MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF LAUGHTER


    100  BELLY LAUGHS A DAY KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY, Jerry Pinto,  Times 
    of  India  June 23 1996, sun rev/p5  We have  always  known  that 
    laughter  is  good  for us. Now scientists are  finding  out  why 
    laughter affects all the major systems of the body, including the 
    immune system.
    
    Since  the middle ages, it has been found that laughter  improves 
    health. Laughter is the best medicine. The Bible:
         A merry heart hath a cheerul countenance...doeth good,  like 
         a medicine.
    
    Dr  L  S BURK, Loma Linda School of  Public  Health,  California: 
    effect of laughter on the immune systems. The body's:
    
    white blood corpuscles
    the T cells, and
    all the defenses including the antibodies
    
    show signs of heightened activity after a period of laughter:
    
         Its no longer mystical...We've always heard that laughter is 
         good  for  you, and now we are gathering the hard  stuff  to 
         show why it is so.
    
    William FRY, Stanford University School of Medicine: After a good 
    bout  of laughter, BP drops, heart and brain are stimulated,  due 
    release of endorphins, the ultimate in feelgood hormones. 
    
    impact  on the heart of: 20 secs of hearty laughter = 3 mts  hard 
    rowing- the best aerobic exercise session; 
    
    100 belly laughs = 10 mt rowing session
    
    Babies start laughing at 2-3 months
    rate of laughter picks up steadily, at 6 years: 300 laughs/day
    social training and peer pressure. adults: 15-100 laughs/day
    
    FRY (in his book HUMOR & AGING), To age well, keep laughing:
    
         Humour may increase appreciation of games as well as provide 
         with  ways of coping with losses and other negative  circum-
         stances, thus enabling a person to age well.
    
    Another  LAUGHOLOGIST Dr Robert PROVINE , U of Maryland:  average 
    laughter  consists  of 75 milliseconds HA HA HE HE  separated  by 
    rests of 210 milliseconds. Laughing is teh social glue that keeps 
    us  together.  It is a weapon to combat depression  and  suicidal 
    tendencies. 
    
    FREUD (Wit and its Relation to the Unconcious): humor and  laugh-
    ter are defense against anxieities, fear and anger.
    
    STRESSED  OUT? FIND WAYS TO LAUGH. (box) laughter - best  stress-
    buster. Stress implicated in heart disease to skin problem. WAYS:
    
    Keep a list of funny things: C W METCALF, even a cue word trigger
    Carry funny photos around: see them during stressful situation
    Watch funny videos: Ashok Khushalani, Baylor C of Med, Houston
    Give yourself an internal comedy ally: your cmedian, Chaplin
    Create a laughing place: notice board - comics, cartoons
    Try balooning: Marianne GLAENZER- man in front growing beard