Sam’s intuition told him he had a short
lifespan. And he consulted a medical practitioner. As the doctor scribbled on
his prescription sheet, he expected several doses of vitamins, irons and
minerals. He wouldn’t have minded if an injection or two was thrown in. Alas!
The doctor scribbled ‘L.O.L’’ on the prescription sheet.
He had never heard of any drug named ‘L.O.L’.
Puzzled, he asked the doctor what it meant. “Oh, pardon me for not writing it
out in full” the doctor said, apologetically. He then retrieved the sheet,
scribbled more words and handed it back to Sam. It read ‘Laugh Out Loud’. Sam
reeled out a very long and hard bout of laughter – the sometimes annoying type.
The doctor appeared infected and joined in the fray.
In a lowering crescendo, Sam’s laughter
faded; so did the doctor’s. “So you were not joking”, Sam retorted as it dawned
on him that the doctor’s prescription was not meant to bemuse him. “I thought
you’d give me stress-relieving and pain-killing tablets. “Nope” the doctor
said. “You just need to laugh more. You need several doses of laughter
actually. By the way, how do you feel now? Laughter is cheaper than any drug o.
It’s so cheap that it is free.”
Sam told the doctor he felt no difference.
As the closed door to the doctor’s office closed behind him, he made up his
mind to visit a more ‘serious’ medical practitioner and pondered over the
‘expensive joke’ this doctor just made out of his obviously serious situation.
He soon let out a smile when he realised he did feel good after laughing so
hard a few minutes ago. He began to see sense in the Doctor’s ‘L.O.L’
prescription. “Maybe I’ll just try laughing for a few weeks and see if it works
out……..going to another doctor will be my plan B” Sam mustered.
Do you want to live long? Want to enjoy
sound health? Here a piece of advice that may shock you: All you need to do is
laugh! Yes! Go ahead! Unleash that Laughter! See the lady in the picture above?
Go ahead and go crazy with laughter just like she’s doing.
So why is it so important that we laugh?
The reason is simple: laughter is one of the best ways of staying healthy! I’m sure you’ve heard of the expression:
Laughter is the best medicine. If you think it was coined just to make you feel
positive during hard times, then think again. Laughter does have medicinal
qualities!!
Research has shown that the health benefits
of laughter are numerous. For one, it
helps to increase the brain levels of serotonin (an important fluid found in
the human brain) and endorphins (natural painkiller) that can help relax the
mind. Laughter also helps relieve
general pain as well as increase the body’s immunity.
And if you still doubt the medical effects
of laughter, the benefits are stated below
·
Laughter helps to lower blood
pressure.
- · It improves the flow of oxygen to the heart and also regulates blood flow.
- · It reduces certain stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.
- · It improves alertness, creativity and memory.
- · Laughter reduces pain and increases job performance.
If laughter is so beneficial to us, how
come we seem to be doing little of it? According to experts, healthy children
may laugh as much as 400 times per day while adults tend to laugh only 15 times.
So are you laughing enough? Go ahead, laugh
to jokes. Go and see a funny movie. Always see the funny side of life. Do
something that will make you laugh. And
if that doesn’t work...laugh anyway. You really don’t need a reason. Just
remember that you are doing a health a big favour.
http://www.thirdage.com/mental-health/researchers-support-benefits-of-laughter(http://www.muscleandfitnesshers.com/blogs/ann-titone/laughter-good-health).
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-health-benefits-of-laughter.htmlhttp://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/nov/10/researchers-support-benefits-of-laughter/?print=1
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