Religion and Health: Can Faith Keep You Well?

Why do religious people tend to be healthier than the general population? Can prayers for healing improve physical well-being? We examined the scientific evidence about spirituality and health – and what we found could help keep you well…

Most of us think of science and religion as separate, often conflicting, realms. Now, a growing number of researchers are exploring the “science of spirituality,” using modern techniques to answer a question older than the Bible: Can faith heal?

“The short answer is yes,’’ says Harold Koenig, M.D., a professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Still, the long answer is more complicated, he says. Religious beliefs can provide comfort, but, in some cases, spiritual struggle can create more stress.

Ongoing research by Koenig and his colleagues have found a variety of benefits from religious practices. In one 2000 study, elderly people who prayed or meditated lived longer than those who didn’t. Religious people also have lower blood pressure, fewer strokes, and spend less time in the hospital than those who never attend church, they’ve found.

Spiritual people also report better emotional health and less anxiety and depression, according to a 2010 Gallup Poll of 550,000 people.
For example, prayers for healing helped victims of violent relationships cope better.

“During prayer, victims [saw] themselves as they believed God saw them,’’ explains Shane Sharp, a sociology graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison whose 2010 research was published in the journal Social Psychology Quarterly.

“Since these perceptions were mostly positive, it helped raise their sense of self-worth, counteracting their abusers’ hurtful words.”

In fact, spirituality can change your brain structure, says Andrew Newberg, M.D., director of research at the Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Medical College in Philadelphia, Pa.

When nuns engage in contemplative prayer or Buddhists meditate, their frontal lobes light up, activating the region that controls attention and language, according to Newberg’s research involving brain imaging. Over time, the lobe can grow thicker, like a bicep bulking up from dumbbell curls. And a vitalized frontal lobe can improve memory, Newberg says.
No Sure Cause and Effect
Yet, as fascinating as the research on religion and health is, it might just be the power of perception that can heal the body, some researchers say.

“The mind has a strong influence on the body,” Koenig says. “Our thoughts and emotions might help or hinder the natural healing process.”

As research on placebos has shown, confidence in a cure can be as healing as the remedy itself: A woman’s immune system could grow stronger because she believes a higher power will help her. In fact, “intercessory prayers” – prayers for healing directed at someone else – had no effect when patients didn’t know they were being prayed for, according to a 2001 Mayo Clinic study of heart patients.

Some medical professionals believe it’s downright dangerous to combine religion and health. It may give patients false hope and encourage them to seek unproven remedies [or individuals] that exploit their faith, says Richard Sloan, Ph.D., professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University and author of Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine (St. Martin’s Press).

And belief in a punitive God is associated with higher levels of depression and other mental disorders, says Duke University’s Koenig.
Plus, if you believe in a religion that encourages intolerance and hatred of others who don’t hold your beliefs, “those negative emotions release stress hormones [that change] the brain,” Newberg says. Over time, he says, that makes it harder to return to a calm, peaceful state.

5 Healthy Habits
Whatever their beliefs, certain positive habits of religious people appear responsible for many of their health gains, researchers say. And anyone can benefit from the following five practices:

1. Give and receive social support.
Religious institutions offer strong social networks, which are key factors to reducing stress and helping the body’s natural healing defenses kick in.

A close, encouraging community has been shown to reduce blood pressure, lower heart rates and reduce stress-related hormones such as cortisol.

It also has been found to improve outcomes in a variety of illnesses, according to a 2007 Yale University research review.
Plus, when people give support to others, “they get more benefit than when they receive it,” says Neal Krause, Ph.D., a University of Michigan professor of health behavior who studies aging, religion and health.

2. Count your blessings.
Gratitude is central to just about every religious and spiritual tradition.

The more you learn to appreciate your life, the better you’ll feel – whether or not it’s in a religious setting.

People who spend a few minutes each day listing what they’re thankful for complain of fewer illness symptoms, feel more content and optimistic, and even exercise more, says Robert Emmons, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of California at Davis, and author of Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier (Mariner Books).

3. Engage in comforting, relaxing rituals.
One of the most striking findings from Newberg’s brain-imaging research: contemplative Christian prayer and Buddhist meditation have nearly identical effects on brain activity, even though nuns and Buddhists hold different beliefs.
That means “the benefit gleaned from prayer may have less to do with a particular theology than with the ritual techniques of breathing, staying relaxed and focusing one’s attention on a concept that evokes comfort, compassion or a spiritual sense of peace,” he and co-author Mark Robert Waldman conclude in their book How God Changes Your Brain (Ballantine).

Besides activating and strengthening critical neural pathways, worship and other deep spiritual practices send feel-good chemicals cascading through the brain and body.

A 2003 study showed a 165% increase in dopamine – a chemical important for cognition, motivation, mood and sleep – among people who practiced yoga nidra, in which a person maintains conscious awareness while remaining in a state of complete relaxation.

Meditation also can reduce levels of the stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, according to studies conducted by the Trancendental Meditation organization.

Many of these practices – even without a religious component – enhance brain function in ways that improve physical and mental health, Newberg says.

4. Take care of your health.
Many religious institutions emphasize connections between a healthful lifestyle and spiritual well-being.

So it’s no surprise that regular churchgoers have lower rates of smoking, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and other high-risk activities than people who sleep in on Sundays, according to research by Koenig and others.

On the most practical level, they’re more active in health-promoting activities such as wellness screenings, exercise classes and nutrition workshops. But theology has an effect too.

“Many religions tell us to live a good life – not indulge or drink too much or engage in risky behaviors,” Koenig says.

And for all the authority that doctors wield, it pales against the pulpit’s influence.

“Religion, ultimately, has more power,” Newberg says. “If a doctor says you should live a better life, stop smoking, lose weight and exercise more, that has less impact than if you believe this is what God wants you to do.”

5. Find meaning in life – and its challenges.
The search for purpose is the essence of spirituality.

Whether that revolves around classic Christian themes of suffering and redemption or more universal notions of being connected to something larger than yourself, it can inspire hope, trust and the strength to fight against illness.

People who construct meaning from a traumatic event – be it a cancer diagnosis, death of a loved one or battlefield service – ultimately bounce back from the crisis stronger than they started, according to a 2004 research review by the University of North Carolina.

“When people feel they have an important purpose and meaning in life,” Koenig says, “it’s a strong drive to do the things one needs to do.’’
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