Some years ago, when Nina and I were working on a series of yoga classes for stress management, I read the book The Relaxation Response by Dr. Herbert Benson, and an interesting finding from the work he did has stuck with me. He noted that his blood pressure patients who meditated regularly not only saw improvements in their blood pressure readings, but they also had certain substances in the blood stream that increased or decreased. One of those substances was lactate, or lactic acid, which is a byproduct of cells using sugar or glucose for fuel. It had already been noted back in the 60s that folks with anxiety disorders often had elevated levels of lactate in their bloodstream compared to individuals without anxiety. Since meditation seemed to lower lactate levels, it seemed like a great potential treatment.
More recently, an article in Scientific American looked at lactate and other markers in the body that could account for why some folks develop panic disorders, an extreme form of anxiety. Studies done in the last two years point to the pH in the brain as a possible causative factor in the experience of fear, and by extension, anxiety. It seems a more acidic pH in the brain is associated with more active trigger of the fear centers in the brain. In fact, there are receptors at individual synapses, the spaces between to nerve cells, that respond to elevated levels of acid. In the area of the brain strongly associated with the emotion of fear, the amygdala, this increase in local pH can trigger fear responses.
They also noted that carbon dioxide levels, when increased in the blood stream and the brain, lead to greater acidity. And other studies have demonstrated that patients with panic disorders are more likely to have an event if they inhale a higher concentration of CO2, compared to non-anxious individuals. These researchers also addressed the lactic acid phenomena that Dr. Benson noted years before: patients with panic disorder tend to generate excess lactic acid in their brains. We all generate lactic acid in our brains as sugars are burned as fuel, but in people with panic attacks, even normal mental activity to lead to an accumulation of lactic acid in the brain.
Here is a link to the 2010 SA article here so you can get more details on the work I’ve alluded to: scientificamerican.com. And may you and yours be safe and anxiety free this 9/11 anniversary.
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