SAN DIEGO — At a time many are searching for meaning, hope, comfort, and inner peace in daily life, many turn to art, music and nature, while others, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, turn to faith and religion. Spirituality, defined as a belief in a higher power that gives life meaning, characterized by humility, plays a role in improving overall health and may prolong life.
In attempting to understand how religion lengthens lifespan, researchers explain that people who attend religious services may be healthier than those who do not and are less likely to smoke and/or drink excessive amounts of alcohol. They also report that strong social bonds, such as those formed among congregation members, may help boost immune system functioning, thus improving overall health.
A study in Demography found that, in general, people who attend worship services one or more times a week live about eight years longer than those who never attend religious services. Specifically, the study analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey and based on this, learned that those people who never attended religious services had an 87% higher risk of dying from all causes during a nine-year follow-up period than those who attended services one or more times per week.
The investigators noted, “religious attendance also works through increased social ties and behavioral factors to decrease the risks of death.” Of course, there is still a sense among much of the scientific community that religious effects are minor, at best, or even irrelevant.
Another study, one reported in Family Medicine, done at a family practice clinic in Georgia, found that those who were highly or moderately spiritual reported better overall health and less physical pain than their counterparts who reported low levels of spirituality.
The researchers commented in the journal, “This preliminary study is important because it reveals the existence of significant differences in patients’ health and pain for those with high, moderate, and low levels of internalized spirituality.”
It appears that people who engage in religious coping (e.g. praying, reading sacred writings, meditating, seeking support from religious leaders) during stressful times tend to adjust better to crises and problems. Religious commitment is often associated with less depression. Religiously committed people report fewer suicidal impulses, have higher levels of empathy and altruism, are less likely to divorce and have higher levels of marital satisfaction and adjustment.
Religious belief and affiliation may provide a person with a secure sense of identity, which lowers one’s average anxiety level and facilitates resiliency under stress. Further, religious conviction may provide a sense of purpose and meaning that allows for rational interpretations to life’s problems, including death. It is thought that religion, as a sociocultural factor, can be a powerful, beneficial force.
Some observational studies suggest that people who have regular spiritual practices tend to live longer. Another study points to a possible mechanism: interleukin (IL)-6. Increased levels of IL-6 are associated with an increased incidence of disease. A research study involving 1,700 older adults showed that those who attended church were half as likely to have elevated levels of IL-6. The authors of this study hypothesized that religious commitment may improve stress control by offering better coping mechanisms, richer social support, and the strength of personal values and worldview.
Last year, two social scientists at UCSD’s Center for Healthy Aging and the School of Medicine, Michael Thomas and Dilip Jeste, developed a scale to measure people’s wisdom. In October of this year, they included spirituality as a key component due to their findings that spirituality is significantly related to better mental health and wellbeing. Spirituality has been shown to help reduce stress, promote peace, happiness, and health.
Yet another study, this one led by Duke University psychiatrist Harold Koenig, MD, studied depressed patients hospitalized for heart disease and stroke. The team of researchers found that those who scored high on a test of “inherent religiosity” (defined as a deep, internally motivated religious commitment) tended to recover faster. A 23-year study of more than 10,000 Israeli men found that those with higher levels of religious orthodoxy had reduced death rates from heart disease.
Scientific researchers say that spirituality, religion, can help speed recovery and prevent disease in a number of ways: healthy lifestyle habits, being part of a social support congregation, having a sense of hope, trust and relief from stress based on a firm belief in G-d’s benevolence, and finally from the calming power of prayer and meditation.
Another study showed that spiritual well-being was related to the ability to enjoy life even in the midst of symptoms, including pain. This suggests that spirituality may be an important clinical target in healing.
Science, once again, has caught up with our holy Torah. If we want to insure the health and longevity of our families, we of course use proper medical care, and we wisely also turn inward toward religious and spiritual commitments that lead to Torah. Doesn’t everything in our lives?
Judaism teaches us about our holy Torah, “It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and its supporters are praiseworthy. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. Lengthy days are at its right; at its left are wealth and honor…” In the evening services, Ma’ariv, we say about the words of Torah, “For they are our life and the length of our days and in them we will meditate day and night.”
In the seventh Mishna in the sixth chapter of the Sayings of our Fathers, Pirkei Avos, we learn, “Great is Torah, for it promises life for one in this world and in the next world.”With eight sources from Tanach, this Mishna points out one thing no other activity in life assures: health. The Torah is often described as life giving. In Mishlei, Psalms, we are told, “…and it brings a cure to all flesh.”
The theistic view of the world teaches there is a G-d, a Supreme Being, who created humanity. This view teaches that G-d has the power to heal us physically, emotionally and spiritually. The sacred writings of all of the major theistic religions affirm G-d’s healing power.
So, what are you waiting for? You jump on any new finding that comes along that promises longer life, try any new exercise that promises healthier living, swallow any vitamin that offers improved bodily functioning. Yet, when it comes to religion and especially Torah, well, that’s another story.
Remember, “It is a tree of life for those who grasp it…” Why not hold on and shake a few branches? Three sets, 8 reps each, should add to your spiritual, and life, fitness.
*
Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun. He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com
Imagine combining Torah with a Plant Based Diet and physical movement!!! Bet Dovid in Caldwell, NJ is the first Vegan Shul and we believe and practice very much in line with the good Dr’s advice. The soul & the body are intertwined and only at the end of life will they be unbound. We must treat them both with care and attention. The point is: we do not want to use our spirituality to lessen our physical pain- ideally, we do not want to have pain! Spirituality, by giving meaning to the challenges we face, reduces mental\psychological pain. Conditions such as Cancer, Heart Disease, Alzheimer’s and Diabetes can almost always be avoided and healed with a plant based diet. Mental anguish needs spirituality.