Explanatory Synthesis About Well-Being and Health

¶ … low stress levels and a sense of peace to maintain a higher health index. There were four sources used to complete this paper.

USING OUR HEAD AND HEART TOGETHER

Today's Americans are living longer than ever before and enjoying a higher quality of life than in past years.

Recent research has concluded that heart patients who can improve their mood often have fewer symptoms and break through than those who cannot improve their mood.

This is further evidence that a sense of well-being can contribute to a better health index for an individual when all other things are even. If a person has a heart or blood pressure problem stress can induce additional symptoms.

In Japan and other nations there is a smaller gap between the wealthy and the average income. CEOS in Japan make 15-20% more money than the factory workers, while in America there is sometimes a 500-fold increase in the same job differences.

In addition to life stresses there is a synthesis between positive health and financial comfort according to many studies in the past.

Medical science has proven a synthesis between a sense of well-being and health.

USING OUR HEAD AND HEART TOGETHER

Today's Americans are living longer than ever before and enjoying a higher quality of life than in past years. There is no denying that medical science advances contribute to this phenomena, but research over the years has concluded that a person's sense of well being contributes as well. Whether it is by reducing stress levels, taking up yoga or learning to let go of things one cannot change, the ability to create an internal sense of well being has positive impacts on one's health.

Recent research has concluded that heart patients who can improve their mood often have fewer symptoms and break through than those who cannot improve their mood.

So says Thomas Rutledge, Ph.D. The University of Pittsburgh psychologist treated 80 patients suffering from cardiovascular disease with the heart drugs amlodipine and atenolol, then had them exercise on a treadmill and take a set of psychological tests to assess their mood. During their final exercise session, 90% of the more highly stressed subjects complained of chest pain, compared to just 40% of the entire group (Rogers pg 22). Studies have shown that people with heart disease are more prone to high blood pressure. Therefore it is important to treat the stress so that the doctors can manage the blood pressure problems more effectively. (Rogers pg 22).

This is further evidence that a sense of well-being can contribute to a better health index for an individual when all other things are even. If a person has a heart or blood pressure problem stress can induce additional symptoms. Once they learn to reduce their inner stress and handle anxiety-producing issues, according to the study, their symptoms will lessen thereby putting them in a better health risk category (Rogers pg 22).

In Stephen Bezruchka's article, Is Our Society Making You Sick? The author examines the different aspects of the Japanese society against the American Society. He eludes to Japan's higher health rating and seems to believe there is a correlation between the well being of individuals and the nation's high health rating. In Japan and other nations there is a smaller gap between the wealthy and the average income. CEOS in Japan make 15-20% more money than the factory workers, while in America there is sometimes a 500-fold increase in the same job differences. The stresses of financial struggle have always been known to cause health problems. High blood pressure, stroke and heart attack are but a few of the diseases that medical science have linked to stress. But this well-being synthesis with health runs much more deeply than simply financial stress. It is also tied to societal views about the positions each person holds in life and where that puts them on the ladder societal (Bezruchka pg 1).

How can hierarchy affect health? Consider the feelings that predominate in a hierarchical situation: power, domination, coercion (if you are on top); resignation, resentment and submission (if you are on the bottom). Compare them with feelings in an egalitarian environment: support, friendship, cooperation and sociability. Studies with baboons in Kenya and macaque monkeys in captivity, both of which feature strong hierarchical relationships, show that high-ranking animals are healthier than those lower in the pecking order. Human population studies show additional findings. The death rate from heart attacks among middle-aged men is four times greater in Lithuania than in Sweden, which is much more egalitarian (Bezruchka pg 1)."

Using Japan as an example, it is easy to see that the individual residents share more equally in the economy of the nation than in America. The good of the whole is more emphasized than the good of the individual, which includes things such as CEO's taking pay cuts to avoid worker lay offs and other measures that show each person they are of equal importance. Studying this and holding it against the health of those who live there point to a synthesis of well being and health (Bezruchka pg 1).

In addition to life stresses there is a synthesis between positive health and financial comfort according to many studies in the past. People who are stressed about debts and have a problem making ends meet on a regular basis are much more prone to health problems.. A study in the United States observed the financial stress levels of 1,000 participants and then held that information against a health index scale. The results were unilateral in that high stress contributes to additional health complaints (Hodges pg PP). The synthesis is obvious when diseases are included such as depression, panic disorder and others, but high levels of stress can exacerbate even physical diseases such as heart trouble, high blood pressure and stroke.