ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150030
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Friday Something
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER
``The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.''
- Sebastien Roch
Nicholas Chamfort Norman Cousins used it to rid himself of a supposedly incurable disease. George Burns must have known it was the secret to long life. (It couldn't have been all those cigars.)
Babies start doing it at two to three months. Around age 6, we do it 300 times a day.
We laugh.
Every culture does it. Even deaf people laugh out loud.
Adults chuckle between a merry high of 100 to a somber low of 15 times a day.
When you let out a hearty har-har, you increase blood circulation, work your abdominal muscles, raise your heart rate and get the stale air out of your lungs. Your blood pressure drops to a healthier level.
Dr. Lee S. Berk of California learned through research that an hour spent laughing lowers the levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. William F. Fry, a psychiatrist, discovered that 100 laughs is as good for the body as 10 minutes spent rowing.
Dr. John Morreall, a philosopher and laugh consultant who runs Humorworks in Florida, tries to convince businesses such as Kodak and Xerox of the productive value of laughter on the job.
``It gets the creative juices flowing,'' he said. ``It helps in problem solving.''
Punch lines and bottom lines can overlap: If bosses can't afford to give employees raises or job security, they can always give them the option to laugh - just not all the way to the bank.
LENGTH: Short : 40 linesby CNB