Rollin McCraty in “The Physiological and Psychological Effects of Compassion and Anger,” shows that after five minutes of intentionally feeling care and compassion, subjects had an immediate 41 percent average increase in their IgA levels. Immune system functioning can be measured by IgA, or secretory immunoglobulin A levels. After one hour, IgA levels returned to normal, but slowly increased over the next six hours.
In some individuals IgA increased as much as 240 percent immediately after they felt care or compassion. Interestingly, there also was an 18 percent increase in IgA levels when the participants experienced anger, but an hour later, their IgA levels had dropped to only about half of what they were before the anger. Even after six hours, their IgA levels were still not back to normal. Conclusion: Sincere, positive feeling states boost the immune system, while negative emotions may suppress the immune response for up to six hours following an emotional experience.
For full study: www.heartmath.org
