Why We Need to Master Stress

By Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D.

Money and the economy continue to top the list of stressors for
all Americans. Finances now overshadow the more usual daily stressors of work
and relationships, with others worrying about providing for their family’s
basic needs.

My own research clarifies that, when you feel you have less
control over your stress, it definitely causes you more concern. It raises your
internal mind, body, and emotional threat level.

Women Worse Off

Unfortunately, as I mentioned above, the brunt of this
economic stress is falling upon women more than men. Compared with men, more
women say they are stressed about money, the economy, job stability, housing
costs, and health problems affecting their families.

Ladies of the boomer-generation (ages 44-65) and older  (aged 66+) are most likely to report the
economy as a significant stressor, while women in general rank financial
worries above personal health. Female Boomers report increases in stress
associated with their job stability and health problems affecting their
families.

Beyond that, Generation Xers (ages 30-43) and Millennials
(ages 18-29) are not immune from financial worries, either. Generation Xers are
the women most concerned about money and Millennials are most concerned about
housing costs as a source of stress.

Our economic stress is causing more than half of Americans
to report irritability, anger, fatigue, headaches, and sleeplessness. What’s
worse, these stress sufferers say they self-medicate by over-eating unhealthy
foods, over drinking, and generally straying from healthy habits.

In addition to the above mentioned symptoms, the rise in
stress-related issues can:

Ø  Weaken
your immune system

Ø  Raise
your blood pressure

Ø  Increase
your appetite

Ø  Disturb
your sleep

Ø  Lead
to depression

Ø  Cause
memory loss

So What Can You Do?                

As research tells us, stress-mastering techniques can help
us a great deal. When you are able to
activate the proven anti-stress spot in your brain, many wonderful salubrious
events occur. Your blood pressure goes down, your pulse decreases, your
unhealthy stress chemicals plummet, and, perhaps most importantly, the amount
of oxygen your body needs goes down. This puts you into a true anti-aging zone,
because, when you use less oxygen, you create less free radicals, which are a
hall-mark of the aging process.

We at the ARPF have been doing research on meditation and
the prevention and reversal of memory loss. It has revealed that the first area
that decreases in function in Alzheimer’s disease, an area called the posterior
cingulate gyrus, actually is activated during our innovative 12-minute meditation
called Kirtan Kriya (KK). KK is a singing meditation technique that is
being  used in many of ARPF numerous  research projects.  This research has been published in many  leading medical journals in the past few
years,  including the prestigious Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. This is
truly the Mind Body medical treatment for memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease™ .

 In our studies we
have seen that KK actually reversed the symptoms of memory loss in subjects
suffering from it and improved their energy, mood, and level of well-being; all
in only 12 minutes a day. Moreover, KK is easy to learn, requires no involved
training, or change of life style. We have found that it is very helpful when
practiced for only twelve minutes a day, especially in the morning.

So go ahead, take advantage of this opportunity to prevent
Alzheimer’s and start improving your brain function right away. It’s easy,
fast, and fun. You’ll love the way you feel.   

For more information
on this singing exercise, go to http://www.alzheimersprevention.org/research/12-minute-memory-exercise