Subscribe Feed (RSS)A Laugh A Day Can Keep The Doctor Away!
March 9th, 2007 by admin | Filed under Uncategorized.A laugh a day…..
“The art of medicine consists of keeping the patient amused while nature
heals the disease.” Voltaire.
If you are sick, your discomfort often extends beyond the pathological
process. You may experience higher than normal physical and psychological
stresses in everyday life. Can laughter provide a non-drug way of
alleviating some of the discomforts of life? The famous author, Norman
Cousins may have triggered the laughter health craze after publishing his
personal experiences. These recounted the mitigating effects of a regular
laughter program on his painful ankylosing spondylitis. On January 27,
1989, Lars Ljungdahl endorsed the health benefits of laughter when he
wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association that “a humor
therapy program can increase the quality of life for patients with chronic
problems and laughter has an immediate symptom-relieving effect for these
patients, an effect that is potentiated when laughter is induced regularly
over a period”.
A daily dose of laughter can be therapeutic in many ways. In Proverbs
17:22 , it says “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken
spirit drieth the bones.” Beneficial effects of laughter include a
strengthening of the immune system , generalized relaxation of the
muscles, reduction in the stress hormones, alleviation of pain, “internal” massage of the abdominal and chest organs, aerobic
exercise of the heart and the lungs and an improvement in the elasticity
of the blood vessels. And perhaps many more. These benefits are not
limited to those who are sick. Unknown to most of us, although we may
consider ourselves healthy, we either fall into the undiagnosed unhealthy
category, or are unknowingly marching towards some disease. The
genetically programmed biological racehorse is constantly being whipped
by a never ending onslaught of harmful agents like radiation, pesticides,
infections or stress. Humor may be a mitigating vaccine, preventing or
postponing many of these occult insults from advancing into full blown
diseases. Humor may thus, also help, prolong life. The well known
columnist Top Knapp once said,” If I ever stop laughing, I’m
dead.”
Humor is subjective and difficult to study scientifically. However
centuries of life experience, compelling personal anecdotes and several
small studies have demonstrated that humor is healthy. Incorporated into
a daily life regimen, laughter translates into a healthier, possibly
longer and definitely a more satisfying life. It has been rightly said, Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life. The benefits are not only physical, but also extend into the
realm of mental, social, and spiritual life. Psychologist Arnold H.
Glasgow opines, “Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side
effects”. And generic laughter is, fortunately, natural and free.
So watch a funny show on TV every day, avoiding the depressing news. Read
a humorous book or enjoy a joke or two. Or watch a comedy movie. Laugh
often and always keep a smile on your face. After all a smile is nothing
but a silent laugh. It may well help keep the doctor away.
Dr. Shashi K. Agarwal, MD is a Board Certified Internist and Cardiologist with private practice in New York City and New Jersey. He is also certified by the American Board of Holistic Medicine and the American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine.
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Tags: anti-aging, Heart, massage, quality of life
