Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Emotions and Health (Why Humans need to lead Good Life?)



Posted by: Life Skills Sankar
Source:
Sankara Pitchaiah Podila (2018) Why Humans Need To Lead Good Life?, International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, Vol. 9, Issue, 9(D), pp. 28925-28931 (Thomson Reuters Researcher ID: K-7356-2016).
Sankara Pitchaiah Podila (2019) Knowing Self-A Solution For Personal And Global Challenges, International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, Vol. 10, Issue, 02(C), pp. 30889-30898.

Introduction
Happiness depends on our health (physical and mental) and the health on emotions. Society with good humans drive toward healthy and peaceful society and unrest in the society question the purpose of life.
Systematic process has been operating in human body among senses, mind, personality, brain, emotions, nervous system, hormones, neurotransmitters and health. Our senses supply input from our environment to the mind (Figure 1).  The input stimulates the mind and the mind processes it depending on type of personality and produces a feeling. Based on the type of feeling, corresponding electrical signals generate from the human brain and these brain waves cause an emotion. If it is a positive emotion, it generates health promoting hormones/neurotransmitters in the nervous system and drive away the health problems or cure the problems already attacked,. In case if it is a negative emotion, it causes to release health deteriorating hormones/neurotransmitters and cause health problems or aggravate, if suffering from health problems. Each step of the proposed model is briefly presented here.

Human Senses
The five human senses are the five main tools that humans use to get information from the environment and the information stimulates our mind.
Stimulus
Human senses are the messengers of information from the environment. The information so received is the stimulus for our mind. At a time one sense may feed the information or more than one or even all senses feed the information based on the incident. For ex., there is scenery in front of us, only the eyes act. When some sound also associated with it both eyes and ears act in sending the information.
Mind
Mind occupies the central point in human life and is behind all the body matters. It may drive the life towards happy and peaceful end or misery. The mind is a set of cognitive faculties including consciousnessperceptionthinkingjudgmentlanguage and memory. It is usually defined as the faculty of an entity's thoughts and consciousness.  It holds the power of imagination, recognition, and appreciation, and is responsible for processing feelings and emotions, result attitudes and actions. Stimulus received by mind will be processed further by personality.



  Fig.1 Relation between Emotions and Health

Personality
Personality is defined as the characteristic set of behaviorscognitions, and emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental factors (Philip and Gerald, 2009). While there is no generally agreed upon definition of personality, most theories focus on motivation and psychological interactions with one's environment (Sadock et al., 2017). Most of the personality theories view personality as relatively stable. 16 personality types are shown in table 1.

Table 1 Types of Personality (Source: https://www.personalitypage.com)

S. No
Type of Personality
Characteristics
S.No
Type of Personality
Characteristics
1.
ISTJ
The Duty Fulfiller
9.
ESTP
The Doer
2.
ISTP
The Mechanic
10.
ESTJ
The Guardian
3.
ISFJ
The Nurturer
11.
ESFP
The Performer
4.
ISFP
The Artist
12.
ESFJ
The Caregiver
5.
INFJ
The Protector
13.
ENFP
The Inspirer
6.
INFP
The Idealist
14.
ENFJ
The Giver
7.
INTJ
The Scientist
15.
ENTP
The Visionary
8.
INTP
The Thinker
16.
ENTJ
The Executive


Different personalities differently perceived the same stimulus and act differently. For ex., somebody met with an accident, many peoplejust watch, considerable number gather and just discuss, very few immediately react and try to help. The way of perception generates corresponding feeling,

Feeling
Feeling is an emotional state or reaction. The feeling causes to form an emotion through brain waves.
  
Brain waves 
Brainwaves are produced by synchronised electrical pulses from masses of neurons communicating with each other. Our brainwaves (Table 2) change according to what we are

Table 2. Brain waves
Types/
Frequency
Characteristics
Infra-Low
<.5HZ
Behind our higher brain functions, Play a major role in brain timing and network function. 
Delta (δ)
0.5-3Hz
Slow and loud, Deepest meditation and dreamless sleep, Source of empathy, Healing and regeneration.
Theta(θ)
3-8Hz
Most often in sleep, Dominant in deep meditation, Gateway for learning, memory, and intuition, Senses withdrawn from the external world, Where we hold our ‘stuff’, our fears, troubled history and nightmares.
Alpha (α)
8-12Hz
Dominant during quietly flowing thoughts, Resting of state for the brain, Aid overall mental coordination, calmness, alertness, mind/body integration and learning.
Beta (β)
12-27Hz
Present when we are alert, attentive, engaged in problem solving, judgment, decision making, or focused mental activity, Highly complex thought, integrating new experiences, high anxiety, or excitement, Can translate into stress, anxiety and restlessness.
Gamma(γ)
>27Hz
The fastest of brain waves and relate to simultaneous processing of information from different brain areas, 
Pass information rapidly and quietly, The mind has to be quiet to access gamma and It was highly active when in states of universal love, altruism, and the ‘higher virtues’.

