HeadsUp Newsletter - Vol 3.12: December 2006

Exercise is a great stress reducer, but doesn’t seem to work for me when I’m running from store to store at the last minute! Then there’s yoga. No time – I have to go shopping, but I do try to fit in an appropriate mantra in the spirit of yoga: something along the lines of “oooooom. Next year I will do this earlier.” Somehow that doesn’t seem to help either. The one sure fire way to take some of the strain out of the season for me is to find something to laugh about. And I can fit that in almost anytime, anyplace. Here are some Fun Facts that explain why this works:

• 1 hour of anxiety is worth 5 hours of physical work – in terms of energy loss.
• 5 minutes roaring with laughter are worth 45 minutes exercising.
• Wild laughter involves 400 muscles in the whole body, stimulates the immune system and supplies tissues with oxygen.
• We laugh about 300 times a day since the moment we are born until we are 6. During adult life, the most cheerful get to 100 times and the least, barely get to 15.
• When we laugh, the lungs put 12 liters of air into motion, instead of the usual 6, which improves breathing.

So what should be our resolution for the New Year? To make humor part of our daily lives and interpersonal relationships, to explore pleasant emotions and pass them on to others, and to turn negative language into positive because laughing at life itself or at unusual and ridiculous stuff, as well as at ourselves, is one of the most effective medicines ever! We’d love to publish your jokes, so send us a laugh for next year and we’ll pass it on.