Linking Our Heart's Emotional Health and Our Overall Health

So much about Summer involves visiting with friends and family at the beach, picnics, and vacations.  In the acupuncture tradition, this time of year relates to our heart…the physical heart as well as its emotional or spiritual aspect.  As many of us have experienced, exercise strengthens our physical heart while lifting our spirits and helping us unwind from the stresses of daily life.  

Now there is growing scientific evidence linking our heart’s emotional health and our overall health picture.  In the book “The Instinct to Heal” by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, studies on the strength of the heart’s rhythm have been shown to have direct correlation to conditions ranging from anxiety and depression to immune diseases, cancer, backache and insomnia.  

The heart functions through electrical stimulation.  When that electrical stimulation is kept even, called coherence, our so-called emotional brain is balanced which keeps our sympathetic and parasympathetic systems working smoothly.  These two systems are the switches that turn on and off with stress, adjusting to highs and lows along the day.  Unfortunately, the fight-or-flight function of the sympathetic system is engaged more consistently in our modern world and has long-standing effects on our body’s whole health picture.   We need that parasympathetic system to settle everything down.  And for many of us, that means intentionally focusing on ways to allow it to do its job by adjusting our heart rhythm.

There are several ways you can develop coherence.  The Institute of HeartMath (http://www.heartmath.org/) has developed software called the emWave that is specific for this technique.  And biofeedback is another tool that a clinician can use to teach you about your heart’s rhythm.  Then the work begins to adjust that rhythm to one that is more balanced (assuming that it is not in perfect balance!).  By using a specific practice of meditation, you can learn to be aware of your heart, its rhythm, and how to adjust it.* 

 Physical exercise is proving to have better long-term results for depression than medications.  And that has a direct effect on how our bodies fight off illness.  A study conducted at University of Miami showed that the body’s Natural Killer cells (which protect us from a wide range of diseases) were inactive when emotionally depressed.  Participants who had a regular exercise practice kept their depression at bay without medication but also showed stronger ability to fight disease.  So even just a short work out can help you improve your emotional wellbeing while clinically strengthening your ability to be healthier. 

As we continue through Summer, notice what activities make you happiest.  Use these longer days outside to nourish your heart and strengthen your overall health by literally doing what you love.  

*To learn more about the coherence training method and its clinical benefits, see pages 52-62 of “The Instinct to Heal”, David Servan-Schreiber.