1. Unit 5 Project
Sarah Blacketer
Kaplan University
HW420-01

2. Introduction
Benefits of Mental Fitness: Definitions and Examples
Research Article #1: A longitudinal study of job strain and ambulatory
blood pressure: Results from a three-year follow-up
Research Article #2: Positive Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory
Prayer in a Coronary Care Unit Population
Research Article #3: Effects of stress management training and dietary
changes in treating ischemic heart disease
Exercise Activity Practice #1: Cognitive Behavioral Conditioning
Exercise Activity Practice #2: Relaxation
Summary
Reference

3. Benefits of Mental Fitness
Mental fitness can also be construed as a person’s emotional
and mental state, as well as their ability to handle various
stressors in their daily lives. In addition, the term mental
fitness can be applied to a branch of medicine that deals with
the maintenance and accomplishment of psychological well-
being. The many benefits associated with mental fitness
include:
Increased positive emotions
Increased productivity
Increase mental focus
Reduced anxiety
Reduced risk of developing health conditions such as heart
disease

4. Research Article #1
In 1998, Dr. Peter Schnall wanted to observe the effects
of stress on midlevel business managers who were overloaded
with work. Dr. Schnall found that those who viewed their “job
strain” as challenging were able to better cope with the stress
and less likely to suffer from hypertension and cardiovascular
problems than their counterparts who felt overwhelmed within a
hopeless situation (Dacher, 2006). The significance of this study
clearly demonstrates how stress can severely affect one’s health.

5. Research Article #2
In 1986, then cardiologist Dr. Randolph Byrd conducted the study
Positive Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer in a Coronary Care Unit
Population to determine how prayer affects the medical outcome of
patients admitted to the CCU at San Francisco General Hospital over a
period of ten months (Byrd, 1988),
In all 393 patients participated in the study and were randomly placed
into two groups—192 patients in the intercessory prayer group and
201 patients in the control group.
While hospitalized, the first group received intercessory prayer by
participating Christians praying outside the hospital; the control
group did not.
The IP group subsequently had a significantly lower severity score
based on the hospital course after entry.
The control patients required ventilatory assistance, antibiotics, and
diuretics more frequently than patients in the intercessory prayer
group.

6. Research Article #3
In 1977 and 1983, Drs. Ornish and Brown conducted a studies
to determine the if making changes to the diet and lifestyle of
hypertensive patients reversed severe illnesses. The studies
focused upon a combination of making changes to the subject’s
diet and lifestyle, as well as stress management. In each of
these studies, the individuals who adhered to Drs. Ornish and
Brown’s lifestyle program made significant improvement while
those who did not actually got worse (Ornish, 2005).

7. Exercise Activity Practice #1
Cognitive Behavioral Conditioning
One tool that can provide significant benefit to the individual
looking to improve their mental well-being is through cognitive
behavioral conditioning. Cognitive behavioral conditioning
forces the individual to reassess their reaction to a particular life
event. The ultimate goal is to reduce the individual’s stress
reaction in the hope that they may better cope with similar
events that may occur in the future.
The following slide provides an example of effective cognitive
behavioral conditioning.

8. Exercise Activity Practice #1
Cognitive Behavioral Conditioning can be carried out by
completing a thought record.

9. Exercise Activity Practice #2
Relaxation
Various forms of relaxation techniques can help the individual to
gain control of many of their physical systems such as reducing
arousal in their nervous system and calming tension in their
muscles. One technique that may be beneficial is to utilize
guided imagery or to focus on a particular sound, such as white
or pink noise.

10. Exercise Activity
Practice #2
This relaxation exercise was adapted from MindTools.com (2012),
Complete your relaxation by following these steps:
Sit quietly and comfortably.
Close your eyes.
Start by relaxing the muscles of your feet and work up your body
relaxing muscles.
Focus your attention on your breathing.
Breathe in deeply and then let your breath out. Count your breaths,
and say the number of the breath as you let it out (this gives you
something to do with your mind, helping you to avoid distraction).
Do this for ten or twenty minutes.

11. Summary
Research has demonstrated the benefits of mental fitness.
The physiological effects of stress upon the individual can
be reduced via the power of prayer.
Proper stress management, and changes to the individual’s
diet and lifestyle can reverse the adverse effects of heart
disease.

12. Reference
Byrd, R. C. (1988, July). Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population. Southern
Medical Journal, 81(7), 826-829. Retrieved from http://www.iwriteiam.nl/D960916-prayer.html
Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health.
Greenberger, D. & Padesky, C. A. (1995). Thought record [Image]. In Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing
the Way You Think. Retrieved from http://www.nicolemccance.com/images/Thought_Record.pdf
MindTools.com (2012). The “Relaxation Response.” Physical Techniques: Deep Breathing, Progressive Muscular Relaxation
& The Relaxation Response. Mind Tools Ltd. Retrieved from
http://www.mindtools.com/stress/RelaxationTechniques/PhysicalTechniques.htm
Ornish, D. (2005). Opening your heart: Anatomically, emotionally, and spiritually. In M. Schlitz, T. Amorok & M. S.
Micozzi (Eds.), Consciousness & Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine (pp. 304-311). New York, NY:
Elsevier Inc.