — small changes in habit can lead to amazing results. Yet even the smallest change in behavior requires willpower and conscious effort — something that sounds as simple as running five minutes a day won’t be simple in practice. At a minimum you’ll need suitable running shoes, a place to run, and (hardest of all) a time to run. Establishing a change in habit means scaling a behavioral change to something you can absolutely achieve and sustain forever. If you can manage to fit in a five minute run once a week and at the same time and day each week, you will very likely succeed. And once you have established your run habit once a week, you’ll have a behavioral pattern that makes it easier to extend your run to other days. If, on the other hand, you just pack up your running shoes and head to work with the general ambition of finding five minutes to run every day, you will very likely fail.

Any deviation from regular routine causes mental stress and even emotional discomfort. Our daily behavior is a kind of autopilot that runs without conscious intent or mental effort, quietly and efficiently managing our routine activities. Improving ourselves means shaking up autopilot, and autopilot is very, very resistant to change. But if we focus with complete dedication on making a narrow behavioral shift, we can drive it into autopilot where it will sustain us for a lifetime.

My own goals for becoming fit began with walking to work once a week, every Monday. I found walking past the subway station the first few Mondays supremely difficult and there was always a good reason not to walk that day — the weather, the pressures of impending work, or just feeling that Tuesday would be a better bet (this is how we bargain ourselves out of our resolutions). But because I had committed myself only to walk on Mondays, I felt that it was intolerable not to follow through, and I managed mental and physical obstacles out of my way. By learning how to make the walk on Mondays work, I established an autopilot pattern that I was able to extend to other days. For many years now I have walked nearly every day to work (35 minutes), and it’s no longer a resolution, it’s a pleasure.

Year after year, we make the same ambitious resolutions and fail at them. We pledge “to be slim,” “to be fit,” “to be organized,” wannabe goals closer to wishes than resolutions to action. We make these unrealistic vows because we think that nothing but a complete change of self will get us where we want to be. But the magic is not in resolving to be different, but resolving to do just one thing differently, and more and more research is demonstrating just how powerful one such change can be.

This article originally appeared on Huffington Post and was written by Caroline L. Arnold

7 Ways To Instantly Stimulate Your Vagus Nerve To Address Inflammation, Depression And Migraines

The vagus nerve (found right behind where you typically feel for your pulse) is the longest nerve in your body.

It is one of 12 cranial nerves and it extends from your brainstem all the way to your abdomen and through various organs including your heart, esophagus, and your lungs.

It is sometimes called “cranial nerve X,” as it forms part of your involuntary nervous system that directs all of the unconscious body actions, like stabilizing your heart rate and making sure your digestive tract is working properly.

Interestingly, the vagus nerve was named because it actually “wanders” like a “vagabond” and sends out tiny fibres from your brainstem to your visceral organs (organs in your chest and abdomen—heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and intestines.)

The vagus nerve essentially controls your entire parasympathetic nervous system (the system responsible for stimulating what is known as your “rest-and-digest” or “feed and breed” activities when your body is resting and after eating.)

A study done at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has shown that the vagus nerve may actually be what they call “the missing link” to treating chronic inflammation that can cause a variety of other issues— like high blood pressure, migraines, digestive issues and any inflammatory related things like arthritis etc.—all without medication!

Your Vagal Tone

Vagal tone essentially refers to the inhibitory control of your vagus nerve over your heart rate. What the studies now show is that vagal tone is key to activating your parasympathetic nervous system and everything it does. We can measure your vagal tone by tracking your heart rate in combination with your breathing rate.

Typically, when you breathe in, your heart rate speeds slightly and vice versa when you breathe out. Your vagal tone is then determined by the difference between your inhalation heart rate and your exhalation heart rate—the bigger the difference, the higher your vagal tone, which is actually good in this case because it means that you are more able than someone with a lower vagal tone, to relax your body after a stressful situation.

Why a higher vagal tone is good

Apart from being able to relax faster after stress, people with a high vagal tone have overall better functioning internal systems including:

  • Better blood sugar regulation
  • Decreased risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease
  • Generally lower blood pressure
  • Better digestion due to proper production of digestive enzymes
  • Fewer migraines
  • Less depression
  • Less anxiety (they naturally deal with stress better)

What scientists have discovered is that the vagus nerve constantly monitors your gut microbiome to determine if there are any pathogenic organisms, and if so, it initiates a response that then controls any inflammation that results from these foreign organisms, which can affect your mood, your stress levels (and your ability to cope with the stress) and your overall inflammation levels.

