Laugh Your Way To a Longer, Healthier Life

When you have a good, hearty laugh, your respiratory, glandular, skeletal/muscular, and cardiovascular systems all get exercised. Here's what happens: Cardiovascular system: When you guffaw, both your heart rate and blood pressure go up. When you stop laughing, they dip down below normal. It's very much like aerobic exercise. It's why some researchers call laughing "internal jogging." Respiratory system: After a hearty laugh, you frenquently have to take a big breath of air. Sometimes you cough. Laughing is good for your respiratory system. Skeletal/Muscular system: Sometimes you laugh so hard you can hardly get out of your chair. This happens because when you laugh you relax your muscles. In fact, sometimes you relax your muscles so much that you [wet] your pants! _Allen Klein,self-named "Jollytolgist" and author of The Healing Power of Humor and The Courage To Laugh