How God Changes Your Brain - Andrew Newberg, M. D_ [83]
ARE THERE ANY DRAWBACKS TO
UNREALISTIC OPTIMISM?
Skeptics might argue that maintaining an illusory optimism is problematic, but the evidence points in the opposite direction. Researchers at the University of California found that people who have self-enhancing illusions exhibit lower cardiovascular responses to stress, more rapid cardiovascular recovery, and lower baseline cortisol levels.116 In fact, an unrealistically optimistic belief about the future appears to be health protective, even when dealing with a disease as serious as AIDS.117
Simply put, faith and optimism will add months or years to your life,118 and the only drawback—and a potentially serious one—is a decreased perception of risk.119 It will increase your resistance to common colds and flu viruses, though bias you toward underestimating the severity of your symptoms.120 Optimism leads people to underestimate their risk of getting divorced and to overestimate their prospects for success in the marketplace. Thus optimism can be taken to an extreme, especially if you choose to ignore realistic concerns. For example, optimistic smokers underestimate their chances of getting ill,121 and this is indeed a dangerous form of faith. All forms of optimism are associated with a less realistic view of the world.122 But then again, so is pessimism.123 Thus the question we must face is this: Are we using our optimistic beliefs to maintain a destructive behavior or belief? If so, then a healthy dollop of reality testing should be added to your recipe for health.
If the human brain did not have a bias toward optimism, we would be prone to increased anxiety and depression.124 Pessimism, however, has few benefits, and it leaves the person more at risk to depression, anxiety, sleeping problems, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and impaired social functioning.125 In a thirty-year longitudinal study conducted by the Mayo Clinic, pessimism was significantly associated with a shorter life span and poorer mental functioning.126
Evolution has given us the biological ability to be optimistic and hopeful about the future, even when there is no concrete evidence to support our beliefs. This too is one of the functions of our frontal lobes, but we need to exercise it daily, having faith in humanity, and especially in ourselves.
∗1 An interesting exception is the serotonin-enhancing antidepressants. They appear to improve neural and synaptic plasticity, especially in areas related to memory storage and recall, and may even cause new growth in the hippocampus and amygdala.
∗2 Neither religion nor a belief in God made it to our “Top Eight” list because religious beliefs, in and of themselves, have no specific effect on the brain, especially if they hold little meaning or value for the individual. But because religion is often a combination of social dialogue, intellectual stimulation, and faith, it can be a powerful mechanism for exercising your brain and optimizing the brain's functions. On the other hand, negative religious beliefs can have a harmful effect on neural functioning, especially if they are ruminated on for extended periods of time.
9
FINDING SERENITY
Meditation, Intention, Relaxation,
and Awareness
God can change your brain. This much we have shown. But now our meditation research has brought us to a turning point, for we can distill from the world's spiritual practices a set of simple exercises that will enhance the neural functioning of the brain. When we do so, we improve our physical, emotional, and cognitive health, adding years of greater happiness to our lives.
As a doctor, I must emphasize that these techniques do not, in any way, replace the appropriate use of current medical practice,∗1 but if you add them to your daily repertoire of activities,