Just a thought: An ounce of prevention

Ladies, word on the street is that if we hold our man’s hand more, we will reduce our stress levels. Now, for those of us who don’t have that luxury, we’ll just have to exercise more (darn it)! But, for those of us, who DO have a partner, let’s look at what the statistics show.

According to the journal, Psychological Science, December 2006 edition, research found that women facing a stressful event experienced less anxiety when they held their husbands’ hands.

As I grew more concerned over what I was reading, I read further in the article to see if holding my dog’s paw would be helpful.

“Holding any hand at all calms regions of the brain that are responsible for the body’s physical stress response,” said neuroscientist James A. Coan of the University of Virginia, the study’s lead author. BUT, the article went on to say, only the spousal hand affected regions of the brain that are responsible for worrying … this is the region, which is thought to be associated with your experience of pain.

“We’ve discovered that spouses may be acting as a kind of analgesic in the high-quality relationships,” stated Coan. So, good news for all of you married people out there. Start holding hands more!

It beats the heck out of taking a pill, and you never know, things could get interesting!

Deborah Rogers is a Prevention Specialist with Trinity Behavioral in Marion and is a correspondent for the Star and Enterprise.