Conception vessel 4
Conception vessel 6
Kidney 3
Spleen 12
Stomach 36
7
Mind-Body Connection:
Fertile Ideas to Boost Your Fertility
Iinfertility can cause stress, and stress can cause infertility. Couples who have tried unsuccessfully to conceive a child know firsthand the emotional and physical stress of impaired fertility, but they may not be aware that the stress itself may be contributing to the problem.
Stress inhibits fertility by interfering with the brain’s production of reproductive hormones. In the brain, the hypothalamus regulates emotions, appetite, and temperature, and it orchestrates the flow and timing of the reproductive hormones. The hypothalamus is keenly sensitive to all kinds of tensions. Stress, due to anything from travel to job loss to infertility testing itself, can change the way the hypothalamus does its job. In turn, any problem with these hormones can interfere with ovulation and implantation.
Stress can also lower testosterone levels and impair a man’s sperm production, in addition to reducing his interest in sex. The adrenaline released during times of stress can decrease blood flow to a man’s testes. One study found that sperm production actually stopped in some men facing the death sentence. Other studies have found that the process of undergoing fertility treatment can inhibit a man’s sperm production, even if his partner is the one being treated for a reproductive problem.
Researchers estimate that less than 5 percent of infertility is directly related to psychological or emotional factors. Still, evidence suggests that reducing stress can increase a couple’s chances of conceiving a child. One study of nurses at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson found that stress management skills-including deep breathing, meditation, guided imagery, and visualization—helped couples conceive. A group of patients facing in vitro fertilization spent two sessions learning various relaxation techniques. Afterward, 28 percent of the couples in the trained group conceived during their first attempt at in vitro fertilization, compared to just 6 percent of the couples who conceived without practicing stress management. In another study, one out of three infertile women who participated in a relaxation-response-based behavioral treatment program became pregnant within six months.
THE STRESS RESPONSE
When faced with stress, the body kicks into the so-called fight or flight response, which involves a number of biochemical changes that happen in preparation for dealing with danger. In evolutionary terms, this high-intensity state made sense because quick bursts of energy were required to fight off predators or flee a dangerous situation. Of course, in our daily lives we face fewer of these life-or-death threats, but the modern world remains full of different stressors, such as financial worries, health concerns, deadline pressures, and relationship problems. When confronted with these contemporary stressors, our bodies respond in much the same way as our prehistoric ancestors once did.
In the body, any stressor—either real or imagined—triggers an alarm in the hypothalamus in the midbrain. The hypothalamus then shifts into overdrive, warning the body that it must prepare for an emergency. As a result, your heart races, your breathing speeds up, your muscles tense, your metabolism kicks into high gear, and your blood pressure soars. Your blood concentrates in your muscles, leaving your hands and feet cold and your muscles ready for action. Your senses become more acute: Your hearing becomes sharper and your pupils dilate. You’re ready for action.
As part of the intricate system of stress response, your body also releases adrenaline, epinephrine, Cortisol, and other chemicals that inhibit the immune system and interfere with the release of reproductive hormones. While not harmful in short bursts, these biochemical responses can cause serious health problems if the stress continues for long periods of time. Chronic stress can elevate blood pressure (causing hypertension); it can cause muscle tension (resulting in headaches and digestive disorders); and it can suppress the immune system (leaving an individual susceptible to a wide range of serious diseases).
Fortunately, the stress response can be reversed easily. Your body begins to relax as soon as your brain receives the signal that the danger has passed and it’s safe to calm down. About three minutes after the brain cancels the emergency signals to the central nervous system, the panic messages cease and the body begins to relax. Your heart rate and breathing gradually slow down, and your other systems return to their normal levels.
Problems with fertility are certainly not all in your head, but it appears that you can use your head to help enhance your fertility. And, in addition to boosting the odds of conception, stress management skills can help to decrease anxiety, depression, and fatigue, and increase energy, stamina, and well-being.
COUPLES
Enjoy a Good Orgasm
Satisfying sex helps relieve physical tension and stimulate hormone production, both of which can jump start your fertility. Researchers have found that for some people the tension-easing power of a single orgasm can be as much as twenty times more powerful than a dose of a tranquilizer like Valium or Xanax.
Join a Support Group
Joining a support group for couples with impaired fertility increases the chances of conception. It isn’t clear whether the benefit comes from the emotional support offered by people in the same situation, or from the fact that the couples have a chance to share practical information on fertility treatments and physicians. Whatever the cause, a study at the University of Massachusetts found that 71 percent (thirty out of forty-two) of infertile couples who participated in a support group eventually became pregnant, compared to 25 percent (twelve out of forty-eight) of those couples who did not join a support group.
