Laughter

Health Benefits of Laughing

Laughter works wonderfully well in the moment, but it also has some surprising long-term 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
  • Humor and creativity work in similar ways, says humor guru William Fry, M.D., of Stanford University–by creating relationships between two disconnected items, you engage the whole brain.

Humor works quickly. Less than a half-second after exposure to something funny, and electrical wave moves through the higher brain functions of the cerebral cortex. The left hemisphere analyzes the words and structures of the joke; the right hemisphere “gets” the joke; the visual sensory area of the occipital lobe creates images; the limbic (emotional) system makes you happier; and the motor sections make you smile or laugh.

Source: care2

 

8 Interesting facts about your heart

Did you know these cool facts about your heart?

1.The average adult heart beats 72 times a minute; 100,000 times a day; 3,600,000 times a year; and 2.5 billion times during a lifetime.

2. The heart produces enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. So,in a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back!

3. The heart pumps nearly 1.5 million barrels of blood during an average lifetime which is enough to fill 200 train tank cars.

4. Laughter really works wonders for your heart and is perfect remedy for stress .A good hearty laugh can send 20% more blood flowing through your entire body. So indulge yourself in funny movies and create a group of jovial and cheerful people.

5. The stethoscope was invented by French physician Rene Laennec when he felt it was inappropriate to place his ear on his large-buxomed female patients’ chests.

6. A woman’s heart typically beats faster than a man’s. The heart of an average man beats approximately 70 times a minute, whereas the average woman has a heart rate of 78 beats per minute

7. Studies show Monday blues affect the heart the most as the majority of heart attacks occur between the hours of 8 -9 am on Mondays.

8. It is thought that the heart got its love association in the ancient Greek city of Cyrene due to the Silphium plant with its heart-shaped seed pods that grew in the region.

Source: Zee news