CHAPTER 5, PAGE 26

People who laugh heartily on a regular basis have lower blood pressure than the average person. When people have a good laugh, initially the blood pressure rises, but then it decreases to levels below normal. Breathing then becomes deeper which sends oxygen enriched blood and nutrients throughout the body.

Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases infection fighting antibodies. It increases our attentiveness, heart rate, and pulse. Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack. A recent study done by the University of Maryland Medical Center found that people with heart disease were 40% less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.

Laughter can be a great workout for your diaphragm, abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles. It massages abdominal organs, tones intestinal functioning, and strengthens the muscles that hold the abdominal structures in place. It is estimated that hearty laughter can burn calories equivalent to several minutes of exercise.

Laughter stimulates both sides of the brain to enhance learning. It eases muscle tension and psychological stress, which keeps the brain alert and allows people to retain more information.

What other medicine is this powerful, yet completely free and has no bad side effects?

What did the car say to the tire? . . .

Don’t stop now, you’re on a roll!”

GOOD MORNING !

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Did you know that the average child laughs 400 times a day while the average woman laughs 15 times a day? We really do have many opportunities for laughter, yet most of us don’t use them.

We have years of memories to rekindle and laugh about. Even the mistakes we made can be laughed at now. We have years of friendships and good times that can bring out some really good laughs if we think about them. But the best is yet to come they say…

I’ve spent many moments laughing at my self. The older I get, the more reasons I seem to find. The other day I started to get upset at work over a really mundane request someone made and then I caught myself. All of the sudden I realized that it was very foolish to be upset. I had plenty of time to do what they asked and after all I get paid the same no matter what it is I’m doing… So I laughed and said ‘Sure’ I’ve got plenty of time.

Somewhere along the line, we learned not to laugh. That's right. A baby giggles for the first time at about 9 weeks of age. Between 4-6 months, touch and sound make a baby laugh and by 10 months an infant will seek out laughter, usually through games like peek-a-boo. This is a natural part of human development. But at some point, perhaps when we enter school, we begin to hear these messages, "Don't act so silly," "Wipe that smile off your face," and "Grow up". Remember? Again and again, we hear these phrases throughout our formative years. So what we learn is: be more serious and be more mature.

To top it off, Laugh Stoppers lurk within us. Their names are: Embarrassment, Humiliation, Pain, Rejection and Criticism. They tell us to keep our composure, stay in control and for heaven sakes - don't act foolish! Often, we have little control over life's events, but if we learn to see humor in these situations and laugh, we can minimize the impact.

Remember: A laugh a day keeps the doctor away!

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.

Mother Teresa

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

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