Most of us think of our bodies and minds as separate entities that function independent of each other. However, your body and mind are intimately connected, and your thoughts, words and stress levels play a major role in your physical health. Below is an outline of how these things effect your body, and information on how to modify them to attain optimal health and happiness.

The Impact of Your Thoughts

Your thoughts and feelings create emotions and your emotions trigger biochemical processes in your body that greatly impact your physical heath. A negative outlook and frequent negative thinking leads to chronic stress, the health effects of which are far reaching and will be examined further below.[i] Conversely, positive thinking boosts overall health, reduces stress, enhances your immune system, and releases happy neurotransmitters. It also increases your life expectancy — the main thing that centenarians (people who live past 100) have in common, is that they’re positive thinkers.

Humans have at least 70,000 thoughts a day, and for most, the majority of those thoughts are negative and repetitive. Negative thoughts not only harm your health, they also prevent you from attaining happiness and reaching your highest potential. Approximately 95 of your thoughts occur at the subconscious level and in order to change those thoughts you need to first bring them to your conscious awareness.

The best way to become aware of your subconscious thoughts is with daily meditation or self-hypnosis (which produces a similar state of mind). If you are an overactive thinker and have trouble quieting your mind or entering a hypnotic-state, try LFC Brainwave Glasses. LFC glasses are a unique technology that help you to quickly and effortlessly access and modify your subconscious thoughts. Another way to change your thoughts is with frequently repeated positive affirmations, such as “I am healthy and vibrant,” “I have boundless energy,” or “losing weight is rewarding and comes naturally to me.”

The Impact of Your Words

Words and the energy that they carry, conjure up feelings and emotions, they influence your perception, they dictate your actions, and they shape your reality. Becoming aware of the words that you use to communicate, and choosing wisely, can dramatically improve your relationships, career, self-perception, and your entire existence. Learning to communicate effectively will also empower you to become the best version of yourself. And the positive changes that words can create in your external world will lead to positive thinking and emotions, and as a result, better physical health.

The first step in using words to enhance your health and happiness, is learning to communicate openly, honestly and skillfully. This is important because keeping things in will lead to stress and anxiety, and you can’t expect a resolution if you don’t express yourself. When communicating with someone who has upset you, choose words that reflect how their actions made you feel, as opposed to using words that attack that person’s character. For instance, “When you were an hour late, it made me feel ____,” versus, “You’re always late, it’s so self-centered and inconsiderate of you!”

You also need to be aware of the words you say to yourself. Anytime you catch yourself using negative words such as “I can’t,” “I’m a failure,” “I’m unlovable,” or “I’m fat,” replace those negative thoughts with positive phrases and repeat them throughout the day. And if you frequently say the same negative things to yourself, make sticky notes with constructive counterparts and put them up around your house. You should also dispel the word ‘should’ because it stalls actions and leads to failure. So instead of “I should go to the gym tomorrow even though I don’t want to,” say “I will go to the gym tomorrow because it makes me feel accomplished and happy.”

Finally, make sure you ask yourself the right questions. Most people ask themselves negative questions such as “Why am I overweight?” “Why am I so tired?” or “Why do I hurt so much?” This causes the subconscious mind to focus on the negative and those wrong questions lead to wrong answers. When you ask the right questions, on the other hand, your subconscious mind will search for a positive solution.

Every night before you fall asleep ask yourself the following:

“What will I do to improve my health tomorrow?”
“What will I do to improve my relationships?”
“What will I do to improve my career?
“What will I do to become more spiritual and in touch with my souls’ desires?”
The answers may not come to you right away, but your subconscious mind will work on them and search for solutions while you sleep.

The Impact of Stress

Chronic stress upsets the body’s hormone balance and depletes the brain chemicals that are required for happiness.[ii] Stress also makes you more susceptible to infections and effects the immune system in a way that ultimately manifests as illness.[iii] If that weren’t bad enough, stress increases inflammation which is the root cause of most chronic diseases, and interferes with sleep—which creates more stress. Uncontrolled stress greatly accelerates the aging process and increases your risk for diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal diseases, autoimmune diseases, asthma, obesity, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease, and premature death.[iv]

Monitoring your thoughts, choosing your words carefully and daily meditation will help to create a more positive inner and outer world, which will dramatically reduce stress levels. Another essential step for reducing stress is making sure you get 7-8 hours of high quality sleep nightly. To achieve this, go to bed and wake-up at the same time every day, keep electronics out of the bedroom, and sleep in a cool, dark and quiet environment.

Breathing exercises are highly beneficial – and can notably reduce blood pressure, heart rate and stress in just 5 minutes. They’re simple too, all you have to do is take in long, deep breaths, and focus on the air as it enters your nostrils, expands your belly, and moves in and out of your body. Learn to say no, and manage your time wisely — make sure you don’t overbook yourself, procrastinate, or leave things to the last minute. A strong social network will also help you manage stress — nurture your relationships and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and to talk to others about your problems (preferably in person).

After a particularly stressful day, consider using at least one of the following instant stress reducing techniques:

Exercising
Taking an Epson salt bath
Journaling
Using essential oils (in a diffuser or on your pillow) such as Lavender, Frankincense, or Ylang Ylang
Spending time in nature
Drinking an herbal tea that contains Chamomile, Passionflower and/or Kava Kava
Dancing
Practicing yoga
Singing
Cuddling
Doing any activity that makes you laugh
Incorporate the above recommendations into your life, and health, happiness, and success will be yours!

[i] https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-do-thoughts-and-emotions-impact-health

[ii] http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/180/2/99

[iii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3341916/

[iv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2568977/