Chocolate in moderation might be good for you. But how about blogging, maybe even in excess? Could it work better than Longevity Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk?
Well, never mind those jealous grumps at the New York Times who want the world to think bloggers are dropping like flies, or about to.
A Scientific American report talks about the possible health advantages of expressing your feelings online—everything from improved memory to better sleep habits and stronger immune systems. Extrapolating at least partly from a study in February’s Oncologist, the report mentions benefits to cancer patients of expressive writing (no B word in the study itself, alas).
The e-book and TeleBlog angles
Now—the inevitable question. Could interactive e-books, aimed at people with shared diseases, have their own therapeutic value? Mightn’t this be another reason for the IDPF to get off its rear end and get cracking on standards for community annotations—a term that could include blogs and forums within e-books. There! I feel better already. Add another week or two to my expected life span. More seriously, here’s an opportunity for the million and one health book authors out there, not to mention their publishers. Hello, Rodale?
Meanwhile, we, too, can help you extend your life. The TeleBlog is always looking for knowledgeable contributors, and you don’t have to work in the industry—just care about e-books, be fair-minded and know what you’re blogging about. Today Darmien G. Walter, a short story writer who’s blogged for both himself and the Guardian, made his first appearance in the TeleBlog. With one more outlet, he’s sure to live 50 percent longer.
Excerpt from the SciAm piece
So much for the joking. Here’s more on The Science. Headlined Blogging—It’s Good for You, the SciAm piece says: “Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.
“Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs. According to Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the placebo theory of suffering is one window through which to view blogging. As social creatures, humans have a range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a ‘placebo for getting satisfied,’ Flaherty says. Blogging about stressful experiences might work similarly.”
Related: New York Times magazine piece on the blogger as an an exhibitionist. In fairness to the Gray Lady, yes, blogging does have its darker side. Blogging purely for fun is different from feelings the strain of having to beat the competition—a problem that comes with news operations of any kind, old or new media.
Image: CC-licensed photo from Jen SFO-BCN.
(Found via News Trust)
