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To: Lady Jag; DollyCali

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 more beneficial way than other mere distractions.

Perspective: Studies 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!

http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/laughter.htm

“God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.”
Voltaire (French Philosopher and Writer. One of the greatest of all French authors, 1694-1778)

Thank you for making me laugh every day!


2,950 posted on 06/30/2008 8:27:46 AM PDT by yorkie ( Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass....It's about learning to dance in the rain.)
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To: Mama_Bear; MEG33; La Enchiladita; jaycee; gardengirl; yorkie; OESY; Kitty Mittens; The Mayor; ...


Good morning, everyone. Happy Last Day of June.

We have two Holidays today ....
Meteor Day and Sky Day.

Happy Meteor in the Sky Day!!

2,952 posted on 06/30/2008 8:49:44 AM PDT by JustAmy (I wear red every Friday, but I support our Military everyday!!)
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To: yorkie


Good morning, Yorkie.
Hope you are having a good day.
I read several years ago that laughter was very helpful to cancer patients.

Have a great day and keep laughing. : )

2,962 posted on 06/30/2008 12:45:41 PM PDT by JustAmy (I wear red every Friday, but I support our Military everyday!!)
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