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Can you believe that we are heading right into
Thanksgiving and Christmas? It is really important that you take stock of your
health before the holidays and have a game plan for healthy eating and
exercise. No excuses! Do it for yourself. Do it for love.......
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The Power of Love |
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The new blush of love is exciting
and can be all consuming. It turns out in addition it can reduce pain.
Scientists at Stanford University have been able to quantify the power of love
as it relates to pain.
They took 15 students who were in romantic relationships within the previous 9 months. They brought pictures of
their significant other and a friend. When looking at the pictures they
were given a painful stimulus. They also distracted the students. They
found that distraction and looking at the loved one (but not looking at a
friend) decreased pain but by different mechanisms. Distraction required the
thinking part of the brain and love used opiate receptors to relieve pain.
Love stopped pain processing before it reached the brain. Pain reached the brain before the distraction
stopped it. Love lights up the part of the brain that is triggered by things
like narcotic pain relievers or winning a lot of money.
It would be great if we could bottle that feeling, and it could happen some day. In the meantime, we might be
able to access the benefits with hypnosis or guided imagery.
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