Re: Wnat is the link between positive Emotions and endorphins?

There was a study done with aids patients. They found that while they were
watching TV. certain programs stimulated their T Cell Count, which is
responsible for building our immune system.

TV programs where humor and animals were used showed an increase in T Cell
formation while shows with violence and the local news showed a decrease in
the cell production.

Research Psychoneuroimmunology:
 http://www.psychnet-uk.com/Misc%20Pages/PNI.htm

 
Additional Angles on Endorphins:

--------------------------- Included Article ---------------------------
Let's start with the endorphins. Some researchers believe that strenuous
exercise releases endorphins into the blood stream. Others agree that
endorphins are released during orgasm, as well as during laughter.
Endorphins are a group of substances formed within the body that naturally
relieve pain. They have a similar chemical structure to morphine. In 
addition to their analgesic affect, endorphins are thought to be involved in
controlling the body's response to stress, regulating contractions of the
intestinal wall, and determining mood. They may also regulate the release of
hormones from the pituitary gland, notably growth hormone and the
gonadotropin hormones. It seems that endorphin stimulation may occur with
frequent sex and masturbation, yet Alice doesn't know of any evidence at the
moment that too much sex (or exercise or laughter, for that matter) and
consequential elevated levels of endorphins would have any kind of reverse
effect--i.e. depletion of bodily endorphins, depression, etc. As we speak,
there is current research being done to elucidate the full range of
endorphins' functions in the body. Alice wouldn't worry about too much sex,
though....


Alice

January 6, 1995
Copyright © 1998 by The Trustees of Columbia University
--------------------------- Included Article ---------------------------


Another reference from Norman Cousins (are you familiar with him)?



--------------------------- Included Article ---------------------------
IS LAUGHTER THE BEST MEDICINE?
by Carol Sowell

   A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast.
- Groucho Marx

Medical studies indicate that laughter boosts levels of endorphins, the
body's natural painkillers, and suppresses levels of epinephrine, the stress
hormone. Norman Cousins, whose book Anatomy of an Illness tells how watching
comedic movies helped him recover from an illness that was predicted to be
fatal, is generally credited with starting the scientific study of the
effect of humor on physical wellness some 20 years ago.

Laughter may or may not activate the endorphins or enhance respiration, as
some medical researchers contend. What seems clear, however, is that
laughter is an antidote to apprehension and panic.
- Norman Cousins

Science may consider this a new field, but spiritual teachers, some
physicians and most comedians have known for centuries that laughing can
take some of the power away from a disease.

I've been doing comedy for 13 and 1/2 years and I know I'm healthier because
I've done this. Something happens inside my body. I can't say it 
regenerates, but it certainly holds steady the progress, slows it down for
the night.
- Brett Leake, comedian with muscular dystrophy

Studies have shown the following physiological effects of laughter in the
immune system alone: increase in the number and activity of T cells and
natural killer cells, which attack viruses, foreign cells and cancer cells;
increase in gamma interferon, a blood chemical that transmits messages in
the nervous system and stimulates the immune system; a rise in
immunoglobulin A, an antibody that fights upper respiratory tract infections
(stress, particularly depression, has been shown to lower Ig A levels); and
more immunoglobulins G and M, which help fight other infections.

Mirthful laughter has also been shown to exercise the cardiovascular system
by raising and lowering the heart rate and blood pressure; improve
coordination of brain functions, thereby enhancing alertness and memory;
lift depression; reduce stress; bring pain relief; aid ventilation and clear
mucus in the respiratory system; increase blood oxygen by bringing in fresh
air; and strengthen internal muscles by tightening and releasing them. One
doctor says that 20 seconds of guffawing gives the heart the same workout as 
three minutes of hard rowing.

Healthcare workers who exercise their humor muscles also benefit from
reduced stress, greater empathy and a better ability to relate to their
patient's emotions. However, the hospital experience itself is still great
fodder for humor.

Once person is admitted into a hospital, he is no longer a person, but a
patient. After this metaphysical transformation, he loses all dignity and
grace, going from bashful to dopey.
- Jeff Charlebois, comedian and writer with spinal cord injury, author of

Medical Secrets Revealed, 1994, LeBois Productions.

Hospitals today officially encourage patients to laugh. Many have instituted
humor rooms, comedy carts full of costumes and gag props, closed-circuit
comedy television channels and visits from clowns.

The abbreviation PT, by which physical therapy is widely known, originated
from both Latin and Greek roots, the Latin being "paineoneous" and
"torturellia," meaning pain and torture. And the Greek being "punishamento"
and "tormentia," meaning punishment and torment.
- Jeff Charlebois

People who work in medical settings learn that humor, as healing as it may
be, isn't always appropriate. Each person reaches acceptance of crisis at
his own pace.

