Humor

In our "Grow up get serious" society, we tend not to laugh as often as we should. A recent study of 1000 adults found that 40% didn't laugh at all during a week, while another 40% laughed up to 89 times a day. Compare this to the fact that 5-year-old children laugh up to 400 times a day! In this case it's the kids who could teach us a thing or two.

Laughter is so good for us, both physically and emotionally. It strengthens our immune system, improves our cardiovascular health, tones and relaxes our muscles, reduces depression and anxiety, boosts our productivity and creativity, and does a whole lot more good to our being.

Quite simply, laughing makes us feel good.

If you haven't had your RDA of laughter, today, read on:

Give Me A Break

You know you're under too much stress if:

Your inner child wants to be adopted.
Your favorite flavor of ice cream is cherry vanilla Maalox.
You have that Prozac look.
The last time you had your blood pressure measured, the cuff exploded
Your favorite pizza topping is Rolaids.
You call people on the phone and then forget who you are
You bite someone else’s fingernails off
You chew used coffee grounds for an afternoon pick-me-up
You're so agitated at the end of the day, you could wash a load of clothes in your sleep.
You have teethmarks in your steering wheel
You are the poster child for Workaholics Anonymous.
You don't have a ulcer, you have a black hole.
You've worn all the letters off your computer keyboard.

It’s Not Like You Haven’t Tried to Manage Your Stress!

Yoga class was a disaster. The paramedics had to use the jaws of life to get you out of the lotus position
The people at Crisis Hotline call you
You fast forward your relaxation tape
You were kicked out of the local stress management seminar for being a bad influence on the rest of the class
You meditate faster than anyone else in your class.
When you tried "deep breathing," you inhaled the cat.
You enjoy the thrill of saving time by doing Yoga while driving.
You can only relax to music played backwards.
You got some houseplants and they all died when you talked to them.
You tried to play the violin to relax, but you sawed right through the strings.
Your most relaxing hobby is chainsaw "Cut by Number" art.

Family life is stressful when:

Your 3-year-old explains to the nice policeman what color the light actually was when you went through it
Your son has to play tartar in the school dental play and he needs a costume tomorrow.

You know it’s going to be a stressful day when:

The string pulls out of your tampon
You can’t get the top off the Midol bottle
Your tummy-control panties explode during lunch
Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit edition is on the news stands again
Your Glamour Shots picture turns out so bad they make you sign a waiver releasing them from all responsibility.
Both your flight and your period are late