Once upon a time, Charlie Chaplin said, “Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain.” Last week, The New York Times agreed. The reported on a recent study which found that,”laughing increased pain resistance.” In this story, the science of modern times sides with the clown. The Oxford study also suggests that laughter has provided primates with an age-old evolutionary advantage.
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Laugh and Eat Chocolate! It’s Good for Your Heart!
Any fool knows that laughing and eating chocolate will make you feel good. Now scholars agree too! Let’s sing it from the rooftops! (And support it with peer-reviewed science!) “EAT CHOCOLATE AND BE MERRY! Your heart will thank you!”
Continue readingLaughter Throwdown-The First Laughter Competition
A ring! A roaring crowd! Two competitors!…But nary a punch thrown? What WAS this? It was the first televised laughing competition! During October 2010, Canal […]
Continue reading20 sec. Hugs are Better Hugs (or, It’s Your Oxytocin)
We’re not talking about the half-second hug-cum-chest-bump. Or the 5 second clench-to-coax. No, indeed! Apparently, a loving embrace held for 20 seconds taps our sweet spot.
Continue readingHow many chuckles = a chinup? (No joke!)
Growing evidence confirms suspicions that laughter is not only fun, but good for us! WebMD reports that laughter and moderate exercise share a host of healthful effects.
Continue readingFake it till You Make It (Laughing, That Is)
60 seconds of fake laughter or howling like a wolf? Well one is great at making a racket and the other is excellent for chasing away the blues.
Continue readingLaughter + IVF = Babies
The study, published in Fertility and Sterility, found that 36 percent of women with Israeli clowns became pregnant, as compared with the 20 percent of clown-free embryo transfer procedure. Not surprisingly, women conceiving the conventional way were found to have a much lower success rate with Israeli clowns in their room at the time of conception.
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