Scientists Admit Positive Mindset Aids Immune System
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)
REPORTER'S NOTE: The mind, as Christians know, is key to how we live our lives in the Spirit. No one is exempt from the necessity of mind renewal. Of course, the scientific community occasionally weighs in on the importance of human thought as it pertains to health—"psycho-babble" and all—as evidenced in the following report. Not surprisingly, instead of crediting God's Spirit as the source behind the transformation of the mind, researchers have chosen the obscure term, "life force." Ironic, isn't it, that people can so unquestioningly accept such a vague term for such a powerful "force," yet at the same time "pooh-pooh" the existence of a brilliant, loving Creator? Yet the fact remains; whatever is good, think on those things!. -Teresa Neumann
According to a study published in the July issue of the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, an emerging area of medical science examines the mind-body connection, and how personality and stress contribute to disease in the aging body. Long-term exposure to hormones released by the brains of people under stress, for instance, takes a toll on organs. Like any injury, this brings a reaction from the body's immune system, including the release of immune chemicals that trigger inflammation in an attempt to begin the healing process. The same process goes too far as part of diseases from rheumatoid arthritis to Alzheimer's disease to atherosclerosis, where inflammation contributes to clogged arteries, heart attacks and strokes.
The current study found that that extroverts, and in particular those high "dispositional activity" or engagement in life, have dramatically lower levels of the inflammatory chemical interleukin 6 (IL-6). Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung defined extroverts as focused on the world around them and most happy when active and surrounded by people. Introverts looked inward and were shy.
According to landmark studies in the early 1990s, extraversion is a personality trait with three parts: a tendency toward happy thoughts, a desire to be around others and "dispositional energy," a sense of innate vigor or active engagement with life ("I'm bursting with energy; my life is fast-paced"). Other dimensions of extraversion, such as sensation-seeking, have also been proposed.
While the first two extrovert qualities were not found to track with inflammation, the current study found increases in "dispositional activity" came with statistically significant decreases in IL-6 (p = .001). P values measure the weight that should be attributed to a finding, with values less than .05 usually deemed significant.
"If this aspect of personality drives inflammation, dispositional energy and engagement with life may confer a survival advantage," Chapman said. "But we don't know if low dispositional activity is causing inflammation, or inflammation is taking its toll on people by reducing these personality tendencies, so we must be cautious in our interpretation of this association."
The findings recall an idea described as early as 1911 by French philosopher Henri Bergson that he called élan vitale or ''life force," according to the authors. This aspect of adult personality may be linked to childhood temperament as well. Some babies are very relaxed, others active. Activity level may reflect a fundamental, biologically-based energy reserve, although no one has explained the biochemistry behind it.
The team gauged the magnitude of IL-6 associations for gender, race/ethnicity and personality by examining the degree to which each factor was associated with differences between people in IL-6. Of the differences in inflammation found in the patient sample in levels of IL-6, about 9 percent of the difference was due to gender, 6 percent was due to dispositional activity levels and another 4 percent to race/ethnicity. That a personality trait may contribute more to IL-6 levels than race/ethnicity was "a great surprise."
"Beyond physical activity, some people seem to have this innate energy separate from exercise that makes them intrinsically involved in life," Chapman said. "It will be fascinating to investigate how we can increase this disposition toward engagement."
