“Through balance man conserves nervous energy and thus directly benefits
all his activities, mental as well as physical.”…Mabel E. Todd

Keeping the Balance
Did you know that hearty laughter can enhance your immunity for up to 12 hours? Or, that getting a massage or listening to music decreases your levels of the stress hormone, Cortisol?

Research now shows that we can positively affect our health by using any of the following tools: Love–Friendship–Laughter–Spirituality–A Positive Outlook–Meditation–Yoga–Exercise–Massage–The Creative Arts–Journaling–Being in Nature–Having a Pet

What other helpful activities can you think of to add to this list?

In other words, what we do or don’t do to manage both stress and our moods, can certainly have long-term effects on our body.

This is what Mind/Body medicine is really all about. It treats the whole person, examining not just our physical side but also the mental, emotional and spiritual sides too. In this way, there is balance between them all.

The usual “medicine” for restoring Mind/Body balance includes such things as relaxation training, meditation, hypnosis, biofeedback, psychotherapy, guided imagery and prayer. Each of these is a field unto themselves. The basic philosophies are the same, however: that the mind and body have the power to heal themselves.

But, there is one tool, not yet on this list, that is starting to be recognized as equally valuable in helping keep the Mind/Body balance. That tool is lifelong learning.

How Does Lifelong Learning Fit into the Mind/Body Concept?
Lifelong learning fits beautifully with the Mind/Body way of thinking. As you learn more about this topic, the strength of the Mind/Body connection to lifelong learning will become very apparent. In the meantime, here’s a short synopsis of some of the ways they are connected.

Epidemiological studies that were mentioned previously have shown that people with few social ties are significantly more likely to become ill than those who have more social connections. In the study, men who reported more social relationships–movies, church, classes or trips with friends or relatives–were significantly less likely to die during the study period.

Lifelong learning programs promote that needed social interaction. In fact, people join lifelong learning programs as much for the social aspects as for the learning. The wealth of social activities offered at a lifelong learning program is amazing. We’ll talk more about this in future columns.  

Lifelong learners enjoy another valuable Mind/Body tool: laughter. “He who laughs, lasts!”  Did you know that most adults only laugh about 40 times a day while children laugh 400-500 times in that same time period. Walk down a hall past lifelong learning classes or gatherings, however, and you’ll hear laughter and lots of it. Lifelong learners have a positive outlook on life; they are funny, gregarious and not afraid to laugh-with others and at themselves.

Being engaged in lifelong learning activities is also a wonderful de-stressor. Recent studies at the National Institute on Aging show individuals who keep their minds actively engaged in new learning report themselves as happier and more fulfilled than older adults who are less active.. If you are happy you are not being overly stressed. It’s that simple.

We all have stress in our lives. The secret is using tools to bring that stress level into balance. The sheer joy of learning something new and interesting–of interacting with others equally interested–of being able to share life’s ups and downs with like-minded folks, is today’s medicine for decreasing stress.

And then there is love. Not only have people who are involved in lifelong learning made new, lasting and deep friendships, some have even found romance. There have been many marriages between lifelong learners.

Lifelong learning programs also offer a vast array of courses, many that make it easy to incorporate the Mind/Body balancing tools into your daily life. For instance, classes on spirituality, meditation, yoga, exercise of all types, the creative arts, journaling and nature are all part of these programs. There are even courses on the Mind/Body connection itself.

Finally, it can be said that lifelong learners embrace three distinct Mind/Body attributes:
• They have pledged to make their Third Age the best it can be by experiencing lifelong learning.
• They are responsible for their own destinies and make the decisions and choices that will ensure their Third Age is the best it can be.
• They enjoy the demands of learning and the subsequent stimulation.

Conclusion
Recent neuroscience and behavioral studies indicate that the mental, physical and emotional habits of older adults play a significant role in cognitive functioning and a sense of general well-being. The coming years will bring even more new and exciting discoveries in these fields as more and more researchers delve into the complexities of this incredible connection.

For now, there’s no doubt that lifelong learning makes it convenient and easy to use any of the Mind/Body tools to help maintain your body’s delicate balance. And in so doing, lifelong learning becomes perhaps, the most valuable tool of all.

In the words of John Dewey, the noted philosopher…
“The very problem of mind and body suggests division. I do not know of anything so disastrously affected by the habit of division as this particular theme. In its discussion are reflected the splitting off from each other of religion, morals, and science; the divorce of philosophy from science and of both from the arts of conduct. The evils which we suffer in education, in religion, in the materialism of business and the aloofness of intellectuals from life, in the whole separation of knowledge and practice – all testify to the necessity of seeing mind-body as an integral whole.”

Next Time: Lifelong Learning in the After-50 Years

A Special Opportunity for Readers of this Column
Want to test the waters of lifelong learning?  I can’t think of a better way then by spending one day listening to award winning professors from Harvard, Yale, Brown, Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia, The University of Pennsylvania, Cornell and other top tier schools, who come together to offer you an elite, live classroom learning experience.

Check out www.onedayuniversity.com to learn more, and see if there’s a one-day university near you.  If so, when you register, thanks to your reading of this column, you will get a 15% discount on the cost of the program.  Just type in the word “LIFELONG” as your coupon code when you register at the website, or use it when calling 800-811-8821 to register.  It’s that simple!

Nancy Merz Nordstrom. M.Ed., is the author of "Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years". Her book, according to Ken Dychtwald, is a “compelling and user-friendly guide to lifelong learning and, in many ways, a complete redefinition of the after-50 years.” Nancy also directs the Elderhostel Institute Network (EIN), North America's largest and most respected educational network for older adults. More than 360 lifelong learning institutes with over 150,000 members are affiliated with the Network. For more information – Elderhostel Institute Network Read Nancy’s story on her Journal Visit her Forum Group LearnTalk Nancy maintains a web site at LearningLater.com