Don’t Adopt a Child Because You Think It Will Help You Conceive
Many people believe that they will conceive a biological child after they adopt because they will no longer feel stress about conception. There is no truth to the conception-after-adoption myth. Over the past twenty years, repeated studies have found that the frequency of conception among adoptive parents is exactly the same as it is among parents who do not adopt. Of course, adoption offers the opportunity to have children for many couples who may never be able to have biological children. For more information on adoption, consult the organizations listed on page 179.
Practice Stress Relief Techniques
No matter how much stress you’re under, you can learn to relax and reverse the stress response by using various mind-body techniques. Studies have shown that well-trained individuals have the ability to use mind-body techniques to voluntarily lower their blood pressure and heart rate, alter their brainwave activity, reduce blood sugar levels, and ease muscle tension. With practice you, too, can put mind over stress and use the following techniques to relax and improve your chances of conceiving a child.
BIOFEEDBACK Biofeedback involves training yourself to use your mind to voluntarily control your body’s internal systems. Almost anyone can learn biofeedback, but it takes practice. It’s easy to get stressed out, but much more difficult to learn to relax and control the precise effect of mind over body.
To learn the skill, you must be able to measure your physical state. To do this, you attach electrodes to various parts of your body to measure your heart rate, breathing, perspiration, pulse, blood pressure, temperature, muscle tension, and brainwave patterns. A small machine on the other end of the wires displays the data, usually in the form of pictures, graphic lines, or audible beeps. Using this information, you can literally watch yourself relax or grow more tense.
You can actually learn to control your body’s internal processes by carefully studying the measurable changes in your body as you relax and change your thought patterns. Once you learn to adjust your physical state to promote relaxation, you can do it without all the equipment.
If you’d like to try biofeedback, ask your physician for a referral to an outpatient clinic or look for biofeedback centers listed in the phone
book. Before making an appointment, ask about fees and whether the training will be covered by your health insurance plan. For a referral, you can also contact the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 10200 West 44th Avenue, Suite 304, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033; (303) 422-8436; or the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America, 10200 West 44th Avenue, Suite 310, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033; (303) 420-2902.
BREATHING Deep breathing helps to relax the body and quiet the mind. Unfortunately, when stressed most people don’t breathe right: Instead of inhaling deeply and drawing in plenty of oxygen, they take shallow, rapid, weak breaths, filling only the top part of the lungs. This so-called chest breathing, or thoracic breathing, fails to adequately oxygenate the blood, making it more difficult to manage stress. A better way of breathing is abdominal breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing. Abdominal breathing draws air deeply into the lungs, allowing the chest to fill with air and the belly to rise and fall. Newborn babies and sleeping adults practice abdominal breathing, though most adults lapse into chest breathing during their waking hours.
To relieve stress, become aware of your breathing and inhale more fully. You will immediately be able to feel the muscle tension and stress melt away in response to the improved oxygenation in your tissues. Concentrated, deep breathing can help calm you and relieve stress at any time and in any situation. Of course, don’t overdo it or you will hyperventilate. If you experience shortness of breath, heart palpitations, or a feeling that you can’t get enough air when practicing deep breathing (the symptoms of hyperventilation), stop immediately and return to your regular breathing pattern.
MASSAGE Massage offers a hands-on way of reducing stress. The technique—which involves soothing touch of the muscles, soft tissues, and ligaments of the body-stimulates blood circulation, slows the heart rate, and lowers blood pressure. It also stimulates the production of disease-fighting antibodies. Studies have found that massage reduces anxiety and stress-related hormones better than other muscle-relaxation techniques. And, instead of making you feel drowsy, it can actually increase your alertness.
You can learn massage techniques yourself, either by checking out a book from a local library or by taking a class. Consider couple’s massage, which is good for promoting relaxation, building intimacy, and getting both of you in the mood. You might also consider consulting a massage therapist, who should know a variety of techniques. Most states require licensing of massage therapists; if your state doesn’t have licensing, look for a therapist with certification from a professional organization. For information on state licensing requirements and a list of certified massage therapists in your area, call the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork at (800) 296-0664. You can also contact the American Massage Therapy Association, 820 Davis Street, Suite 100, Evanston, IL 60201, (708) 864-0123; or the American Oriental Bodywork Therapy Association, Glendale Executive Campus, 1000 White Horse Road, Vorhees, NY 08043, (609) 782-1616.
MEDITATION Though there are many different forms or traditions, meditation basically involves focusing your complete attention on one thing at a time. If you haven’t tried it, meditation can be harder than it sounds: The mind tends to wander, and it can be a real challenge to maintain concentration when faced with a barrage of distracting thoughts.
Meditation relieves stress because it is impossible to feel tense or angry when your mind is focused somewhere else. You can’t experience negative thoughts—or the physiological responses to those thoughts—if your mind is tuned in to a neutral stimulus.
Studies back up the idea that meditation promotes relaxation. Research done back in 1968 at Harvard Medical School found that when people practiced transcendental meditation (a type of mantra meditation) they showed physiological signs of deep relaxation: Their heart rate and breathing slowed, their oxygen consumption dropped by 20 percent, their blood lactate levels dropped, their skin resistance to electrical current increased, and their brainwave patterns showed greater alpha wave activity.