doing and feeling. The type of brainwave is defined by the frequency at which it is pulsing. The particular rate of pulsation determines the state of individual mind. There are often several patterns interacting at one time. Brains operate much like a resonance chamber, oscillating pulses and patterns of neural excitations ripple through our brains much like never-ending waves in a dynamic pond of subtle electrical matter. Brainwave entrainment and binaural beats occur naturally in our environment (Ved Vyas, 2014).
When slower brainwaves are dominant we feel tired, slow, sluggish, or dreamy. The higher frequencies are dominant when we feel wired, or hyper-alert. When our brainwaves are out of balance, there will be corresponding problems in our emotional or neuro-physical health.
Over-arousal in certain brain areas is linked with anxiety disorders, sleep problems, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, impulsive behaviour, anger/aggression, agitated depression, chronic nerve pain and spasticity. Under-arousal in certain brain areas leads to some types of depression, attention deficit, chronic pain and insomnia. A combination of under-arousal and over-arousal is seen in cases of anxiety, depression and ADHD (https://brainworksneurotherapy.com).
Lee and Hsieh (2014) did a study to classify different emotional states by means of Electro encephalogram (EEG)-based functional connectivity patterns. The results indicated that the EEG-based functional connectivity change was significantly different among emotional states.
Du, Ruoyu, et al., (2014)  revealed that the basic waves of Alpha, Beta and Gamma changed significantly at limited location due to changed emotional status. Ahmed and kareem (2013) analysed brain waves that associated with the internal emotion of human. And  proved that the velocity of sad emotion is faster than happy emotion.
Fu-Chien Kao et al., (2015) have investigated difference of human brain wave of eight types of positive and negative emotions i.e., Joyful, Angry, Protected, Sad, Surprised, Fear, Satisfied and Unconcerned. The study shows eight different positive and negative emotions can be effectively identified by the proposed emotional brainwave digital encoding technique and the technique is promising for developing future emotion identification technique.
Although inputs originating from many different bodily organs and systems are involved in the processes that ultimately determine emotional experience, it is now abundantly clear that the heart plays a particularly important role. The heart is the primary and most consistent source of dynamic rhythmic patterns in the body. Furthermore, the afferent networks connecting the heart and cardiovascular system with the brain are far more extensive than are the afferent systems associated with other major organs (Cameron, 2002).  The heart not only pumps blood, but also continually transmits dynamic patterns of neurological, hormonal, pressure, and electromagnetic information to the brain and throughout the body.
All these studies supporting the direct role of heart and brain waves behind the origin of emotions.

Emotions
Emotion is an agitated or excited state of our mind and body. It is any conscious experience characterized by intense mental activity and a certain degree of pleasure or displeasure. The physiology of emotion is closely linked to arousal of the nervous system.
According to Fu-chien Kao et al., (2015) emotion is the generic term for various subjective cognitive experiences and a psychological and physiological synthesized state generates under a variety of perceptions, thoughts, and behaviours. From the component-processing model, emotion consist five basic elements that must be coordinated in a short time, synchronous manner  The five basic elements are cognitive assessment, physical reactions, feelings, tendencies, expression, and action (Scherer, 2005).
Emotions are classified into two types: Positive and negative. The most common Positive and negative emotions are included in table 3.
Table 3 The most common Positive and Negative emotions
Positive emotions
Negative emotions
Love
Anger
Kindness
Sadness
Gratitude
Jealous
Hope
Hatred
Joy
Grief
Appreciation
Frustration
Pride
Depression
Amusement
Isolation
Serenity
Humiliation
Awe
Worthlessness
Inspiration
Anxiety
Interest
Conflict

Every emotion stimulates a chemical response in your body. Positive emotions cause the production of “feel good” hormones serotonin and dopamine (http://theutopianlife.com/2014). Negative emotions cause the production of “stress” hormones cortisol and adrenaline.

