Answering Health And Productivity

It's a commonly held belief that
healthy people are more productive.
Recent studies we've all heard of seem
to overwhelmingly support that belief.
Now, I'm no scientist, so I wouldn't
begin to question their findings, but,
doesn't it follow that productive people
are more healthy?  If so, we have
in our hands an amazingly simple method
to improve our own health, without
insurance, government assistance or any
other of the trappings thought of as
necessary for good health.  This
article will focus on the flip side of
productivity...how it enhances health.



Aging And Illness:  We used to
believe aging and illness were just our
bodies wearing out over time.  The
older we get, the higher the chances of
a fatal disease...right?  Of
course!  The extreme training
athletes undergo to push their bodies to
the limit does wear them out, but this
isn't the case for the rest of us.
For most people, aging and illness isn't
our bodies wearing out, but rusting out.
It's as if we left a pair of pliers out
in the weather.  Before long,
they'd be unable to function.  It's
the same for us!  Just breathing
creates a process in our bodies, called
oxidation (rusting).  Oxidation
sets us up for a number of illnesses,
cancer, being one of the better known
ones.  As the oxidation process
continues, our bodies become less
efficient at maintaining health, until
we can't function and are at risk for an
increasing number of diseases.  If
wearing ourselves out were a concern, no
doctor would recommend exercise for
health.  In fact, non-productivity
speeds up the oxidation just like a pair
of unused pliers.



Non-Productivity:  While there
are exceptions that can be found, it's
no accident that those who are less
productive in society (rich and poor,
alike) are the most unhealthy, often
morbidly obese and invariably unhappy.
I haven't seen any studies of
productivity and mental illness but
there is no reason to assume there
wouldn't be just as strong a
relationship as with physical illness.
We'll get into some of the physical
mechanisms involved in a moment, but
let's finish with the issue of
non-productivity.  Everyone knows,
if you don't use your muscles, they
become weaker.  If you tied your
arm up for a year or more, it's possible
you could never use it again.  The
same is true of mental abilities.
Don't exercise your mind and you'll be
gradually less able to use it.  In
fact, there's an old saying based on
this principle.  "If you don't use
it, you lose it."  It's so reliable
a principle, you can find it in the
Bible.  while this article isn't
about spiritual health, both science and
social wisdom agree with the Bible that productivity is required if
we wish to continue functioning.



Productivity And Body Chemistry:
Every body functions as a goal-striving,
achieving mechanism.  We were
designed to do stuff!  When we stop
doing stuff, we break down.  Early
studies discovered a group of chemicals
produced in our bodies whenever we
engaged in sexual
intercourse...endorphins.  They are
largely responsible for our drive to
reproduce.  These chemicals are
better than anything at the pharmacy or
on the street.  They reduce stress,
relax us, give us a euphoric feeling,
make us happy and reduce pain.  In
fact, next time she says, "I have a
headache." tell her that's why you were
offering sex.  There have been some
amazing discoveries, recently,
concerning these endorphins.  We
learned that physical exercise produces
them.  Then, we learned that any
kind of productive physical activity
produces them.  People don't sing
because they're happy...they're happy
because they sing.  In fact, we're
learning that mental exercise and
activity produces the same chemicals.
Just reading a book or listening to
music...doing something...produces
endorphins.  Over time, these
endorphins are very effective at
relieving many mental illnesses,
including anxiety and depression.
Just like our sex-drive, we were
designed to be productive, achieving
beings.  Our physical health and
our mental health depend on it.



Here it is...a shocking and simple
method to maintain our own mental and
physical health...be productive.
Unless we're suffering a severe mental
or physical disability, we have control
over our physical and mental well-being.
Feeling down?  Listen to music,
whistle!  Feeling anxious?
Take a walk, mow the lawn!  Don't
feel like exercising?  Exercise and
you'll feel like it!  Start slowly
if you haven't exercised.  Try a 10
minute walk and gradually build up speed
and distance.  Eventually, we get
to a tipping point, where we feel happy
and fulfilled most of the time, and that
happiness, believe it or not, produces
endorphins.  If you've been
depressed, stressed or anxious, maybe
even being medicated for it, how would
it hurt for you to start an exercise
program or take classes, do volunteer
work or take up singing.  You want
to be healthy and happy?  Step up
your productivity!  That's what we
were designed for.