Exam stress impairs the function of natural killer cells in humans. The lymphocyte response to mitogens becomes sluggish in a person who has lost a spouse, and the death rate for widows and widowers in the first year is ten times that of matched controls. A Harvard Alumni Study has shown that mental health is the most important determinant of physical health. The speed of healing of surgical wounds in the immediate post-operative period is much more rapid in patients who showed faith, trust, and confidence in their doctors, their nurses, and themselves. Patients who are more assertive in the hospital heal faster.
Patients recover more quickly in hospital rooms with a view of trees and bushes.
Belly laughter provided increased analgesia for Norman Cousins, a writer stricken with ankylosing spondylitis. In Roseto, Pa, the only explanation that could be found for the unusually low heart disease death rate was the strong sense of community. It is fascinating that while tears induced by onions contain only salt and water, tears induced by watching a sad movie contain leftover chemicals secreted when we are under stress. Some personality types are associated with physiologic states which predispose to certain disease. Friedman and Rosenman, in the 1950's, found that type A behavior, characterized by the fierce struggle to do more things in less time against keen competition, is associated with increased risk of heart disease.