18
awa
y from their families and friends experience blockage of the arter-
ies and heart disease.43 On the other hand, rabbits who are petted and
hugged live 60% longer.
When their mates die, male hamsters stop eating and sleeping,
and often succumb to death themselves. They are not alone. A British
study indicated that in the first year after a wife dies, a widower has a
40% greater risk of death. In another study at New York's Mount Sinai
School of Medicine, men who had lost wives to breast cancer
experienced a sharp drop in the activity of their immune system one to
two months after the loss44. A survey of 7,000 inhabitants of Alameda
County, California, showed that "isolation and the lack of social and
community ties" opened the door to illness and an early demise.
An even broader investigation by James J. Lynch of actuarial and
statistical data on victims of cardiovascular disease indicated that an
astonishing percentage of the million or so Americans killed by heart
problems each year have an underlying difficulty that seems to trigger
their sickness: "lack of warmth and meaningful relationships with
others."45 On the other hand, research in Europe suggested that kissing
on a regular basis provides additional oxygen and stimulates the
output of antibodies.
Closeness to others can heal. Separation can kill.
The cutting of the ties that bind can be fatal even in the wild.
Jane Goodall, the researcher who has studied chimpanzees in the
Gombe game preserve of Africa since 1960, saw the principle at work
in a young animal named Flint. When Flint was born, his mother
adored him. And he, in turn, doted on her. She hugged him, played
with him, and tickled him until his tiny, wrinkled face broke out in the
broad equivalent of a chimpanzee smile. The two were inseparable.
When Flint reached the age of three, however, the time came for
his mother to wean him. But Flo, the mother, was old and weak. And
Flint, the chimpanzee child, was young and strong. Flo turned her
back and tried to keep her son away from the nipple. But Flint flew
<< < GO > >>
18
awa
y from their families and friends experience blockage of the arter-
ies and heart disease.43 On the other hand, rabbits who are petted and
hugged live 60% longer.
When their mates die, male hamsters stop eating and sleeping,
and often succumb to death themselves. They are not alone. A British
study indicated that in the first year after a wife dies, a widower has a
40% greater risk of death. In another study at New York's Mount Sinai
School of Medicine, men who had lost wives to breast cancer
experienced a sharp drop in the activity of their immune system one to
two months after the loss44. A survey of 7,000 inhabitants of Alameda
County, California, showed that "isolation and the lack of social and
community ties" opened the door to illness and an early demise.
An even broader investigation by James J. Lynch of actuarial and
statistical data on victims of cardiovascular disease indicated that an
astonishing percentage of the million or so Americans killed by heart
problems each year have an underlying difficulty that seems to trigger
their sickness: "lack of warmth and meaningful relationships with
others."45 On the other hand, research in Europe suggested that kissing
on a regular basis provides additional oxygen and stimulates the
output of antibodies.
Closeness to others can heal. Separation can kill.
The cutting of the ties that bind can be fatal even in the wild.
Jane Goodall, the researcher who has studied chimpanzees in the
Gombe game preserve of Africa since 1960, saw the principle at work
in a young animal named Flint. When Flint was born, his mother
adored him. And he, in turn, doted on her. She hugged him, played
with him, and tickled him until his tiny, wrinkled face broke out in the
broad equivalent of a chimpanzee smile. The two were inseparable.
When Flint reached the age of three, however, the time came for
his mother to wean him. But Flo, the mother, was old and weak. And
Flint, the chimpanzee child, was young and strong. Flo turned her
back and tried to keep her son away from the nipple. But Flint flew
<< < GO > >>