heaven can wait
by elena serocki
hundreds of research studies document the link between faith and health. among the
positive effects of piety:
longer life
a study of 2l,000
people in the united states
from 1987 to l995 found
a seven years
difference in life expectancy
between
who never attend religious services
and
those who attend more than once a week
overall well-being
in research co-conducted by epidemiologist jeff levin,
author of god, faith, and health,
older adults who
considered themselves religious
had
fewer health problems
and
functioned better
than
the nonreligious
better recovery
patients comforted by their faith had
three times
the chance of being alive
six months
after open-heart surgery
than
patients
who found no comfort in religion.
a l995 dartmouth medical school study found
tougher tickers
in a l997 study in india
subjects-primarily hindus
who prayed regularly
were
70 per cents less
likely to have
coronary heart disease
lower blood pressure
in a 1989 study of 400 caucasians men
in evans county, georgia
duke researchers found
a significant protective effect
against high blood pressure
among
those who considered
religion very important
good mental health
attendance at house of warship
is
related to lower rates of depression and anxiety,
reported
a l999 duke university study
of
nearly 4000 older adults
reduced stress
humans under psychological stress
experience raised blood pressure and breathing rates,
straining the body and lowering immunity,
says dr herbert benson medical school
and
author of
the relaxation response.
benson has found that
an opposite response can be elicited
by
combining two steps:
repeating a prayer
word
sound
phrase or movement
and
disregarding other thoughts
meditation
prayer
tai chi
yoga
all provoke this healthful state
ref: reader's digest ( september 200l)
No comments:
Post a Comment