Body temperature, metabolism and cellular respiration all have important links to longevity and also body composition.
We can likely use body temperature (alongside pulse) as an indicator of metabolic health.
Stress, while having the ability to raise body temperature (through increasing cortisol, adrenaline and catabolic activity in the body) has a negative impact on both longevity and body composition.
“A poor reaction to stress, with increased cortisol, can raise the body temperature by accelerating the breakdown and resynthesis of proteins, but adaptive resistance to stress increases the temperature by increasing the consumption of oxygen and fuel.”
“In the presence of increased cortisol, abdominal fat increases, along with circulating fatty acids and calcium, as mitochondrial respiration is suppressed.” – Ray Peat, PhD
Meditation – Bhasin et. al, 2013, found that in a study of 26 individuals that meditation practice enhanced expression of genes associated with energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, insulin secretion and telomere maintenance, and reduced expression of genes linked to inflammatory response and stress-related pathways.
This was particularly evident in long term meditators.
Increasing metabolism and mitochondrial function is known to increase life-span.
Yeasts and rodents are very different, but both show a similar association of metabolic intensity and life-span. A variety of hamster with a 20% higher metabolic rate lived 15% longer than hamsters with an average metabolic rate (Oklejewicz and Daan, 2002).
It makes sense then that we can anecdotally notice and increase in body temperature during the relaxation response and meditation.
Why? Because through a down-regulation of the nervous system and likely increase in CO2 in the blood (vaso-dillator and muscle relaxant), we up-regulate metabolism.
Yet another great reason to get started
