Inflamed by Rupa Marya

Author:Rupa Marya
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

THE OPPOSITE OF STRESS

Something as seemingly trivial as having a plant in a hospital room reduces pain, anxiety, fatigue, and blood pressure in patients compared to those in rooms without them. It’s not surprising. One study found that remission from depression was significantly higher among those who walked in nature (61 percent) than among those who were treated in a hospital (21 percent) or left untreated (5 percent).129 The sprawling literature on forest bathing points to an urban route for deep medicine: the web of life is already in cities, even if its attenuated compared to rural areas.130

Central to the story of how human well-being is regulated in nature is the chemical language of hormones. Even though we’re at the early stages of understanding the human-web-of-life boundary, we are a little further along in understanding how human bodies create hormones that react to being in harmony with their surroundings and in relationships. One such hormone is oxytocin, made by the hypothalamus, which plays a role in reproduction of all vertebrates. It is also made by the uterus, the testes, and the heart. This important hormone is responsible for the smooth-muscle contractions of the uterus that push a baby out into the world and for the contractions of lactiferous ducts that bring milk to an infant’s mouth. It also plays a central role in spontaneous erections and ejaculation.131

Oxytocin is essential to social cooperation and empathy and to modulating the impact of stress.132 Called “the love hormone” because of the feeling of connection it engenders, oxytocin enhances an organism’s responsiveness to socially relevant stimuli.133 It boosts the action of endogenous feel-good molecules, like anandamide, that help cannabis promote a sense of well-being and social reward.134 It is also involved in the complex behavior of bonding, which makes you want to cuddle your partner or kiss your children even after they’ve drawn on the walls with permanent markers.135 Oxytocin levels rise when one feels strong social support and when one gives or receives a massage.136 Its presence drives down the amount of circulating cortisol, even in the face of psychosocial stress, creating a calming effect.137 It also has an anti-inflammatory effect through direct modulation of the immune system.138

Although one study showed that oxytocin may be involved in developing in-group bias, Jewish Israelis who were given a dose expressed more empathy toward the pain of Palestinians.139 When taken intranasally, oxytocin makes people more generous, more trusting, and even better at anticipating and understanding others’ emotional states.140 It enhances social cooperation, but only when participants are not overwhelmed by greed or self-interest.141 It also acts differently depending on an individual’s cognitive approach, whether intuitive or more reflective.142

Listening to music increases our oxytocin levels, and when the music gives us chills, dopamine is released in the deep reward centers of the brain.143 Singing together in groups also stimulates oxytocin release, and improvised singing promotes higher levels.144 In birds, singing plays a crucial role in bonding and mating, often for life in pairs—and these behaviors are also mediated through this hormone.

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