When talking about health, it is common to do so as if it fundamentally depended on luck. Hence, it is normal to ask for health as a wish, something that only providence can grant us, because it does not depend on us.
This, in part, is true; After all, there is no one who can be in a position to rule out all the diseases to which he is exposed throughout his life. However, like all half-truths, it can lead us to forget that things are more complex than they seem.
And in many aspects, We have control over many situations that determine whether our state of health is more or less vulnerable And this is not something we can learn spontaneously with the simple passage of years. Here we will see several examples of this.
How can we learn to take control of our health?
As scientific knowledge has advanced, a series of factors have emerged from which we can actively participate in the proper functioning of the body.
1. Cognitive stimulation
The reason for the brain’s existence is none other than to constantly adapt to everything new What the day to day holds for us. That is why one of its main characteristics is that it never remains the same, it is constantly in transformation, responding to the stimuli of the environment and the strategies we adopt to interact with what surrounds us.
This capacity by which the brain changes in real time is known as brain plasticity, and it takes place at both the micro and macro levels, that is, at the scale of neuronal connections and the relationships between cellular and molecular structures, and at the of the tissues of the nervous system, which become visible to the human eye.
If our brain is what we associate with the “I”, that means that we are constantly and literally transforming, and this even allows us to be able to recover from a wide variety of brain injuries: when one part is damaged, another takes care of it. perform the functions of those neurons that have died.
That is why cognitive stimulation, expose ourselves to situations that make us think and feel in complex ways , is a way to take the initiative and increase our level of health and well-being; Doing this helps us connect parts of our brain that previously did not interact much and from that moment on you will have the ability to act as a “bridge” between regions of the nervous system that in certain situations need each other for us to function well.
2. Don’t trust everything to genetics
Having a genetic configuration that makes it easy for us to have good health is a very important factor, everything is useful considering that there are some diseases that are very easy to inherit. However, we should not assume that the genetic factor is something that affects us unilaterally and without us being able to do anything to avoid it: our actions, in many cases, can greatly influence our well-being , and in certain cases even completely canceling most of the harmful aspects of a pathology. The trick is to intervene in the way genes are expressed.
In this sense, it has been seen that certain very simple habits contribute to these latent diseases appearing in their less severe versions or even never manifesting themselves. Among these actions that protect our health, we find, for example, adopting sleep hygiene habits: sleeping enough and at regular times, without interruptions.
Likewise, doing regular exercise helps many people reestablish the biochemical balance of the brain altered by disorders influenced by genetics, such as depression. And there are many more activities and routines that They allow us to get the most out of what our DNA gives us as individuals
3. Assess the importance of attention focus
Knowing how to manage the focus of attention well is also essential to modulate the way in which everything that undermines our well-being affects us. This not only has to do with our way of relating to the symptoms of diseases we already have; Furthermore, it affects its development and its ability to become chronic.
Be able to not letting certain sources of discomfort become the center of our lives It is liberating and makes it possible for us to gain an autonomy that we would not have otherwise. In addition, it opens the door for the “healing” to come sooner.
Coaching, wellness and neuroscience: biology of observer change
If you want to continue learning about this topic, you may be interested the online course Coaching, wellness and neuroscience: biology of observer change , organized by the European School of Coaching. This is a training program carried out live, on 5 consecutive Fridays from February 14 to March 13, 2020, and lasts a total of 15 hours.
It talks about diverse but connected topics, such as suggestion, the placebo effect and attentional regulation, epigenetic influences and their implications for health, the relationship between the heart and stress, and much more. Due to its contents and way of combining topics to offer a degree of global knowledge on major health issues, this course may be of interest both to individuals who want to enhance their well-being and to professionals in the health sector.
To find out more about the course Coaching, wellness and neuroscience: biology of observer change, access the contact details of the European School of Coaching by clicking here.