The heart
of the matter is that it is the heart that matters. To have optimal
cardiovascular health, your emotional and spiritual heart is just as important
as your physical heart, and care must be given to all aspects of this vital
organ.
Every thought
and every emotion causes an instantaneous cascade of
hundreds, if not thousands, of neuropeptides and hormones that orchestrate a
symphony of positive and negative effects within the body. That is why it is so
important to pay close attention to the thoughts and emotions that are running
through your mind, as they dictate the symphony of neurotransmitters playing in
your body. As an example, would you rather be listening to the soothing sounds
of classical music or the heart-pounding, adrenaline-charging sounds of heavy
metal?
Love is a
strong emotion, representing human kindness, compassion, and deep affection.
Love is unselfish and benevolent. Love is pure. Love is self-directed and
directed toward others. Most importantly, love is a vital component for the
health of your heart, body, mind and soul.
Ways That Love
Benefits Your Health:
- Love improves
self-esteem, which leads to better self-care. Self-love is key because
when you love yourself, you are much more likely to engage in activities
that contribute to better nutrition and physical fitness, and less likely
to make unhealthy lifestyle choices.
- Love is a
great antidote to stress. Love
counteracts the fight-or-flight response that we so often find ourselves
in. Even low levels of stress cause the body to release cortisol, which is
associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure,
diabetes, heart disease and depression. Love downregulates the production
of cortisol. Love encourages your body to produce oxytocin, the
"feel-good" or "love" hormone. Oxytocin can reduce
cardiovascular stress and improve the immune system, which in turn
decreases cell death and inflammation. Love also causes the production in
your brain of norepinephrine and dopamine (both hormones associated with
adrenaline), which leads to increased feelings of joy and pleasure. Love
really is your best medicine.
- Love
decreases anxiety and staves off depression, which subsequently reduces
the signs and symptoms of heart disease. In his book Love and
Survival: Eight Pathways to Intimacy and Health, Dean Ornish, M.D
describes one study where married men who suffered from angina (chest
pains) experienced far less angina if they felt loved by their wives, even
despite high risk factors like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and
diabetes.
- Love
decreases inflammation, improves your immune system, and can be a potent
pain reliever. A recent study from the
Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State University
College of Medicine showed that people who are lonely develop more
reactivation of latent viruses than those that are well connected.
Possible mechanisms for these actions include increased release of
cytokines, better relaxation and the release of endorphins
- Sleeping
next to someone you love makes you feel more relaxed, which helps you to
sleep better. Numerous studies have
linked the benefits to the feel-good hormone oxytocin. Adequate rest is
vital to heart health and overall well-being, as much of the reparative
work of the body is done during sleep.
Not just at
Valentine's Day, but all year around, it is important to remind yourself that
there is so much more to love than just romantic love. There is love of life,
love of nature, love of animals, love of others, and love of self, and all of
these acts of love provide amazing health benefits.
Ways to
Incorporate Love Into Your Life
- Be more
loving and giving. Bring happiness and joy into other people's lives. Be
generous with your time and money; be a person of increase. You can do
this through volunteerism and altruism. I challenge everyone to do one
random act of kindness today, even if it is as simple as smiling at
someone.
- Hug often
and hold hands. Physical contact in a loving and nurturing way has the
ability to instantly improve your mood, lower stress levels
and put you at ease.
- Be more
playful in your loving relationship and make love often. Remind your
partner about how much you care for them, and make time for them, no
matter how busy you are.
- Love life
-- bring more joy into your life each day. Flirt with life... laugh,
dance, sing. One way to manifest this is to allow yourself to really laugh
without holding anything back and simply enjoy this pure laughter.
- Love
yourself and be kind to yourself today. Treat yourself like you would
another person who you are truly in love with. The more you love yourself,
the better equipped you will be to love others. And the more love you
give, the more you will receive
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