Category Archives: Mind Body

Spirituality* and Brain Thickness

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Photo source: willamette.edu

Photo source:
willamette.edu

In the quest to understand religious experience, scientists study the brains of religious people and ask questions like: “Where do spirituality and the brain meet? Does religious belief promote emotional health? Can we watch spiritual experience change the brain?”

While I share this curiosity, I realize that study of nature will never provide satisfying explanations for spiritual experience. Supernatural experience, by definition, lies beyond the scope of nature. Even so, looking for reflections of spiritual experience in the activity of the brain can be fascinating.

One recent study (1) examined the link between brain structure and spiritual viewpoint. Researchers studied the brains of 103 people and found that those who professed a strong spiritual belief had thicker cortical regions of brain. The neuroscientists also found that people with strong spiritual beliefs were less likely to develop depressive illness.

This does not mean that people with strong religious belief will always have healthier brain structure. Neither does it mean that people of faith will never get depressed. It does, however, suggest that spiritual commitment may help to preserve emotional and physical health.

The religious sage and brain scientist appear to be reaching agreement that prayer, worship, and meditation are good for your mind, body, and spirit.

* While clearly not equivalent terms, spirituality and religious belief are used interchangeably in this posting since they were found to have comparable links to brain thickness and emotional health.

(1) Published by Journal of American Medical Association, Psychiatry (on-line) at: http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1792140

Exercise: Part II – Prayer Walking

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Photo source: prayerideas.org

Photo source:
prayerideas.org

As the new year arrives, many of us plan to build better habits – to take better care of ourselves – mind, body, and spirit. Physical exercise can help all three.

Exercise wakes up the body and mind with physical arousal and keenness of thought. A good workout can also restore spiritual perspective when combined with prayer.

“Prayer walking” mingles physical exercise with spiritual thinking, promoting emotional wholeness. As you walk on the treadmill or jog through the neighborhood, take a few moments to think about God and his interest in your life.

In your mind, list the worries or concerns that you have about today. Now, give them to God. Maybe saying, “Lord I can’t handle (name the hardship) on my own. I trust You to take care of it or give me the wisdom to respond rightly.”

As you continue huffing and puffing, think about the trials you will face tomorrow. Again, list them… and release them to God. Still walking, your heart pumping oxygen and energy to your brain, tension fades and you begin to relax as your feet hit land in soothing rhythm.

Now list the concerns that you have about next year – your family and friends, finances and faith. Breathing deeply, give them to God – the creator of your body, your community, and reality.

Pairing prayer with exercise in this way helps to focus your mind and spirit. It may help you to maintain a stepwise process of analysis – no distracting i-phones or no e-mail – just you and God walking along your pathway of life.

Exercise Part I – Pumped Up Moods

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Heavy breathing, pounding heart rate, and sweating are your body’s natural responses to emotional stress and physical exercise. These arousal responses may also aid in mental processing and emotional relief.

Rapid breathing and racing heart rate pump oxygen and energy products to brain cells. More power for data processing translates into better problem solving.

Aerobic exercise also elevates mood. Short term mood elevation follows the release of pleasure compounds (endorphins). Longer term changes in mood follow release of Brain-Derived-Neurotrophic-Growth Factor. This natural ‘brain fertilizer’ promotes brain cell repair in regions responsible for mood regulation.

For cases of mild depression, exercise may be as helpful as professional treatment. Psychiatric researchers suggest “the benefits of exercise may be comparable to cognitive or group therapy” (Sidhu). Experts recommend a daily dose of 30-45 minutes of aerobic exercise such as running, swimming, or dancing.

It may seem difficult to start but once begun exercise usually gets easier and may end up feeling pretty good. It can pump you up with confidence before a social event or help to blow off steam from daily hassles. It may even help relieve clinical depression.

If you are not already fit for aggressive exercise, talk to a physician before you start and begin with light 10 minute routines each day. Go ahead. Get pumped up.

Kawaldeep Sidhu and others. Exercise Prescription: A Practical, Effective Therapy for depression. Current Psychiatry, June 2009.

Antidepressants Make Brain Cells Act Like Youngsters

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Antidepressants cause brain cells to act like juveniles. A report this month in JAMA Psychiatry states that antidepressant medications induce “juvenile-like plasticity” in the adult cortex.

Basically, antidepressants help to sprout and reshape brain cells. This branching and reconnecting makes it easier for those using this medication to learn new behaviors – like how to cope with stress.

The report also notes that medications and counseling work well together. Antidepressants fertilize the field of brain cells, if you will, making it easier to grow new behaviors. Combining receptive brain cells with good counsel leads to better coping and, hopefully, improvements in work productivity and quality of relationships.

Castrén, Eero. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) – Psychiatry. September 2013