Category: Health with Bill Ronning
Everything in Moderation
Binge watching television is not good for you. It makes you feel like a zombie, according to researchers at the University of Michigan and the Leuven School for Mass Communication Research in Belgium. It leads to poor sleep, more fatigue and increased insomnia. The results only came from watching TV for a long period of time, not short periods of time.
I think there’s a spiritual application too. It’s good to have entertainment every once in a while, but we need to be about the Lord’s business as well. We should be to busy being about His business that we don’t have a lot of time for watching TV.
Improve Your Health, Adopt a Pet!
Having a four legged friend is good for your health Paul Mann from Fetch Pet Care says pet owners are less likely to suffer from depression. People with pets have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those without pets. It’s been proven that pets can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine, those are things that calm and relax us. Pet owners have proven lower triglycerides and cholesterol levels than those without pets and those are indicators of heart disease.
Mann says if you’re feeling lonely, furry friends make great companions. Children with pets suffer from fewer allergies than their friends who don’t have a pet.
Laughter is Good Medicine
Proverbs 17:22 tells us A cheerful heart is good medicine.
Science backs that up… Laughter is good for your health. A good, hearty laugh relieves stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter can help prevent disease. Laughter increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack. We’ve talked about physical and mental health benefits, but there are also social benefits. If we enjoy a good laugh, it diffuses conflict and promotes teamwork and bonding.
Who makes you laugh? Family Life Radio member Becky says Christian Comedienne Chonda Pierce is funny.
Stinking Thinking Free Zone
Choosing to Be Intentional with Your Emotions by Dr. Randy Carlson
If your emotional reaction to life is keeping you from being successful in any of the five essential areas of your life, why settle for it? It’s time to become intentional and act. It’s time to do two things that can change your emotions for good.
You can choose to be intentional with your emotions. Emotions get their start in our thoughts. Thinking is a precursor to almost everything that happens in life. Our thoughts drive our emotions, and our emotions drive our actions. For example, let’s say I’m having a difficult day and I’m thinking, life’s not fair, people aren’t treating me well. That thinking might lead me to comfort myself by eating comfort food. For you it might be going to the mall and buying yourself something new, spending money you don’t really have. Maybe you lose your patience and get angry. Do you see where this could lead to a vicious cycle? When we change our minds, we can change our lives. The Bible says in Proverbs as a man thinks of himself, he is. Emotions get their start in our thoughts.
A second way of looking at this is to start with our actions. If you change your actions, you will change your emotions. If you’re feeling down, get up and go for a walk or read the Bible. Sometimes you have to say, “Hey, I don’t feel like it, but I’m going to do it anyway.” With just a little bit of action, you’ll start to feel better. In order to deal with our emotions, we have to either start with our thinking or with our actions.
As far as I’m concerned the most effective thing you can do to successfully manage your emotions is to choose to think and behave like Christ. This message is written throughout scripture, but one of my favorite passages is “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” – Philippians 4:6 NKJV
The Apostle Paul gives clear instruction. It’s very action-oriented. He’s saying, “Do these things.” He’s not saying you have to feel anything at this point. He’s just saying to do it. If you want to change your emotions, you can start right here. Interestingly, Paul goes on saying, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8 NKJV. This is how you can choose to think like Christ – today!