Patty Wooten, owner of Jest for the Health of It!, a consulting business
that helps health and social service professionals develop therapeutic humor
programs, has spent much of her nursing career in intensive care units.

"How you use humor depends on the patient," she says. After making clear her
professional competency, she tests patients by showing them a cartoon or
wearing a funny button. Then she watches for facial changes such as
"glistening of the eyes and flushing of the cheeks." If the patient seems to
like the gag, "Then I'd get a little bit bigger with my humor. At first I
always direct it at myself before I would turn it on them."

Humor is tragedy plus time.
- Carol Burnett

In their study of humor and disability, Lefcourt and Martin observed that
the people who laughed at disability-related cartoons had already come to
terms with their disabilities and were able to see references to disability
with less sensitivity. If less than three years had passed since a
disability or diagnosis, the person was less likely to see humor in the
situation.

Wooten helps professionals communicate to people dealing with a new disease
or disability an understanding that They're facing a difficult challenge and
that sadness and a sense of loss are inevitable. She adds, "What they're
going to have to look a little closer for is the joyful moments, the playful
moments. I encourage them to believe that it's still possible to laugh."

By listening to what others say and watching for situations that are
appropriate for humorous comment, friends and family can know when it's time
to administer a dose of laughter.

One of the gifts you can give your child is a willingness to be playful, to
laugh with your child, because if you're serious and somber, the child picks 
up that that's what's expected.
- Patty Wooten

Humor can be uplifting to all family members. Cousins recounts the story of
a 23-year-old woman who was losing the use of her legs because of an
illness. Her doctor feared that the entire family "was becoming unhinged by
worry and despair."

Cousins encouraged the family to look for humorous material at the library
and share anecdotes and jokes with each other. The family found new ways to
connect with the patient, and all felt more hopeful.

What's significant about the laughter was not just the fact that it provides
internal exercise for a person flat on his or her back - a form of jogging
for the innards - but that it creates a mood in which the other positive
emotions can be put to work, too.
- Norman Cousins
--------------------------- Included Article ---------------------------


 Exercise helps treat depression in five ways:
It releases endorphins, the body's own mood-elevating, pain-relieving
compounds.
It reduces levels of the stress-depression hormone, cortisol, in the blood.
It helps provide perspective on life.
It provides a feeling of accomplishment, which enhances self-esteem.
It increases levels of serotonin.
Many, many studies demonstrate that exercise helps treat depression. Here
are summaries of just a few:


At the University of Illinois, researchers surveyed 401 adults about their
health, mental health, and lifestyle. The more time the respondents spent in
strenuous exercise, the less depression, anxiety, and insomnia they
reported.


At Harvard University, researchers divided 32 mildly-to-moderately depressed
individuals over age 60 into two groups. Half continued to live as they had.
The other half enrolled in a weight-lifting class. At the end of 10 weeks, 
everyone in the control group was still mildly-to-moderately depressed. But
among the exercisers only two of 16 still were.


At the University of California-Berkeley School of Public Health,
researchers have been periodically assessing the health, mental health, and
lifestyle of 6,000 residents of the San Francisco Bay Area since 1965. The
ongoing survey clearly shows a strong association between a sedentary
lifestyle and depression, and an equally strong association between becoming
physically active and relief from depression.


University of Nebraska researchers tested 180 college students for
depression and then divided them into three groups. A control group
continued to live their lives as they had. One test group enrolled in a
swimming class that met twice a week for an hour. The other test group
enrolled in an hour-long weight-training class that met twice a week. Seven
weeks later, the researchers re-tested all the students for depression.
Compared with the controls, both exercise groups were significantly less 
depressed, and showed improved self-esteem.


At LaTrobe University in Bundoora, Australia, researchers tested 33 people's
mental health, and then enrolled them in a two-month tai chi class. Tai chi
is a gentle, nonstrenuous, dance-like, Chinese exercise program. After the
class, the people were tested again. They were less depressed, anxious,
tense, and fearful.
Other studies have shown that for mild-to-moderate depression, regular
aerobic exercise helps about as much as talk-based psychotherapy.


Selected Sources:
NIH Depression Awareness, Recognition, and Treatment (D/ART) Program.
Nicoloff, G. and T.L. Schwenk. "Using Exercise to Ward Off Depression," The
Physician and Sportsmedicine. 9-95, 44-56
Ross, C.E. and D. Hayes. "Exercise and Psychological Well-Being," American
Journal of Epidemiology (1988) 127:762.
Jin, P. "Changes in Heart Rate, Noradrenaline, Cortisol, and Mood During Tai
Chi," Journal of Psychosomatic Research (1989) 33:197


--------------------------- Included Article ---------------------------
Music as Therapy
In the Bible's "Book of Samuel," King Saul shows classic symptoms of
depression: persistent sadness, listlessness, and irritability. To ease his
melancholy, the future King David plays music for him.