Positive Emotions
Raposa et al., (2015) study indicated that helping others boosted participants’ daily well-being. A greater number of helping behaviors was associated with higher levels of daily positive emotion and better overall mental health. Participants’ helping behavior also influenced how they responded to stress. People who reported lower-than-usual helping behavior reported lower positive emotion and higher negative emotion in response to high daily stress.
Sandra Manninen et al., (2017) found that Social laughter led to pleasurable feelings and significantly increased release of endorphins and other opioid peptides in the brain areas controlling arousal and emotions. The more opioid receptors the participants had in their brain, the more they laughed during the experiment.
Dunbar et al., (2011) did a series of six experiments and the results showed that laughing increased pain resistance, whereas simple good feeling in a group setting did not. From these studies, one can understand that the positive emotions promote sound health.
Negative Emotions
The negative emotions may come from many issues and be different for each person. Conflicts over beliefs, racism, financial worry, physical ailments, poor living conditions, and toxic relationships are just a few examples of where negative emotions might originate. We are surrounded by so many levels of negativity that even the most positive people may struggle with maintaining their happiness and optimism. Negative emotions take root in our body and cells.
For ex., Anger is a primary human emotion we all experience from time to time. We feel anger when we feel threatened due to physical conflict, injustice, humiliation or betrayal. Hendricks et al., (2013) presented the effects of anger on the brain and body. The average adult experiences anger about once a day and becomes annoyed or peeved about three times a day (Mills, 2005).
The brain processes all emotional stress. When the brain senses threat or harm, millions of nerve fibers within our brain release chemicals throughout the body to every organ. When a person experiences anger the brain causes the body to release stress hormones, adrenaline and noradrenalin. These chemicasl help the body to control the heart rate and blood pressure. The release of these chemical also helps regulate the pancreas which controls the sugar balance in our blood (Boerma, 2007).
Anger also causes the release of the stress hormone, cortisol. Release of this hormone gives the body bursts of energy. However, too much of this hormone can cause a multitude of negative effects on the body. Too much cortisol in the body can cause an imbalance in blood sugar; it can suppress thyroid function, and decrease bone density. This hormonal imbalance also impacts the body’s immune system. Research shows that chronic-angry people suffer more frequent colds, flu’s infections, asthma, skin disease flare-ups and arthritis, as compared to on-chronic-angry people (Boerma, 2007).
Hill et al. (2006) warn of the act that there are proofs that establish a positive association between negative emotions and conditions such as atherosclerosis or coronary heart disease (CHD). Anger can have a direct impact upon cardiovascular diseases through the HPA axis and the sympathetic nervous system, their activation leading to an excessive liberation of corticosteroids and catecholamine. The liberation of such stress hormones can produce an avalanche of events, including hemodynamic and metabolic modifications, vascular problems, and disorders of the cardiac rhythm. Anger can also contribute to the adoption of an unhealthy lifestyle (smoking, consumption of high caloric aliments, alcohol and caffeine consumption).
Women in strained relationships are more likely to be overweight, have high blood pressure and suffer from the signs of "metabolic syndrome" – a range of risk factors that can lead to heart disease, stroke and diabetes. In other words, those who reported experiencing more conflict, hostility and disagreement with their spouses would be more depressed, which in turn would be associated with a higher risk of heart disease due to metabolic syndrome. (https://www.independent.co.uk). Annapurna et al., (2015) and Sankara Pitchiah (2013, 2014) also reported the harmful effects of negative emotions on human health.
So we can understand that the negative emotions deteriorate human health and shall try to inculcate the positive emotions for sound health.

Emotions and heart rate
Recent years have seen the emergence of a new understanding of how the brain functions
and how the heart and brain interact in a dynamic and complex relationship. Psychologists once maintained that emotions were purely mental expressions generated by the brain alone. We now know that emotions have as much to do with the body as they do with the brain. A current view widely held among neuroscientists and  psychophysiologists is that the emergence of emotional experience results from the ongoing interactions between the brain, the body, and the external environment (Damasio, 2003; Pribram & Melges, 1969).
Mc Craty and Rees (2009) had examined the natural fluctuations in heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV) or heart rhythms (See Sankara Pitchaiah, 2018, for figures). These beat-to-beat changes in heart rate are generated largely by the interaction between the heart and brain via the neural signals flowing through the afferent (ascending) and efferent (descending) pathways of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). HRV is thus considered a measure of neurocardiac function that reflects heart–brain interactions and ANS dynamics.

