Healing The Body

You may not have thought much about this but, how do we heal? Doctors and scientists have not been able to fully explain how the body heals. Some health care professionals may try to take credit for the healing process, but the best these health care practionners can take credit for is helping to improve the environment for the body to heal itself. Our bodies are amazing and all of the things that happen within the body have been studied but not fully explained. For example, how does a single cell divide and then change into the many different types of cells that has to happen after conception and prior to birth? How does food or drink get digested, absorbed, and transferred to feed the brain? How does a cut to the skin grow back together and heal? How we get a thought and take action to deal with this thought? How do we know when to eat or sleep?

An honest health care professional will educate you on how you can create the best environment so that you can heal yourself. Now, emergency procedures like setting a broken bone, removing a bullet or tumor, or clearing a blocked artery to the heart are health procedures that the body might need help to achieve, but after an emergency procedure the body must heal itself.

Why do some people heal rapidly from devastating injury and some people perish from a relatively minor health challenge? How can a tumor show up on an X-Ray one day and sometimes disappear a few weeks later, possibly without any medical treatment? Why do some auto-immune disease start or disappear?

The body is amazing and there are so many unexplainable things that happen. But one study out of the medical research done at Stanford University on women with breast cancer found, to the researcher’s chagrin, that women who participated in a breast cancer support group seem to live much longer, on average, then women who do not have this kind of support. Is it the mental anxiety from living with the illness alone, without support, that makes the difference? Is it the positive caring or some healing energy within the group that helps to sustain some of the group’s participants? This phenomenon is not understood or explained… yet. But, it is noted that people who have positive social connections will often do better and have better outcomes. In a basic wellness program, an emphasis on a positive integration of mind, body, and spirit includes many potential areas of life that can prevent disease, or minimize possible physical or emotional ailments, or assist people who want to recover from health challenges.
Consider your mental, emotional, and your spiritual requirements when you look to build the most successful wellness program for yourself.

More information and coaching is available to you through the Stress Education Center available for you at www.dstress.com.

How Much Sleep Do YOU Need?

I am L. John Mason, Ph.D. and I founded the Stress Education Center (www.dstress.com) in 1978. Like you, I have required sleep every day of my life. But the question arises, how much sleep do you require to be happy, healthy, and most productive. This is more complicated than you might image. Even the “Sleep experts” have difficulty agreeing because this is such a complicated question. There is a great deal of good information about sleep and how much you may require at the “Sleep Foundation’s” website at http://www.sleepfoundation.org/

Since everyone has different lifestyles, health backgrounds, ages, and living environments the understanding regarding your specific requirements for sleep gets difficult. Experts do agree that babies and young children require more sleep that most adults. The chart below comes from National Sleep Foundation.

Age: Sleep Needs:
Newborns (0-2 Months) 12-18 hours/day of sleep
Infants (3-11 Months) 14-15 hours
Toddlers (1-3 Years) 12-14 hours
Preschool (3-5 Years) 11-13 hours
School Age (5-10 Years) 10-11 hours
Teens (10-17 Years) 8.5-9.25 hours
Adults 7-9 hours

As you can see, this may not fit for many of us who get less than 7 hours of sleep due to choice or lifestyle. There is also research that suggests that too much sleep can have negative impacts for many people as well. The “quality” of your sleep will also be a factor in the duration that you require for sleep. The quality of sleep will be discussed in another blog as well as tips for getting the best sleep.

In a recent article at http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/04/27/30-percent-us-workers-dont-get-enough-sleep/ researchers reported that 30% of workers are not getting enough sleep and it affects their work.

We need to understand our own body’s requirements for sleep to determine the best length for our best health. If you wake tired, you can assume that you are not getting enough “quality” sleep. Reduced sleep can lead to low energy, poor concentration and reduced productivity, possible depression, weight gain, and a variety of more serious health challenges, including heart disease. Too much sleep can lead to accidents, illnesses, and even death as reported by sleep researchers. The “right” amount of sleep will vary for you and is affected by what your environment and life changes can do to your physical and emotional health & well-being. Changing work schedules (or activities like classes) can be factors that need to be considered in your need for sleep and need to be taken into account as you determine how much sleep you require. Also, talk to your doctor about how medications, diet, and especially caffeine can be affecting you and your requirements for sleep.

Stress management can offer better sleep, better focus, and control of the anxiety that can be negative on your quality of life. Consider the information offered by the Stress Education Center at www.dstress.com including the audio download for stress control to improve your sleep.