Holistic Health

Laughter is the Best Medicine

a4_99999909It's often said that "experts" have shown that laughter is the best medicine; it boosts the immune system, lessens pain, reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and has a beneficial effect on our overall well being. Plus, it's free!

Scientists have found that laughter is a form of internal massaging that exercises the body and stimulates the release of beneficial brain neurotransmitters and hormones. A positive outlook and laughter are actually good for your health.

Laughing empowers participants to enjoy a balance of body, mind and soul. In addition to helping the heart, laughter offers other important health benefits. When you laugh heartily, every organ is being massaged including your heart, lungs and digestive system. Headaches can go away. When you laugh the endorphins released make you feel this elation. As others have said, "It makes those big decisions seem so much less important" and "It's our greatest gift, especially if we can laugh at ourselves and not take ourselves so seriously."

Simple Secrets of How to Be Happy

By Darshan Goswami, M.S., PE

Being happy is really a choice we make. The secret of Happiness is simple, very simple - what is it?

You decide if you want to be happy! 

We all strive for happiness in life. Like many, you probably think achievements such as education, marriage, family and social/financial status make you happy.

However, studies of happiness in several countries have found that these achievements have little to do with your happiness. For millions of people, happiness has remained a rather elusive goal. They've tried to buy happiness.

They've sought it through materialistic and pleasurable activities such as buying a new SUV or going on vacation. But nothing has seemed to work. For most people these changes, new possessions or temporary pleasures, might work for a while but will eventually become part of your status quo, and their power to deliver happiness will fade.

Stressed at Work? It Could Effect Your Health

a4_99999554"Stress at work" can sometimes be a good thing - provided it results in personal achievement and success, and doesn't affect one's family or social life. However, it's quite often a bad thing. A lot seems to depend on the boss.

Blood pressures in employees with more than one supervisor have been shown to be lower on days when a reasonable boss is in charge, but higher on those days when a more severe boss is riding hard on the workers.

A new study from Britain has examined this possibility more fully. Over 6,000 male workers in 20 civil service departments (government offices) were screened for coronary heart disease, and then filled out a questionnaire with questions like "Do you ever get criticized unfairly?" or "How often is your superior willing to listen to your problems?" The men were followed for an average of 8½ years, to see if they developed new coronary events, such as a myocardial infarct (MI) or severe angina.