 Emotions and heart rhythm patterns ((McCraty and Rees, 2009; McCraty and Zayas, 2014)

Utilizing HRV analysis, the author demonstrated that distinct heart rhythm patterns characterize different emotional states. In general, emotional stress—including emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety—leads to heart rhythm patterns that appear incoherent. In contrast, sustained positive emotions, such as appreciation, compassion, and love, generate a smooth, ordered, sine wave-like pattern in the heart’s rhythms. This reflects increased synchronization in higher-level brain systems and in the activity occurring in the two branches of the ANS as well as a shift in autonomic balance toward increased parasympathetic activity.
Although heart rate and the amount of HRV can covary with emotional changes, it is found that it is the pattern of the heart’s rhythm that is primarily reflective of the emotional state (McCratyet al., 2005). McCraty and Rees (2009) observed that when positive states are maintained, through the intentional generation of positive emotions, coherent heart rhythm patterns can be sustained for longer periods, which leads to increased synchronization and entrainment between the heart’s rhythm and the activity of multiple bodily systems. Such synchronization is observed between heart rhythms, respiratory rhythms, and blood pressure oscillations.
The coherent state is characterized by increased synchronization between the activity of the heart and brain. Specifically, it is found that the brain’s alpha and beta rhythms, as well as lower frequency brain activity, exhibit increased synchronization with the cardiac cycle during this mode (McCraty & Childre, 2004). Psychologically, the coherence mode is associated with a calm, emotionally-balanced, yet alert and responsive state that is conducive to improved cognitive and task performance, including problem- solving, decision-making, long-term memory, and activities requiring perceptual acuity—attentional focus, coordination, and discrimination (McCraty et al., 2005). These studies are highlighting the necessity to lead our life with positive emotions for sound health.

Hormones/Neurotransmitters
The Positive/Negative emotions release different hormones/neruotransmitters.

Hormones
A hormone is any member of a class of signaling molecules produced by glands in multicellular organisms that are transported by the circulatory system to target distant organs to regulate physiology and behaviour. Hormones are used to communicate between organs and tissues  for physiological regulation and behavioural activities, such as    digestion,  metabolismrespirationtissue function, sensory perceptionsleepexcretionlactationstressgrowth and developmentmovementreproduction, and mood.  (Wikipedia), Ex., Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone.

Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitter is a chemical substance that acts as a mediator for the transmission of nerve impulse from one neuron to other neuron through a synapse (Sembulingam and Sembulingam, 2013). Neurotransmitters are used to relay information about environment to the brain, to analyze the information and to set in motion appropriate bodily responses (Clark and Grunstein, 2000). Approximately 70 neurotransmitters regulate human body functioning and contribute to normal functioning (www.hydeparkcps.org). All neurotransmitters play some role in behaviour. The neurotransmitters most commonly implicated in behavior modulation are the small molecular transmitters – acetyl choline, norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin (Clark and Grunstein, 2000).
Interactions between neurotransmitters, hormones, and the brain chemicals have a profound influence on overall health and well-being. When our concentration and focus is good, we feel more directed, motivated, and vibrant. Unfortunately, if neurotransmitter levels are inadequate these energizing and motivating signals are absent and we feel more stressed, sluggish, and out of control.

Causes for neurotransmitter dysfunction
Prolonged periods of stress can deplete neurotransmitters levels. Our fast paced, fast food society greatly contributes to these imbalances. Stress raises free radicals, insulin, and blood pressure which all damage neurons.  Our body has a checks and balances system to make sure we do not go too far in one direction.  When we are stressed and our catecholamines rise we will release serotonin and GABA to counteract it.  If we are constantly under stress and releasing serotonin and GABA we will desensitize to them and they will become depleted.  This leaves the catecholamines to run rampant.  Excess amounts of catecholamines in our system lead to depression, anxiety, and insomnia.  Poor sleep, illness, and excessive heat will also deplete serotonin as does cortisol (https://www.hawkinspsychiatry.com).

Everyone experiences small frustration (negative emotion) during daily life that usually lasts for 24 hours or less. This is known as “acute” stress. In this case, negative emotions may ruin our day but otherwise have little to no effect on our quality of life. If it doesn’t ease after several days or gradually worsens, it is known as “chronic” stress. In such a case they can have devastating and irreparable effects to your physical health (citation needed). Chronic stress keeps your system unnaturally flooded with cortisol and adrenaline and results in inflammation. we may not know how deeply the stress affects us until we start to experience the physical signs that eventually manifest.
The cortisol, interfere with learning and memory, lower immune function and bone density, increase weight gain, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease etc. Cortisol actually damages serotonin receptor sites.

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