To experience the relaxing benefits of meditation, find a quiet place where you are not apt to be interrupted. Sit in a firm chair with your back as straight as possible, or lie down flat on your back on the ground. Then try one of the three basic types of meditation:
Mantra meditation involves repeating—either aloud or silently—a word (such as “peace” or “calm”), a syllable (such as “ommmm”), or a group of words (such as “safe and sound” or “I’m okay”) each time you breathe out.
Gazing meditation involves focusing both your attention and your gaze on an object such as a candle flame, a stone, or a flower. The object should be about one foot away from your face. Gaze at it rather than stare, keeping your eyes relaxed. Don’t try to think about the object in words, just look at it without judgment.
Breathing meditation involves focusing on the rise and fall of your breath. Draw a deep breath, focusing on the inhalation, the pause before you exhale, the exhalation, and the pause before you inhale. When you exhale, say to yourself “one.” Each time you complete a breath and exhale, count again, one through four, then start over with one. The counting helps clear your mind of other thoughts.
No matter which type of meditation you choose, begin your session with a few minutes of deep breathing. When random thoughts enter your mind during your meditation time (as they almost certainly will) don’t become anxious; just accept the thoughts and let them pass through your mind without notice or response. Start by meditating for five to ten minutes once or twice a day, then work up to fifteen to twenty minutes.
For more information on meditation, refer to books in the library, take a class from a local recreation center or fitness facility, or practice using instructional tapes. You might also contact one of the following organizations:
Cambridge Insight Meditation Center
331 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 491-5070
Foundation for Human Understanding
P.O. Box 1009
Grants Pass, OR 97526
(503) 597-4360
Mind/Body Medical Institute
110 Francis Street, Suite 1A
Boston, MA 02215
(617) 632-9525
Stress Reduction Clinic
University of Massachusetts Medical Center
55 Lake Avenue, North
Worcester, MA 01655
(508) 856-2656
Zen Center
300 Page Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 863-3136
PROGRESSIVE RELAXATION Progressive relaxation can produce a profound feeling of calm as you systematically remove the stress from your body. Start by lying on your back on the floor, with your legs flat and your arms loose at your sides. Close your eyes and breathe deeply.
Once you are reasonably calm, begin to systematically tense and relax every muscle in your body. Start with your feet: Tense the muscles in your feet for thirty seconds or so, then relax, allowing your feet to feel heavy and relaxed. Then move on to your calves, thighs, abdomen, buttocks, hands, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, and face. When you finish, your muscles should feel soothed and relaxed. Lie quietly and enjoy the feeling of complete relaxation.
VISUALIZATION To relieve stress, use your imagination. Visualization—also known as guided imagery—builds on the idea that you are what you think you are. If you think anxious thoughts, your muscles will grow tense; if you think sad thoughts, your brain biochemistry will change and you will become unhappy. And, more importantly, if you think soothing, positive thoughts, you will relax and develop a more positive outlook.
To experience the relaxation of visualization, sit down in a comfortable position or lie on the floor in a quiet, dimly lit room. Tense all of your muscles at once and hold for thirty seconds. Relax every muscle and allow all the tension to drain from your body. Continue to inhale and exhale slowly and fully.
Once your muscles have relaxed, you can begin the visualization or imagery. First
, concentrate on your breathing, feeling the regular rhythm of each breath and clearing your mind of all thoughts. Then imagine that you are in a peaceful setting, such as lying in the warm sun on a sandy beach or strolling down a country road on a cool October afternoon. Get all your senses involved in your image: Smell the ocean mist, hear the leaves crunch under your feet. The more specific your fantasy, the more real it will seem. And the more real it seems, the more you will relax. Enjoy this “escape” for about twenty minutes. When you return to your body and get on with the challenges of the day, you will probably feel much more relaxed and refreshed.
For more information on visualization, contact the Mind-Body Medical Institute, New Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, (617) 632-9530; or the Academy for Guided Imagery, P.O. Box 2070, Mill Valley, CA 94942, (800) 726-2070.
YOGA Yoga promotes relaxation while at the same time strengthening and stretching the muscles. This form of exercise combines deep breathing with systematically moving the body into a series of postures or positions. It can be very gentle and noncompetitive, but yoga isn’t easy. It requires significant endurance, strength, and flexibility. Since it works every muscle group, weaknesses can be identified easily, allowing you to target areas that may need special attention.
There are six main types of yoga; the two most common in the United States are hatha yoga and tantra yoga. (Hatha yoga is what most people think of when they mention yoga.) When practicing hatha yoga, you concentrate on your breathing while assuming a series of physical postures, moving between them slowly and with concentration. Tantra yoga is more meditative and involves the elaborate use of rituals. Both forms build physical strength and relieve stress.
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