Laughter for Holiday Stress:) LOL!! 11/30/12

Good Friday Morning everyone!! I thought I would write about "Laughter". Since, the Holidays can bring upon stress, depression and many other ailments, one of the simpliest and holistic ways to treat these ailments is through laughter. Laughter, Laughter, Laughter:)

To Start, Here are a few Health benefits:

What can laughter do?:

• Lower blood pressure
• Increase vascular blood flow and oxygenation of the blood
• Give a workout to the diaphragm and abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles
• Reduce certain stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline
• Increase the response of tumor- and disease-killing cells such as Gamma-interferon and T-cells
• Defend against respiratory infections–even reducing the frequency of colds–by immunoglobulon in saliva.
• Increase memory and learning; in a study at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, humor during instruction led to increased test scores

• Improve alertness, creativity, and memory

Previous research has shown that more heart attacks occur during winter than any other season due to factors including an increased prevalence of respiratory infections, eating more fatty and salty foods, drinking more eggnog and alcoholic beverages, and holiday stress.

Specifically, the poll of 1,017 adults with high blood pressure found that between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day:

—62 percent of adults with hypertension eat more than usual.

—48 percent experience heightened stress levels.

—37 percent gain weight.

—29 percent exercise less or quit exercising altogether.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,138194,00.html#ixzz2DhhFGUmW

According to Web MD, many more studies on laughter are being done across the country with amazing results. Laughing 100 (ha-ha-etc.) times a day gives the same cardiac workout as 10 minutes of aerobic exercise.
Maciej Buchowski, a researcher with Vanderbilt University, conducted a unique study and proved that 10-15 minutes of concentrated laughter burned 50 calories. Hmmm.

This is my favorite:)  Especially since we just had the largest lottery!!

Lottery Winner
Imagine you just won the 500 Million Dollar Lottery! Only ONE set of numbers hit, and they were YOURS! Laugh, howl, jump up and down, wave your arms, hug each other and celebrate. Try to keep it up for a minute each day, then two minutes the following week. This is truly energizing.

So, enjoy your friday and laugh today. Let me know how it goes. What made you laugh?