Sep

4

#1 Best Thing You Can Do for Your Health

September 4, 2007 |

I received this article from Fran Goodrich, Editor of the Neighborhood bible Studies e-helps. Makes a lot of sense to me!

I was waiting in line at the grocery store, vacantly perusing the magazines to my right when the above title jerked me to attention. My first thought was, “Is it diet or exercise?” But no sooner was that thought formed than my eye caught the articles’ subtitle: “Surprise - It’s Not Diet or Exercise!”

My curiosity piqued, I turned to the Prevention (December, 2000) magazine article and found that because of our society’s trends (swapping human contacts for electronic ones, job-jumping, divorce, lack of roots in a community, etc.) our culture itself is disconnected and we are experiencing an epidemic of isolation.

The article states: “Studies show that the fewer human connections we have at home, at work, and in the community, the more likely we are to get sick, flood our brains with anxiety-causing chemicals, and die prematurely.”

Conversely, “Science says that people who have a lot of human contact can live twice as long as those who are isolated…Connectedness is as much a protective factor-probably more-than lowering your blood pressure, losing weight, quitting smoking, or wearing your seat belt. It’s the unacknowledged key to emotional and physical health-and that’s medical fact,” states psychiatrist Edward Hallowell, MD, instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

All the more reason to start that small group this fall. Improve your health and that of those around you!

You can sign up for e-helps at here.


Comments

3 Comments so far

  1. Linda M on September 7, 2007 1:12 am

    Interesting thought. Hi Pat - thought I’d just make a quick comment. I kind of see what this is talking about. I know that I personally feel better on days when I have left my house and interacted with others than on days I do not leave home. I had never really thought about it before, but I probably will ponder it often now. On the days (nights) I work, if I have stayed home all day, I feel pretty sluggish, but more, I don’t feel like even seeing people because the hours of solitude have left me rather empty and used to being alone. So I guess it’s a good thing I do work or I could just waste away all by myself, sort of. Thanks for making me think about my future.

  2. patsikora on September 8, 2007 6:57 pm

    Linda, yes I find the same thing. Being a writer, I’m often home all the time. There are days I don’t leave the house. But on the days I do have meetings or even lunch with people, I feel more energized. But I think it goes a step further. I don’t think they are talking about connections being the people we pass in the grocery aisle, but the ones we share parts of our lives with. And the deeper those relationships, the better for both parties.

  3. Anne on September 10, 2007 1:10 pm

    First off, what a relief it’s not diet or exercise!

    Been there, done that, need to do that again!

    I’m a writer living in the country with limited human contact. I’ll be so glad when my bible study starts again so I’ll get to SEE PEOPLE!

    But I wonder — aren’t there some ways that technology has brought us closer together? I’m now in closer touch with friends who live far away. And because of that, we get together more often. Still, it would be nice to have more company than the cat while I’m here working and waiting for my husband and child to get home.

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind