Health

While deep breathing, and upon the exhale, we can release a lot of toxins in the blood. Isn’t it nuts that toxins can leave our blood by consciously taking deep breaths! Can we see how beneficial this might be? Toxins in the blood can cause headaches, nausea, fatigue, fevers, and the list can go on for a long time.

Your heart must first feed itself nutrients to function and contract appropriately before it can send blood to the rest of the body. Once increased oxygen get sent to every cell your body naturally warms up. This is why people often feel really warm when they practice yoga, because they are increasing oxygenation throughout the whole body. The increased warmth occurs because the mitochondria spoken of in a previous blog, is pumping out more energy. This also increases our metabolism and has been shown to aid in weight loss.2

Reference:

1. Kyeongra Yang, “A Review of Yoga Programs for Four Leading Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases”, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 4, Article ID 521526, 2007.

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson DC…

It has been hypothesized and evidence definitely points to the possibility that stem cells, which rejuvenate and heal damaged tissues, are released from the bone marrow when a person practices yoga.1 That being said, there is no solid evidence to prove this yet. It is a well known fact that regular exercise does stimulate the regeneration of tissues and has an antioxidant, and anti-aging effect.

Yoga uses deep breathing during stretching and various movements. During these movements practicing yoga students learn to meditate and often let go of things that are bothering them in their life. With looking at the power of the mind in our thinking alone, wouldn’t it also make sense too, that as we are intending to heal our body and focus on it, then that is where our energy will go. If our energy goes towards where ever it is we are thinking, I believe that our body will do the same, even our stem cells.

Reference:

1. Nitya Shree, Ramesh R. Bhonde, “Can yoga therapy stimulate stem cell trafficking from bone marrow?“ Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, Volume 7, Issue 3, 2016, Pages 181- 184, ISSN 0975-9476, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaim.2016.07.003.

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson DC…

From 2003 to 2011, the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) showed an increase of 42% of children diagnosed between ages 4-17 with ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).1 The way that conventional methods used in western societies to treat this is to medicate with pharmaceuticals even to this day. These pharmaceuticals are divided into stimulants vs non-stimulant drugs. Some side effects of the stimulant drugs include:2

• 
  Mild belly pain
  
• 
  Headache
  
• 
  Irritability or anxiousness
  
• 
  Sleep problems
  
• 
  Reduced appetite
  
  Some side effects of the non-stimulant drugs include:2
  
  • Sleepiness
  

• 
  Reduced appetite
  
• 
  Upset stomach
  
  With a growing number of kids and now adults having attention problems (ADD, ADHD, etc), it is vitally important to find ways that are effective in treating them. Yoga, Qigong, and Tai Chi are great ways to do this! If you’re child or adult finds it boring or uninteresting, incorporating some Kung Fu can help keep interest. Kung Fu uses Qigong for self defense and is also a great form of exercise!
  
  Qigong has been shown to greatly help all forms of systems revolving around attention.3 If you or someone close you suffers with an kind of attention disorder, there may be some benefit with these practices.
  
  References:
  

1. 
   https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd
   
2. 
   Felt BT, Biermann B, Christner JG, et al. Diagnosis and management of ADHD in children. Am
   
   Fam Physician. 2014 Oct 1;90(7):456-64
   
3. 
   Jha, A. P., Krompinger, J., & Baime, M. J. (2007). Mindfulness training modifies subsystems of attention. Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience, 7(2), 109–119.
   

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson DC

…

An add on to the breathing technique previously suggested, while laying in bed before sleep would be to think about all the things you did good through out the day or listing the things that you were grateful for the day. Doing this leaves your brain on a positive note about the day and prompts your subconscious mind to have positive dreams at night. Then upon waking in the morning, that will often be the first thing you think about. What a great way to reduce and let go of stress while improving your quality of sleep.

