[Doody]

Seeing someone in another thread start singing "I feel Pretty" got me to thinking about a recent news clip I heard on one of the news stations, can't remember what now.

They said that recent studies showed that 'pre-school-aged children laugh up to 400 times a day, but by the time we reach adulthood, we laugh a mere 17 times per day on average'.

I know when I laugh it feels oh sooooo good.

With the variety of health problems we all have, I just have to agree that laughing whenever we can is a good thing. A lot of us here have been allowed to get a LOT off our chests. We lost a community, a family, a lifeline and became cornfusled over it all. Loss is HARD!!!!

So I for one have appreciated the occasional interjections of humor amidst our pain over our loss and our appreciation for finding one another again in this safe place Doc has provided for us, whether it be interim or ongoing.

And of course for the Chats for those who like that format.

Hugs and LOL when you can!

I found this when searching for that laughter study.

The Stress Management and Health Benefits of Laughter
From Elizabeth Scott

The Laughing Cure

Research has shown health benefits of laughter ranging from strengthening the immune system to reducing food cravings to increasing one's threshold for pain. There's even an emerging therapeutic field known as humor therapy to help people heal more quickly, among other things. Humor also has several important stress relieving benefits.

Stress Management Benefits of Laughter:

* Hormones: Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine, adrenaline, dopamine and growth hormone. It also increases the level of health-enhancing hormones like endorphins, and neurotransmitters. Laughter increases the number of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T cells. All this means a stronger immune system, as well as fewer physical effects of stress.

* Physical Release: Have you ever felt like you "have to laugh or I'll cry"? Have you experienced the cleansed feeling after a good laugh? Laughter provides a physical and emotional release.

* Internal Workout: A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward. It even provides a good workout for the heart.

* Distraction: Laughter brings the focus away from anger, guilt, stress and negative emotions in a than other mere distractions.

* Perspective: Sudies show that our response to stressful events can be altered by whether we view something as a 'threat' or a 'challenge'. Humor can give us a more lighthearted perspective and help us view events as 'challenges', thereby making them less threatening and more positive.

* Social Benefits of Laughter: Laughter connects us with others. Also, laughter is contagious, so if you bring more laughter into your life, you can most likely help others around you to laugh more, and realize these benefits as well. By elevating the mood of those around you, you can reduce their stress levels, and perhaps improve the quality of social interaction you experience with them, reducing your stress level even more!

How To Use Laughter:

A recent study showed that pre-school-aged children laugh up to 400 times a day, but by the time we reach adulthood, we laugh a mere 17 times per day on average! You can raise your laughter level with the following strategies:

* T.V. and Movies: There's no shortage of comedies out there, both at the theater and in the aisles of the video stores, as well as right on your T.V. While wasting your time watching something marginally funny may actually frustrate you, watching truly hilarious movies and shows is an easy way to get laughter into your life whenever you need it.

* Laugh With Friends: Going to a movie or comedy club with friends is a great way to get more laughter in your life. The contagious effects of laughter may mean you'll laugh more than you otherwise would have during the show, plus you'll have jokes to reference at later times. Having friends over for a party or game night is also a great setup for laughter and other good feelings.

* Find Humor In Your Life: Instead of complaining about life's frustrations, try to laugh about them. If something is so frustrating or depressing it's ridiculous, realize that you could 'look back on it and laugh.' Think of how it will sound as a story you could tell to your friends, and then see if you can laugh about it now. With this attitude, you may also find yourself being more lighthearted and silly, giving yourself and those around you more to laugh about. Approach life in a more mirthful way and you'll find you're less stressed about negative events, and you'll achieve the health benefits of laughter.

* 'Fake It Until You Make It': Just as studies show the positive effects of smiling occur whether the smile is fake or real, faked laughter also provides the benefits mentioned above. So smile more, and fake laughter; you'll still achieve positive effects, and the fake merriment may lead to real smiles and laughter.

(Elizabeth Scott is a life coach, writer, wife, mother, pianist, karate enthusiast and Mensa member who has spent the past eleven years working with a variety of types of people on stress management, personal growth, and emotional, financial and physical health.)

[Doody]

AND it's good medicine for the heart. (I'm in here talking to myself, hee.)

A team of University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers, led by Dr. Michael Miller, has recently shown for the first time that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood vessels.

By Michelle Weinstein
University of Maryland Medical System Web Site Writer

Can a laugh every day keep the heart attack away? Maybe so.

Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.

"The old saying that 'laughter is the best medicine,' definitely appears to be true when it comes to protecting your heart," says Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "We don't know yet why laughing protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels. This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack."

In the study, researchers compared the humor responses of 300 people. Half of the participants had either suffered a heart attack or undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. The other 150 did not have heart disease. One questionnaire had a series of multiple-choice answers to find out how much or how little people laughed in certain situations, and the second one used true or false answers to measure anger and hostility.

Miller said that the most significant study finding was that "people with heart disease responded less humorously to everyday life situations." They generally laughed less, even in positive situations, and they displayed more anger and hostility.

"The ability to laugh -- either naturally or as learned behavior -- may have important implications in societies such as the U.S. where heart disease remains the number one killer," says Miller. "We know that exercising, not smoking and eating foods low in saturated fat will reduce the risk of heart disease. Perhaps regular, hearty laughter should be added to the list."

Miller says it may be possible to incorporate laughter into our daily activities, just as we do with other heart-healthy activities, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator. "We could perhaps read something humorous or watch a funny video and try to find ways to take ourselves less seriously," Miller says. "The recommendation for a healthy heart may one day be exercise, eat right and laugh a few times a day."

[Doody]

Still talking to myself.

Tons of info about laughter from How Stuff Works at http://www.howstuffworks.com/laughter.htm

[Alffe]

[Chemar]

[Julie]

There is nobody in the world that makes me laugh like my son. We both love to watch America's Funniest Videos. His laughing gets me laughing much harder than what originally cracked us up. What is funniest of all is that his laugh is silent. Makes me laugh just thinking of him. I cannot tell you how many times he has made me sore from laughter.

[Julie]

Chemar, that is precious!

[newbie]

Which would show that we need a comedy/ joke forum here.

[Julie]

Today is National Speak Like a Pirate Day so here are my kids...okay and my favorite pirate jokes.

What is a pirates favorite letter of the alphabet?

R

Why are pirate jokes so funny?

They just R

[SallyC]