Health and Beauty: Smiles better

WHEN you're happy, you bounce along through life, your niggling sciatica and toothache forgotten, yet as soon as you're down in the dumps – you've lost your job or partner – the various aches and pains reassert themselves.

Or does it just seem that way? In fact, there is a lot of evidence to support the theory that physical ailments are the result of our emotions, and if we can sort out how we think, we'll be well on the way to physical well-being too.

Colin Howard, of HarrisHoward psychology practice, in Edinburgh, says, "Research shows that the mind-body relationship really is very important. When we live with constant stressors in our lives we see things go wrong with our bodies and our minds. There are psychotherapeutic interventions that focus on the link between the mind and body. Essentially, we are able to think ourselves healthy," he says.

Because the mind doesn't know the difference between a real and an imagined state, cognitive behaviour therapists have long argued that if you imagine a positive state, then you can experience the physical benefits too. The trick is to repeat positive affirmations such as "I'm really happy" and "I love my job", and before you know it you'll be asking if you can work late.

"There are wonderful things called mirror neurons in your brain, and just by watching others they 'fire'. This means that if you are around happy people you will physically benefit from their elevated mood," says Howard. "This will also be the case for negative mood states.

"The saying is 'neurons that fire together wire together', which means you create pathways that respond more quickly the more they are used. If you are able to use the pathways associated with elevated mood you are able to access the benefits of doing so more quickly."

crying lowers counteracts stress, but Supressing tears leaves the body prone to anxiety, a weakened immune system and poor digestion.

Don't hold back when you need a good sob. When the tears shed by women who were upset were compared with those shed by women who were merely chopping onions, the emotional ones contained high levels of the hormones and neurotransmitters linked to stress. This suggests that crying actually removes stress chemicals while holding back tears damages the body by weakening the immune system, impairing memory and upsetting digestion.

To lower stress, Lawton advises, "Try to resolve issues in your relationships and don't carry resentment and anger, because if you bottle it up the levels of chemical are increased in the blood and you're more likely to suffer problems."

Being nice to your partner lowers your cholesterol levels.

Shower them with affection and not only is there less chance of a heart attack, it might do your relationship good too. Studies showed that people who spent three 20-minute sessions per week writing about loved ones had a lower cholesterol count after five weeks.

Ken Lawton, chairman of the Scottish Council of the Royal College of GPs, says, "How we feel emotionally affects how we feel physically. If we are feeling low we feel more pain, the two are totally linked."

When you fall in love it raises your levels of nerve-growth for a whole year, restoring the nervous system and triggering the growth of new brain cells.

Researchers have found that nerve-growth triggers the growth of new brain cells, thereby improving the memory. That loving feeling is calming both body and mind.

When you are depressed your ability to control levels of pain in your body goes down.

This is because low mood is linked to low levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. Serotonin regulates the perception of pain, and could explain why 45 per cent of patients with depression also suffer aches and pains. "There's a lot of research around physical illness and depression," says Lawton. "If someone is depressed and has a heart attack, there's a greater chance of them dying than someone who isn't."

When you have a cuddle and get physical it triggers the release of anti-ageing hormones and boosts cellular restoration.

The hormone most responsible for this effect is oxytocin, which loved-up couples produce a lot of, helping them release anti-ageing, anti-stress hormones that help cell-renewal.

When you laugh the threat of a heart attack drops and you're more likely to sleep well. You're body is also more able to repair itself at cellular level.

Scientists have found that mood-boosting beta-endorphins increase by up to 27 per cent when we laugh. Even the anticipation of laughter reduces levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin too, and therefore lowers the risk of heart attack.

• This article was first published in the Scotland on Sunday, May 9, 2010