subject: Does Good Health Need A Can-do Attitude? [print this page] Looking away when you are getting an injection makes it hurt less. In a study published in the journal Pain, 25 people received a mild electric shock on their hand while they watched a video of a hand being pricked by a needle and a hand being touched by a Q-tip. On a scale from 0 to 100 the participants reported slightly more pain and significantly more unpleasantness when they received the electric shock while watching the video of the needle. It seems people's expectations of pain affect their perception of the pain's intensity. Obviously, this conclusion was "painstakingly" reached.
Regular, brisk walking strengthens your bones, helps control blood sugar and helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol. However, it isn't necessary to walk 10,000 steps daily - the equivalent of 5 miles. Walking briskly 30 minutes a day 5 days a week accomplishes as much in less time. Thirty minutes reduces risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes by almost 50%. Over time there are also long-term benefits for bones and weight maintenance. Walking briskly is a pace at which you can still carry on a conversation, but you can't sing. Well, maybe you can "sing the praises" of walking.
A bachelor's degree improves your health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2007 and 2010 twenty-five percent of women ages 25 and older with a bachelor's degree were obese compared to 39%-43% of women with less education. Nine percent of bachelor degree graduates smoked compared to 31% of high school graduates. Twenty-five-year-old men with a bachelor's degree had a life expectancy of 9.3 years more than those without a high school diploma. With twenty-five-year-old women the difference was 8.6 years. Regarding health, not furthering your education after high school is "learning one's lesson" the hard way.
Coffee may help you live longer. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine analyzed data collected from more than 400,000 Americans ages 50 to 71. Those drinking at least 2 or 3 cups daily were 10%-15% less likely to die for any reason during the 13-year study. Coffee drinking - caffeinated or decaffeinated - seemed to reduce the risk of dying from heart disease, lung disease, strokes, injuries, accidents, diabetes and infections. However, scientists don't know what compound(s) in coffee have this potentially protective effect. Because coffee contains more than 1,000 compounds, there's more than a "cuple" of possibilities.