Gratitude has been shown to re-wire the brain in healthy patterns. According to one of the worlds most renown experts on gratitude it does 4 things within the body:1

1. 
   Gratitude allows celebration of the present
   
2. 
   Gratitude blocks toxic emotions (envy, resentment, regret, depression)
   
3. 
   Grateful people are more stress-resilient
   
4. 
   Gratitude strengthens social ties and self-worth
   

References:

1. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good

I hope you can use this information to better your sleep and your life. References:

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson DC…

50-70 million US adults have a sleep disorder. Driving tired is responsible for 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 nonfatal injuries yearly.1 Could something as simple as breathing help with sleeping? Yes! A big reason why people are tired is due to a lack of oxygen in the brain.

Deep diaphragmatic breathing using various forms of mindfulness practices helps to calm our nervous system down and reduce stress. Since stress is being reduced we can also find great benefit in doing Qigong to help our sleep.2

A very simple way to do this would be when you’re laying down on your back in bed for the night, place your hands gently on your lower abdomen. While breathing in and out through your nose gently and slowly, feel your lower abdomen with your hands rise as you inhale and lower as you exhale. Once you get the feel for how to breathe with your lower abdomen, place your arms and hands to your sides on the be. While still breathing slowly, imagine all the muscles in your body relaxing starting from your scalp and go all the down your face to your neck and chest. Then move to your arms and fingers. Continue on to your back and abdomen and to your legs and feet/toes. Take a deep breath in again with your belly and exhale while relaxing 10x as much everything in your body.

References:

1. https://www.sleepassociation.org/about-sleep/sleep-statistics/

2. Zou, L., SasaKi, J. E., Wang, H., Xiao, Z., Fang, Q., & Zhang, M. (2017). A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Baduanjin Qigong for Health Benefits: Randomized Controlled Trials. Evidence- based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2017, 4548706

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson DC…

There are so many digestive problems going on right now; cortisol levels are through the roof; high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes are rampant, and people are having a hard time calming down. Through it all, the vagus nerve, our parasympathetic nervous system, is being inhibited and, as a society, we are in a chronic state of the Fight or Flight plague.

The heart and brain have more neuronal connections to each other than any other systems in the body!1 From this we can know that the vagus nerve plays a major role in the communication between the two. Whether we choose to be in fight or flight mode, or calm and relaxed makes the difference between health and illness.

When we breath deep and then actually sigh out the breath from our mouth, we further stimulate the vagus nerve as it is vibrating from the vocal cords. The Vagus nerve follows the esophagus down to the stomach, diaphragm and all the digestive organs! As we do this we further relax the body and all systems within.

References:

1. R. McCraty, M. Atkinson, D. Tomasino, et al., “The Coherent Heart: Heart-Brain Interactions, Psychophysiological Coherence, and the Emergence of System-Wide Order,” Integral Review, vol. 5, no. 2: pp.10-115 (2009).

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson DC…

The vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) has two components to it linking to both of our autonomic nervous systems; the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. When we are under stress, we are in a state called Fight or Flight which is where our sympathetic nervous system comes in. The nerves impacting the sympathetic nervous system come primarily from the thoracic vertebral column or the mid back.

When we are calm and relaxed we fall into what’s called the parasympathetic nervous system; which nerves come primarily from the head and neck and sacral regions. In this state our body is able to heal and digest our food. Also, we can think clearly and not be as reactive to stimuli as blood leaves the amygdala (fear center of the brain) and goes back to the frontal lobe of the brain.

When we take deep breaths cortisol levels (stress hormone) decrease, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure is improved along with stress.1

Even though this systematic review along with a host of other studies showing the benefit of deep diaphragmatic breathing doesn’t specifically talk about the vagus nerve, we can know that the vagus nerve is involved as it controls these two sides of our autonomic nervous system. When the vagus nerve is stimulated our body calms down and allows for healing to occur. Which is what we all want I think. Although, stress inhibits vagus nerve stimulation which makes it near impossible to heal and be well.

Reference:

1. Hopper, S. I., Murray, S. L., Ferrara, L. R., & Singleton, J. K. (2019). Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress in adults: a quantitative systematic review. JBI database of systematic reviews and implementation reports, 17(9), 1855–1876.

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson DC…

Deep breathing associated with mindfulness meditation has been shown to increase gray matter in the brain. Especially the areas of the hippocampus, the posterior cingulate cortex, the temporoparietal junction, and the cerebellum. These regions of the brain regulate memory, learning, emotional intelligence, social cognition, perspective taking, and self referential processing. Major depression, and post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) have been linked with a decrease in volume or density of the hippocampus.1,2,3 We will discuss more about major depression and PTSD the next couple of times you receive our emails.

Isn’t it neat?! That we can, through our breath and our mind, increase the density and capacity of our brain! The more we use our brain to meditate on positive things and to be more present the more we literally form new neurons and make new connections with other neurons. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do better in school with learning and memory recall? Or become aware of the emotions and language of others to be sensitive and non-judgemental as we try to serve them?

I know that meditating while deep breathing helps us to become more aware, receive more energy, healing, and the ability to help others more effectively.

References:

1. 
   Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Vangel, M., Congleton, C., Yerramsetti, S. M., Gard, T., & Lazar, S. W. (2011). Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry research, 191(1), 36–43.
   
2. 
   Sheline YI. 3D MRI studies of neuroanatomic changes in unipolar major depression: the role of stress and medical comorbidity. Biological Psychiatry. 2000;48:791–800.
   
3. 
   Kasai K, Yamasue H, Gilbertson MW, Shenton ME, Rauch SL, Pitman RK. Evidence for acquired pregenual anterior cingulate gray matter loss from a twin study of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Biological Psychiatry. 2008;63:550–556.
   

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Depression affects 19% of the US population each year, and anxiety affects about 3% of the US population. Panic disorder affects close to 3%, social anxiety disorder affects about 7% and specific phobias affects about 9% of the U.S. population.1

There seems to be a great need for help in this arena especially since not even half of most people with these mental imbalances receive treatment! I don’t think that anything can compare to cost effectiveness than can something as simple as deep diaphragmatic breathing associated mindfulness practices such as Qigong and Tai Chi.

Many mood and mental illnesses are shown to be significantly helped and improved by various mindfulness practices such as deep breathing. One empirical review showed great results with depression and anxiety.2

Qigong and tai chi shows great promise in the alleviation of and in reversing psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety. A systematic review compiled many different studies including 6410 participants measuring a large variety of benefits with Qigong and Tai Chi.3 From this study, 163 different physiological and psychological health outcomes were found. 28 of the studies observed showed psychological factors of anxiety, depression, stress, mood, fear of falling, and self-esteem to be significantly improved.

If you or someone you know has depression and anxiety, tell them about trying Qigong or Tai Chi! You can only help them improve. What do you have to lose?

References:

1. 
   https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics
   
2. 
   Baer RA. Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review.
   
   Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice. 2003;10:125–143.
   
3. 
   Jahnke, R., Larkey, L., Rogers, C., Etnier, J., & Lin, F. (2010). A comprehensive review of health
   
   benefits of qigong and tai chi. American journal of health promotion : AJHP, 24(6), e1–e25.
   

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson DC…

Neurons in the human brain begin to die in less than 3 minutes when deprived of oxygen. Once 3 minutes has passed, permanent brain damage occurs.

Have you ever noticed students at school, slouching in their chairs? Sometimes you may even see them start yawning or lay their head down to fall asleep. A couple things may be at play here. First, they may have just not received enough sleep. The second possibility is the fact that when anyone slouches or hunches forward, they cut off about two-thirds of their oxygen transfer to their blood from their lungs. This in turn deprives the brain of sufficient oxygen to think straight and function properly. So then, the student becomes more tired and may eventually fall asleep.

As spoken about in our previous blog post, our nervous system, especially our brain, vitally needs oxygen for our cells to produce energy. Without the energy to send direct signals, or action potentials, in the brain, our brains become sluggish and our mental capacities decline.

Anybody who finds themselves slouching or having poor posture, who feels tired, can greatly help themselves by sitting up straighter and taking a few deep breaths in through the nose and out the mouth.

Till next time. Thank you,

Dr. Josef Patterson DC…