The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Definitive Book of Body Language

Neurologist Henri Rubenstein found that one minute of

solid laughter provides up to 45 minutes of subsequent relax-

ation. Professor William Fry at Stanford University reported

that 100 laughs will give your body an aerobic workout equal

to that of a ten-minute session on a rowing machine. Med-

ically speaking, this is why a damn good laugh is damn good

for you.

The older we become, the more serious we become

about life. An adult laughs an average of 15 times a day;

a preschooler laughs an average of 400 times.

Why You Should Take Laughter Seriously

Research shows that people who laugh or smile, even when they
don't feel especially happy, make part of the 'happy zone' in the
brain's left hemisphere surge with electrical activity. In one of
his numerous studies on laughter, Richard Davidson, professor
of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin in
Madison, hooked subjects up to EEG (electroencephalograph)
machines, which measure brain wave activity, and showed them
funny movies. Smiling made their happy zones click wildly. He
proved that intentionally producing smiles and laughter moves
brain activity towards spontaneous happiness.
Arnie Cann, professor of psychology at the University of
North Carolina, discovered that humour has a positive impact
in counteracting stress. Cann led an experiment with people
who were showing early signs of depression. Two groups
watched videos over a three-week period. The group that
watched comedy videos showed more improvement in their
symptoms than did a control group that watched non-humor-
ous videos. He also found that people with ulcers frown more
than people without ulcers. If you catch yourself frowning'
practise putting your hand on your forehead when you talk, to
train yourself out of it.