General Chat

My sister belongs to a group called
friends through Pain and she writes their newsletter. She often sends me a copy and says I can use anything in it on here. The latest is quite interesting and I thought some of you might like to read it.


According to the latest research, relaxing switches on disease-fighting genes which are activated when we unwind. The Okinawans - Japanese islanders who have the longest average lifespan in the world - have long known the benefits of relaxation techniques. They learn tai chi, yoga and meditation from childhood onwards and it clearly pays off because many live well into their hundreds. However, don’t worry if you haven’t been a life-long meditation enthusiast. Researchers also found that these genes are very responsive to changes in mood and behaviour, and after just two months of using relaxation techniques, they begin to switch on, with health benefits increasing with regular practice. According to the study by Harvard Medical School, deep relaxation changes your body on a genetic level. Researchers found that certain genes, including those that protect against high blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis, were switched on in people who practise relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation. The changes are caused by the relaxation effect which can be just as powerful as any medicine, but without the side effects. Most of us are not able to practise yoga, and meditation is not everybody’s ‘cup of tea’, but we can all sit and close our eyes, and listen to relaxing music. Listening to music can help lower your blood pressure according to the Harvard Medical School. The heart muscles of people exercising on treadmills worked less hard when they listened to music rather than exercising in silence. Other studies showed that patients in intensive cardiac care units where music is played needed lower doses of blood pressure-lowering drugs. Alzheimer’s patients can also benefit from the soothing power of music. Blood levels of melatonin, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, all natural mood-enhancing chemicals, rose significantly in patients exposed to music. Those who took part in the study also slept better and became more co-operative and active. A study from Helsinki University revealed that listening to music in the early weeks following a stroke can help patients recover from brain damage. Listening for just a couple of hours a day seemed to improve mental functioning and mood, and the improvements seen were double those seen in patients not exposed to music. Most interesting of all, a study by Cleveland Clinic Foundation found that listening to music for an hour a day could ease back pain by a fifth. Dr Ralph Spintge, a German pioneer in using music for pain management, who has studied around 100,000 patients, claims that up to half of those who listened to music before surgery didn’t need a pre-operative sedative. So it seems that music is a very powerful medium.

That is really interesting.... did they say which genre of music works best?

I have read elsewhere that some music can increase the heartbeat rate... usually those soul stirring Wagnerian types, or heavy metal, lol.... I read that *spooky* or *frightening* bits of films were relayed to people... one group had the music, another it was edited out... and the heartbeats increased in those who had the atmospheric music played to them with the film tracks.

I do know that young people with severe epilepsy responded very positively to softly playing music in the background.... but that is personal anecdote, and not sound scientific research, lol

I would be very interested to give it a twirl.... maybe soft background *white noise* at night time would help at the moment!

Love

Daff xxxx

No I don't think it said what sort I will ask her. I am playing Jack Jones at the moment, he always relaxes me!!!!!

Good afternoon Ann and Daff. I have often seen relaxation CD's for sale in the garden centres. I have often thought of trying them. They have such things as whale music. Will have a good look the next time I am there.
Best Wisshes to both
Julia in Derbyshire

I like some of those Julia, some can be a bit irritating if very repetitive so it is best to listen to them first..

Daff, just asked and she said, anything that you find relaxing, guess it might be different music for different people.

Nudge for anyone who missed it.

Thanks ann im pretty desperate to try anything at the moment, will certainly bare that in mind when in a town centre again could do with something write at this moment lol xx

in this months Spirit and Destiny magazine it has a free cd of relaxation music,
find it in all supermarkets, and w h smith
i started buying it few years back , and its good, lots of stuff in there, you dont have to belive in spooky stuff, just take from it what you want

thanks Julie Ann