David had the right idea. In one study, people suffering serious depression
received one of the following: weekly visits from music therapists who
played music and taught them stress-management techniques; taped music to
play on their own, with weekly phone calls from music therapists; or no
music. Compared with the control group, participants in both music groups
showed significantly improved mood.


Source: Hanser, SB, et al. "Effects of a Music Therapy Strategy on Depressed
Older Adults." Gerontology (1994) 49:P265.
--------------------------- Included Article ---------------------------


If you understand the mechanism of depression, then you can see endorphins
role here.

Relaxation Response, Meditation & Visualization as Therapy
People who meditate (or who practice the very similar Westernized, secular
relaxation response) often report mood elevation and feelings of enhanced
well-being.

In a study of 154 women who felt depressed because they were being treated
for breast cancer, British researchers met with one-third, the controls.
They taught another third a combination of the relaxation response and
visualization therapy using pleasant, relaxing imagery. The final third were
taught progressive muscle relaxation, another meditative technique. Before
and after tests showed that the control group remained depressed, but both
relaxation therapies significantly improved the women's mood.

"Many studies have shown mood elevation in depressed people who regularly
elicit the relaxation response," notes Herbert Benson, M.D., the Harvard
researcher who popularized the relaxation response, and introduced
meditation into American medicine.

Prayer therapy:
Many people of different faiths believe that prayer can have beneficial
effects on their own or others' health. Testing the power of prayer is not
easy, but a randomised, double-blind trial with large numbers demands some
attention.

Study
During a 10-month period in 1982/3, patients admitted to San Francisco
General Hospital coronary care unit were eligible for entry. Of these, 393
entered the trial and 57 did not want to participate after being fully
informed about the nature of the project.

Intercessionory prayer was provided by "born again" Christians of several
denominations. After randomisation (by computer-generated list), patients in
the prayer group were prayed for by between three and seven intercessors.
The intercessors were given the first name, diagnosis and general condition
of the patient, with pertinent updates. Prayer took place outside the
hospital daily until discharge. Intercessors prayed for a rapid recovery,
and for prevention of complications and death, as well as anything else they 
wanted to add to the prayer.

Patients had no idea whether or not they were being prayed for. Additional
prayers in either group by, for instance, family members, was not controlled
for. Data on patients' condition, complications and outcome was collected
blind.

Results
There were no differences at entry between patients for any demographic
variable, primary cardiac diagnosis, or noncardiac illness or complication.

Intercessionory prayer was without effect on days spent in the coronary care
unit, or days in hospital, or number of discharge medications. There were 26
new problems, diagnoses or therapeutic events monitored after entry into the
trial; 107 events occurred in 192 patients being prayed for and 175 occurred
in 210 control patients. Six events occurred significantly less frequently
with prayer - congestive heart failure, use of diuretics, cardiac arrest,
pneumonia, antibiotic use and intubation or ventilation. The clinical course 
of patients was scored as good, intermediate, or bad
according to a scoring system. Good outcomes were more frequent in patients
who were being prayed for (163/192; 85%) than in those who were not prayed
for (147/201; 73%). This generated a relative benefit of 1.16 (1.05 - 1.29)
and a NNT of 8.5 (5.1 - 26).

Comment
People will be able to see what they want from this trial. It was a properly
randomised, double-blind trial. It had statistically significant outcomes in
favour of prayer having a beneficial effect in this patient group. There
were no outcomes for which the control group did better than those being
prayed for, and though the effects are not great, they all go in one
direction, that prayer is effective.

Doubters might point out that there may have been an element of
data-dredging, because there was no prior statement of what outcomes were
going to be looked at, and so we have to look less favourably on the result.
They may also point out that some of the events where statistical
significance was found were fairly rare, occurring in only a few percent of
patients in both groups, so random chance may play a part.

The lesson is that a single trial is just that, one observation. If the
effect was massive, and the trial huge, and there was an agreed and
understood mechanism, then perhaps taking results from a single trial may be
OK. Where these conditions are not met, then caution rules. The fact that a
Cochrane review group is summarising all the literature on the effects of
prayer is welcome.

Reference:
Positive therapeutic effects of intercessionory prayer in a coronary care
unit population. Southern Medical Journal 1988 81: 826-9.
--------------------------- Included Article ---------------------------

I hope these resources and tidbits of articles, gives you an idea of the role
endorphins play in our body. It appears as if their powers are unlimited.

Thank you for your question.

Psychoneuroimmunology certainly is a field of medicine to watch.

Linda

Dr. Linda J. Weyandt MD/ CRNA