How does humor keep us healthy?
A. The Book of Proverbs in the Bible says a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. Now doctors are starting to prove it. A roaring laugh works like aerobic exercise (they call it inner jogging!) increasing the heart rate, improving the oxygen supply to the muscles and creating an overall sense of well-being. Some speculate that laughter may boost immune responses. Some researchers have found it can help us gain control over pain and promote healing. A growing number of hospitals are adding humor libraries with old TV comedies and light reading material available for patients. The average adult laughs 15 times a day; the average child laughs 10 or 20 times as often. So I guess that’s what they mean by being young at heart – looking at the light side, or the bright side, of life!
