Defeating Stress': UC Irvine Professor Studies Benefits Of Tai Chi

Defeating Stress Week continues with how you can exercise away the stress. Yes, it's a workout that involves meditation in motion. So take a look at what some doctors call the ultimate stress-busting workout. It's four in the afternoon on the campus of UC Irvine. Breathe in. The students in this class, not your typical mix of college co-eds. Breathe out. I looked around, I said, wow, a lot of the people attending this class are a little bit older than I am. Alex Mendoza, 44, is a police officer for the city of Irvine. As an officer, he's dealt with plenty of stress and it's taken its toll. In my back, in my stomach, you know, and other areas, and just an overall tightness. For the past six months, he's been taking Dr. Shin Lin's community Tai Chi class. Dr. Lin is a professor of biochemistry who's been practicing Tai Chi since his teens. I'm in good health. I don't remember the last time I got a cold. And he believes Tai Chi has a lot to do with that. But as a scientist, belief isn't enough. To make a claim, you have to have proof. So he invites seniors and students alike to participate in his research. Using modern biomedical technologies to try to understand the physiological benefits of Tai Chi. In his lab, Dr. Lin measures brain waves, heart rate, blood flow and temperature while subjects go through Tai Chi moves. Our research shows when you move in this repetitive way, you actually generate more neurons in the part of the brain called the hippocampus. And some of these neurons suppresses the stress response. When that happens. Blood pressure would come down significantly. And as stress markers drop, immune function goes up. In a study of seniors in shingles, those who did Tai Chi for six weeks. Have a level of antibodies through shingles equivalent to the control group who didn't do it but get vaccinated. So it's like doing Tai Chi is as good as doing vaccination. Dr. Shin's class is all about balance. For Alex, finding balance here not only reduced his stress symptoms, it also helped change his approach on the job. He told us he used to be. Commanding, you know, you need to do this, you need to do that. Where now, you know, I get it. As for the age gap, I think it's awesome. Why wait till retirement when I can do it now? Tai Chi not only reduces stress and improves immune function, circulation and heart health. Dr. Lin says it also reduces the risk of falls in the elderly and it may enhance sleep and relationships in people of all ages.