It’s not new but few people know about the connection between high stress and brain cell injury.

Working too many hours, caring for young children all day and all night, or worrying too much about the finances can expose your brain to high levels of stress hormones and interfere with brain cell repair.

A growth hormone that specializes in brain cell repair can be impaired by too much stress. The growth hormone is called BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic growth hormone) or, as I prefer to call it, “brain fertilizer”.

BDNF circulates between brain cells, stimulating them to sprout tiny branches called dendrites. As many branches and leafs are signs of a healthy tree, many dendrites and spikes (little buds) are signs of a healthy brain cell. Brain fertilizer promotes branching and budding. Stress hormones block it.

For a more detailed description of how high stress can diminish brain cell fertilization, see my book: Breaking Through Depression (third chapter: “Hormone Havoc”).

In the mean time, if you are going through a period of high stress, follow some simple advice: “Just relax for awhile.” Take some walks. Make rest and sleep high priorities. By lowering your stress hormone levels, you make it easier for BDNF to promote branching and budding of your brain cells.

Hall, Donald. Breaking Through Depression. Harvest House Publishers, 2009.
 

Earlier this year, two mega-studies answered yes!

One study looked at twenty years of published research and concluded that “religious/spiritual involvement” was linked with mental health benefits in 72% of factors studied (1). Only 5% of the religious factors were associated with a negative mental health impact.

The other study looked at seven thousand people, examining the links between mental health, religion, and spirituality. Researchers found that those who identified themselves as spiritual but not religious were more likely to be dependent on drugs or suffer from anxiety disorder than those who reported a “religious framework”(2).

Back when I was a psychiatry resident, I had the pleasure of working with David Larson -a pioneer in the area of the scientific study of religion. He introduced me to his ‘systematic review’ method of analyzing multiple research studies at the same time, in order to reach a unified conclusion. Before long my employer (the Army) ended its support of my research interest (the Army needed psychiatrists – not scientists), but not before developing an appreciation for these mega-studies, technically referred to as meta-analyses.

In a similar fashion, Drs. Koenig and Bonelli analyzed twenty years of scientific research and concluded that religious involvement is good for your mental health (1). Others have used this method to demonstrate benefits to physical health as well.

These mega-studies offer clear findings that religious practice can be a very good thing. The benefits of individualized spirituality outside of a religious framework, however may not be so good. So look inside yourself and rekindle your prayer life as you look around your community for a healthy religious group to join. Nurturing your spirit will benefit your mind and body.

1. Journal of Religion and Health. June 2013. Bonelli & Koenig
2. British Journal of Psychiatry. January 2013. King & others