What if I have low vagal tone?

Unfortunately, people with a low vagal tone are more prone to hearts problems and strokes, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, cognitive impairment, not to mention more inflammatory conditions such as any autoimmune diseases like thyroid issues, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, endometriosis, lupus etc.

So, how do I increase my vagal tone?

So far, researchers have stimulated the vagus nerve using a device that emits an electrical current but there are other ways to do this yourself.

While the studies also reveal that people are genetically predisposed to different levels of vagal tone, with consistent practice, you can alter your tone to some degree using the following methods.

1. Humming

You know all of those people you used to think were “new age” because they would sit quietly and repeat the “OM” sound? Well, it turns out they are on to something. Because the vagus nerve is connected to your vocal cords, systematic humming can stimulate the nerve.

2. Speaking

Likewise, people who speak more are more likely to be able to raise their vagal tone as talking is done through the vocal cords. Singing and laughter in general will also do the trick.

3. Wash your face with cold water

A splash of cold water does seem to stimulate the vagus nerve. Whenever your body is required to adjust to the cold, your fight-or-flight (sympathetic) system declines and your rest-and-digest (parasympathetic) system increases. (1)

In other words, any kind of sudden cold exposure will increase vagus nerve activation. You can achieve this by either dipping your face in cold water or take a cold shower.

4. Breathing deeply using your diaphragm

Breathing long, deep breaths from your diaphragm can stimulate and tone your vagus nerve.

5. Yoga

Research shows that yoga, along with breathing practices, can significantly increase your vagal tone.

6. Meditation

According to a 2010 study, people who meditate regularly and think more positive thoughts tend to have better vagal tone.

7. Increase Good Gut Bacteria

While there are countless benefits to increasing the healthy bacteria in your gut, surprisingly, this also helps to create a positive “feedback loop” through your vagus nerve and thus increase its tone. Probiotics are a good source of healthy bacteria.

All of the above methods are beneficial to your overall health simply for the fact that they also help reduce stress, which is a major factor in disease, but also knowing that you can help improve your vagal tone, and the specific issue of inflammation, is a powerful tool.

Add these simple tips to your daily routine and see how much better you feel in a relatively short time.

sources:

  • http://mosaicscience.com/story/hacking-nervous-system
  • http://kripalu.org/blog/thrive/2012/08/30/why-yoga-works/
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/magazine/can-the-nervous-system-be-hacked.html?_r=1
  • Forsythe P, Bienenstock J, Kunze WA.Vagal pathways for microbiome-brain-gut axis communication. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2014;817:115-33.
  • Kok, B, Fredrickson, B, Coffey, K, et al. How Positive Emotions Build Physical Health: Perceived Positive Social Connections Account for the Upward Spiral Between Positive Emotions and Vagal Tone. Psychological Science 2013 24: 1123

This article originally appeared on dailyhealthpost.com

Boost Your Relationship and Your Mood

You already know that certain habits, such as expressing gratitudelearning to compromise, and cuddling, are key for maintaining a happy and healthy relationship. But there's one more surprising habit you might want to add to the list: According to new research presented at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference this week, giving and receiving massages might be just what you and your partner need to boost your moods and strengthen your relationship.

In the May 2017 study, Northumbria University researchers asked 38 participants (19 couples) to complete a three-week massage course. After massage sessions, the participants filled out questionnaires about their physical and mental well-being, stress, coping, and relationship satisfaction.

Ultimately, the researchers found that the couples' overall sense of well-being, perception of stress, and coping abilities had all improved over the three-week course, with the participants reporting increased feelings of physical and mental well-being immediately following each session, regardless of whether they gave or received the massage.

The best part? Three-quarters of the participants continued exchanging massages regularly after the course was over, and even another three weeks after the class had ended, none of the participants' feelings of well-being had decreased significantly.

Of course, this study was small and relied on self-reported data, so more research is needed to prove the direct effects of mutual massage on relationships. But if there's a chance your relationship might benefit from a little extra physical contact and care... what's the harm in giving it a try?

"These findings show that massage can be a simple and effective way for couples to improve their physical and mental well-being whilst showing affection for one another," said researcher Sayuri Naruse in a press release. "Massage is a cost-effective and pleasant intervention that isn't just for a therapeutic setting, but can be easily incorporated into a healthy couple's daily routine."

This article originally appeared on drozthegoodlife.com and was written by Heather Finn.

Stress: It’s Not in Your Head, it’s in Your Nervous System

Traumatic Memory and How to Heal it

Have you ever been told when you’re stressed to stop worrying and just relax? That it’s all in your head? It would be nice if it were that simple. But it’s not.

Physiology research shows that the stress response memory lives in your nervous system. Take for example exposure to a stressful event. One in which you felt helpless, hopeless, and lacked control. In this case your autonomic nervous system (ANS) is engaged. This is the part of the nervous system responsible for controlling unconscious bodily actions like breathing. To be more specific, it was the sympathetic branch (fight or flight) of the ANS that kicked in while you were strained. In addition, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis of the midbrain began firing. In which a signal from your hypothalamus sends a hormonal message to your pituitary gland that stimulates to your adrenal glands.

To activate this fight or flight response, stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline are released from your adrenal glands. They help our body suddenly mobilize to flee danger. According to Peter A. Levine, trauma expert in the field of psychotherapy, trauma occurs when this biological process is overwhelmed and a person is unable to release and process the stressful event. It is possible to avoid a traumatic response by discharging the energy generated. For example, shaking, crying, and screaming can allow the individual to physically process the stress.

Stress is not all in your head.

However, if the stress response is not processed, it remains in the tissues of the body. When a subsequent stressful event that does not pose a serious threat occurs, the traumatic memory is recalled. A large amount of stress hormones are released. Blood rushes to extremities, pupils dilate, muscle tone increases presenting as tension, breathing rate increases, the heartbeats faster, and sweating occurs. Hence, the nervous system responds as if this small incident is life threatening.

This biological response is clearly beyond the ability to rationally control. You can’t think your way out of it. Chronic stress leads to dissociation or immobility, a state of sympathetic charge and hormonal release, which is health damaging. The brainstem (the primitive part of the brain) governs emotional experience and biological response. When the brainstem is activated by the fight or flight response, it trumps the more developed front of the brain, the prefrontal cortex. It is therefore not possible to be in the primitive state of fight or flight and also to think rationally and critically (as the prefrontal cortex would have us do).

Levine elaborates:

The question is: how can humans become unstuck from immobility? Moving out of this frozen state can be a fiercely energetic experience. Without a rational brain animals don’t give it a second thought, they just do it. When humans begin to move out of the immobility response, however, we are often frightened by the intensity of our own energy and latent aggression, and we brace ourselves against the power of the sensations. This bracing prevents complete discharge of energy necessary to restore normal functioning.

Unprocessed stress is stored in the body as traumatic memory.

Unprocessed stress becomes traumatic memory that lies dormant in the body. A present day trigger can cause the stored memory to resurface. Understanding what is happening inside our body and brain, gives us compassion. Learning why our body responds the way it does, leads to awareness and empowerment. It moves us out of being isolated, fearful, victims. By caring for our bodies and understanding their self-protective responses, we can release shame.

When we comprehend the physiologic process that is trying to keep us safe, from an old memory or trauma, we can replace inner judgement with kindness. Self-love becomes possible. It may not be serving us in the present but in the past it did. In fact, this same response helped us survive.

The work is then to re-train the body. This can be done by invoking practices such as felt sense oriented meditation, deep breathing, vocal toning, spontaneous movement and dance, yoga, listening to soothing music, spending time in nature, running, or hiking. Or simply receiving a hug from a loved one, which releases oxytocin, a natural hormone produced by the pituitary gland that promotes bonding and connection.

Practices such as yoga and time in nature help to release stored trauma. 

These are tools to deactivate the sympathetic response and activate the opposing parasympathetic response, called the rest and digest mechanism. The goal is to feel safe. To regulate breathing, slow the heartbeat, and circulate blood back to the vital organs

These powerful practices change our physiology and affect our mood. The next time someone suggests it’s all in your head, you will have a different response. This knowledge empowers us to heal past wounds. Through acknowledging the power trauma plays in your life and understanding the mechanisms by which healing occurs, you can create a more embodied, joyful life.

This article originally appeared on upliftconnect.com and was written by Melody Walford.