Time for a laugh?

Take a second to ponder this...

Heard any good jokes lately? You might want to dust them off and give them an airing, because it's now official: laughter is seriously good for you.
You may have read or heard about how laughter can help reduce pain and help healing, because it can boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, and improve brain functioning. As the poet Lord Byron has said, "Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine." But it also helps us deal with stress and cope with life's aggravations and anxieties. In other words, it's good for your mental and emotional health as well.

An interesting statistic I ran across is that the average American adult is said to laugh about 15 times per day. Compare this to four-year-olds, who laugh once every four minutes. So what happens to us in the meantime? Well, you could say, we all have to grow up, and that's a serious business. But it doesn't mean that you have to lose or stop using your sense of humor.

The next time you find yourself in a tense situation or feeling frustrated or angry, why not bring a little humor to the rescue? It's well-known that laughter can defuse and dissolve any tension or anger, and bring a burst of welcome relief and a sense of clearing the air. Looking at the funny side of a situation can help you relax and be more open to solving any problems, or help you get perspective as to how "serious" something really is. As the master comedian Bob Newhart has said, "Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on."

So, a good prescription for a healthy mind and body is to be sure to take several doses of laughter each day. And I'll just leave you with this thought from Woody Allen – "I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose."

You know what? I've often noted that my best friends are also the ones that I laugh the most with. Sometimes if I haven't seen someone for a while, we'll literally sit around laughing until our sides and faces hurt.

Laughter = Good Times. This is not up for debate...