Secrets Your Body's Trying To Tell You

Confession: what I really need for better health, nutrition, sleep, pain relief, and more.

- Teresa Dumain

BEHOLD MY POWERFUL MIND TRICKS 

I can think myself full. If you’re indulging in a milk shake and I think it’s high in fat and calories, levels of my hunger hormone ghrelin will dip a lot lower—and leave me feeling more satisfied—than if I believe I’m sipping on a healthier shake, even if the two have the same calorie count, a study in the journal Health Psychology showed.

I can reshape my brain through meditation. According to MRI scans, the hippocampus—the part of the brain in charge of learning and memory— thickens after only a couple of months of mindful meditation. Brain-cell density also decreases in the amygdala (responsible for fear, anxiety, and stress). Those physical brain changes can alter your mood.

I can raise my body temperature. A group of Tibetan nuns can increase their core body temp to about 100 degrees F in subzero weather just by doing a specific type of meditation called g-tummo. Yes, that’s a rare group, but scientists taught Western people a similar technique and found the subjects could raise their body temp. The breathing caused thermogenesis, a process of heat production. This could help people function better in frigid environments.

I can add years to my life. By keeping a positive attitude about aging and continuing to feel useful and happy, I’ll most likely live about seven extra years, according to Yale University surveys.

THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU …