If you thought sipping a soda brought you happiness (like this advert on the link before implies), think again!  Here’s an interesting infograph posted by an insurance company on the effects of consuming soda.  This is worth drinking in.

(Click on the image to zoom in)

Via: Term Life Insurance

There are plenty of  alternatives to soda – fresh juices and smoothies, and not to forget clear drinking water.  Let’s sip our way to our good health instead!

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As someone who is interested in green living, you are no doubt aware of the benefits of indoor and outdoor walking–both for people and for the Earth. So it is likely that, whenever you find yourself inside a multistory building, you consciously choose to use the stairs, rather than the elevator or escalator…(wink). But, let’s imagine you have a friend who never takes the stairs whenever he can ride to the floor of his destination. How can you convince him to walk between floors? In this article, we will share some scientific research findings that you could use in your attempts to persuade him. Peer-to-peer informal education can be a powerful tool for changing behavior.

Talking Point 1:  Choosing to use stairs is a personal health investment decision

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Missouri conducted two different studies in Copenhagen, Denmark. These were published in the well-respected Journal of the American Medical Association. In the first study, participants were asked to reduce the number of footsteps they took each day from 6,000 to 1,400 for a time-span of three weeks. Instead of walking or taking the stairs, participants were instructed to use motorized transportation (such as a car, bus, escalator, or elevator) in every situation possible. The second study asked participants who were initially more active, averaging 10,000 steps per day, to reduce their activity to 1,400 steps per day for two weeks.

A Chinese wrought iron stairway Image credit: image.made-in-china.com

To establish a basis of comparison for our readers, the number of steps the average American adult takes per day is about 7,500, although Americans who are inactive typically take about 2,100 steps each day. Blood tests after each intervention of reduced stepping revealed that subjects experienced accumulation of dangerous abdominal fat, while also developing elevated blood-lipids–a warning sign of pre-diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The studies’ implications are that if you choose passive modes of transport and abstain from routine exercise, then your risk of chronic diseases is likely to increase dramatically. The researchers also found that their subjects’ total skeletal and muscle mass in the body decreased when activity decreased. Thus, stair walking has the potential to improve health, longevity, and physical fitness.

Talking Point 2.  “Step away” from being labeled sedentary

A study published In the journal of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise tracked the steps of 1,136 adults around the United States who wore pedometers for two days. The results were compared to similar pedometer studies in Switzerland, Australia, and Japan. The data collected showed that Americans, on average, took 5,117 steps a day– far short of the averages in western Australia (9,695 steps), Switzerland(9,650 steps) and Japan (7,168 steps). The US fitness gap detected by the pedometer studies is equal to about 30 to 40 minutes of brisk walking per day. One mile of walking encompasses about 2,000 steps, those researchers say. The health community typically urges people to take at least 10,000 steps a day to maintain good health–which is equal to about five miles of walking.

Example of a step counter made in China - Image: okokchina.com

Interestingly, being single was correlated with taking more steps. Single people in the study averaged 6,076 daily steps, compared with 4,793 steps for married people. Widowed participants moved the least, averaging 3,394 daily steps. The step-deficit problem isn’t just an issue in the United States. Big city living, especially in a hot climate tends to lower the inhabitants’ average steps per day.

Singaporean sports conditioning specialist, Jonathan Wong, has noted that “currently, the average sedentary person living in an urban setting takes 900 to 3,000 steps a day.” If your non-stair-walking friend wishes to avoid the precarious health status label of sedentary, he needs to know that persons are considered sedentary if they move less than 5,000 steps per day. Notably, the countries that reported high average daily steps also have lower obesity rates. In early 2011, Singapore’s  Health Promotion Board (HPB) revealed that the obesity rate in Singapore has increased to 10.8 per cent, up from 6.9 per cent in 2004.

Talking Point 3.  Previous generations walked more than we do  

In bygone days, taking an elevator was considered a luxury, because major stairways between floors of tall buildings were the norm and the wait-time for elevators in a multistory building was substantial. Nobody who was just going up or down one or two floors used an elevator. In that time period, everyone in society walked—a lot. In the US, Amish rural communities are known for their simple living, plain clothing, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. Their anachronistic lifestyle can serve as a proxy for that of past, less technological, more muscle-powered generations.

Amish barn raising that uses only hand tools - Image Credit: BuildingGreen.com

A 2004 study used pedometers to study movement among adults in Amish farming communities. That study found that Amish men took on average, more than 18,000 steps a day, and Amish women averaged more than 14,000 steps a day—at least three times more steps than is typical today!  If we use these Amish as a proxy for members of a mid-19^th-century farming society, it suggests that there has been a tremendous decline in the last century-and-a-half in the amount of walking people do. We know that a 150-pound person can burn 274 calories simply by walking 30 minutes—this has not changed. In view of walking’s historical decline, consider this: Has caloric intake declined by 66% in parallel with today’s less active lifestyle’s energy requirements?  If not, the mismatch is sure to have health consequences.

Image Credit: paintings.gandhiserve.org/

Mahatma Gandhi walked—240 miles, in one instance. His famous 1930 salt march helped free India from British control. Johnny Appleseed walked—planting apple tree nurseries as he journeyed across the Midwest, and he is admired for it by countless US school children to this very day. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. walked—his 250,000-person “March on Washington” for jobs and civil rights will never be forgotten.  America’s most famous and influential naturalist and conservationist, John Muir, walked 1,000 mile—from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, choosing the “wildest, leafiest, and least trodden way I could find.” Marco Polo traveled through the Middle East, India, Asia, and China—it took him four years to walk across mountains and deserts to reach China!

“We owe it to the present and future generations of all species to rise up and walk!” said Professor and Kenyan Nobel laureate, Wangari Maathai. How many trees did Wangari Maathai and her followers plant in Africa? More than 40 million. That took lots of walking to accomplish. In view of such inspiring examples, can any able-bodied person today legitimately say that he or she cannot “endure the hardship” of walking the stairs?  

Talking Point 4.  Don’t “go with the flow”

Human are “creatures of habit.” Olander and Eves studied elevator availability and its impact on stair use in a workplace. Their study investigated the impact of elevator availability, pedestrian traffic (number of persons using the elevator and stairs per minute), building occupancy (total individuals in the building) and time of day on stair ascent and descent within a multistory workplace. Stair and elevator choices were monitored by automatic counters on every day of the week. In a natural experiment, days with four available elevators were compared with days when three elevators were available. Stair use increased for three elevators compared to four. Increasing building occupancy was associated with increased stair use, while increasing pedestrian traffic and time of day were associated with reduced stair use. Increased stair use also reflected increased elevator waiting times. Being aware of such natural human tendencies allows one to compensate for them.

Talking Point 5.  Stair walking can help save the planet  

In an article entitled: What’s the greenest way to get to the second floor?, Rastogi (2010) compared energy usage of escalators and elevators. She noted that “a continuously running escalator of the kind you’d find in airports or subway stations—35 feet high with a 40 horsepower motor—would use around 60,000 kilowatt hours annually [which would require about 243 tons of coal to be burned]. For comparison’s sake, the average American home consumes 11,040 kilowatt hours in a year.” Escalators that are designed to stop running when nobody is riding on them save only a modest amount of electricity in many locations, due to the frequent start-up power required. These are, however,  not very common–due to liability issues because their motion is less predictable by the rider which can cause falls, and because people who see a stopped escalator tend to assume it’s broken.

NYC Building signage encouraging people to choose to use the stairs - Image Credit www.nyc.gov

Although concise data are hard to obtain from industry sources, escalators seem to be the bigger electricity users—particularly as buildings get taller—using about 30% more energy thn elevators. Plus, in multistory buildings, each floor needs both an “up” and a “down” escalator, which increases installation cost, compared to an elevator. The bigger an escalator is—the higher it rises and the wider its steps—the more energy it uses. Choices–stairs and escalators at the newest subway station in Singapore

Escalator in Singapore subway(MRT) station - Image Credit www.pxleyes.com

There’s a simple way for your friend to reduce his energy footprint on the way to becoming a full-time stairs user: Use the stairs on the way up, and ride the escalator on the way down. On an “up” escalator, each added passenger makes the motor work a little harder to pull the steps upward. But on a “down” escalator—whose motor is also located at the top of the unit—each additional passenger helps the motor do its job, thanks to the action of gravity. Escalators work best when moving  big throngs of people. That’s why they’re so common in subway stations, where you often have waves of people, all needing to exit at the same time. For multilevel locations with lighter pedestrian traffic, elevators come out ahead, because they can speedily move small groups of passengers in either direction using the same conveyance, yet use very little electricity when idle and have no increased resumed-start-up costs.

Elevators at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore - Image Credit: Image credit: m5.paperblog.com

Although riding an elevator may be slightly better for the biosphere than taking an escalator, the bottom line is this—neither compares well with walking the stairs. The marginal cost of stair walking is near zero, and, arguably, negative–because of the significant health benefits typically gained—with almost no impact on natural resources, no increase in pollution, and almost no health risks.

Talking Point 6.  We can make stair walking more attractive to people

In their journal article: The Use of Prompts, Increased Accessibility, Visibility, and Aesthetics of the Stairwell to Promote Stair Use in a University Building,  researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands conducted a study to see whether increasing the attractiveness and accessibility of a stairway had an impact on stair use among students and employees of that university. A total of 21,786 observations were made. Findings revealed that total stair use increased significantly, by 8.2%, and that these effects remain stable over the 4-week post-intervention period. Stair use was found to be positively and continuously influenced by improving the stairway environment.

An interesting Singapore art museum stairway - Image Credit: http://www.designboom.com

Some of the main reasons people give for not taking the stairs is that they are unattractive, unpleasant, or unsafe. Making stairways more attractive is one of the easiest ways to encourage stair use. Recommended strategies with some evidence of success include:

• Put up point-of-decision signage (e.g. “Consider Taking the Stairs” signs beside the elevator buttons) and post directional signage that points people to where the stairs are located.
• Decorate and paint stairway walls; mount informative posters along stairways and use bright colors of wall paint.
• Stairways with windows at intervals en route enable stair walkers to experience new and varying vistas.
• Install a background music system in stairways to make walking a restorative interlude.
• Increase and improve lighting along stairways–for both attractiveness and safety.
• Ensure that stair surfaces are made of non-slip material. Provide edge-markers to allow people to see where stairs start and end (essential for the visually impaired).
• Keep stairway doors to the floors unlocked—so no one can become trapped inside.
• Add cameras/mirrors to stairways to increase personal safety.
• Improve air circulation  along stairways to eliminate stagnant or musty odors.
• Maintain stairways daily to ensure that any hazards on steps are promptly removed (e.g., litter, water, food residue).
• Make stairways more accessible to all age groups and abilities by retrofitting them with easy-to-use door handles; easy-to-grip, secure handrails; and easy-swing/easy-shut doors to help ensure everyone will be comfortable taking the stairs

Talking Point 7. Research shows that stair walking pays big dividends

What are some other research-documented health benefits of stair walking?

• Stair climbing is possible in many workplaces and requires no special equipment in order to participate (Canada’s Physical Activity Guide).
• A significantly lower risk of mortality was indicated in studies where participants climbed more than 55 flights per week. (Paffenbarger &  associates. 1993).
• Stair climbing increased leg power in the elderly and may help in reducing the risk of injury from any future walking falls (Allied Dunbar Survey, 1992).
• Stair climbing was found to burn about 8-11 calories of energy per minute, which is quite high compared to other physical activities (Edwards, 1983).
• Stair climbers tended to be more fit and have a higher aerobic capacity (Ilmarinen & associates, 1978).
• Even two flights of stairs climbed per day were shown to lead to 6 pound  weight loss over one year (Brownell, Stunkard, & Albaum, 1980).
• There was a strong association between stair climbing and increased bone density in post-menopausal women (Coupland & associates, 1999).
• Stair climbing programs was shown to improve the amount of “good cholesterol” in the blood – raising HDL concentrations (Wallace & Neill, 2000).
•  A research-based online stair-walking calorie counter can be accessed at this website here which allows your friend to input his weight, minutes spent stair climbing, and minutes descending stairs  to determine the total calories he burned. A person who burns 500 calories will lose 1 pound of body weight.
• Researchers in Singapore found that more calories are burned while walking up a flight of stairs than going down. They compared the intensity of stair-climbing to that of jogging, and going down the stairs to walking at a brisk pace.

Talking Point 8.  Excuses can be overcome through friendly encouragement 

A study at the University of South Carolina found that it might be laziness, and not desire for efficiency that keeps people riding the elevator. After determining that “saving time” was the most popular reason for avoiding the stairs, researchers timed their own daily actions, both using the elevator and taking the stairs, several times a day for several days. They found that, when taking the stairs, they actually arrived at their destination more quickly than riding the elevator. The reason? The waiting time for the elevator exceeded its speed-of-transit advantage. America Walks is a coalition of North American advocacy groups dedicated to increasing and promoting the benefits of walking. Their oft-cited and carefully designed 2011 online study of more than 7,000 avid walkers found that the profile of frequent walkers is somewhat surprising. They tended to be found equally often among the youngest (18-24 year olds) and the oldest (65 and over) age categories. With respect to race and ethnicity, frequent walkers were disproportionately found among Asians (83%) and non-Hispanic whites (77.1%), rather than among either African-Americans or Hispanics. A higher-than-average number of walkers in urban areas were young and single. More  than half of the respondents who walk frequently (55.4%) said they walk by themselves. Both frequent and infrequent walkers were asked the extent to which they received encouragement to walk by family members and friends. Encouraging signs on the steps of a UK shopping mall stairway increased stair use.

Image Credit: cache.daylife.com

Here’s a popular video which shows how ‘fun‘ can be incorporated to make stair climbing a more pleasurable activity:

Video link here

The top reason America Walks survey participants cited for doing walking was “to maintain good health.” The second most important reason was that walking “helps me to feel calm and less stressed.” The third-ranked reason was “walking gives me more physical energy.” Significantly, there was a strong negative relationship between the frequency of walking and the number of illnesses. The more an individual walked, the fewer the number medical conditions he/she reported being afflicted with. This finding held true even when controlling for the age, sex, educational background of the individual and the economic status. A higher percentage of frequent walkers than infrequent walkers said they received “a great deal” of support for their walking habit. To us, this suggests that your efforts to convince your friend to begin taking the stairs stand a good chance of succeeding.  Good luck!

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 About our Guest Writers:

DR. JAMES H. WANDERSEE — botanist, FLS, FAAAS–is the W.H. LeBlanc Alumni Association Professor of Biology Education in the College of Education at Louisiana State University and Chair of the Teaching Section of the Botanical Society of America. His website is EarthScholars.com

DR RENEE M. CLARY—geologist, FGS–is the Director of the Dunn-Seiler Geology Museum and Assistant Professor of Geoscience Education in the Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State University. Her website is EarthScholars.com

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Further links you may be interested in:

EWTT: Why Laughter Is Good For You

By the  authors James H. Wandersee & Renee M. Clary on EWTT:

1. Have You Thrown Something Away Today?

2. Plant Blindness: What research says

3. The Bridge Between Ecological Knowledge and Green Living

4. Teach Me About Soil

5. A Green Lesson from Mumbai about Food Packaging 

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Is the municipality’s anti-mosquito fumigation getting you down? Are you tired of applying jars of strange smelling, sticky mosquito repellents? Or do you like me, love pottering in the garden and do not want to spend your time swatting mosquitoes?

I have a nursery in my own backyard, so I spend lots of time outdoors and would rather be tending my plants than swatting mosquitoes. If you always wanted a balcony garden, but the thought of these mini vampires kept you away, here are some plants that will beautify your green space and help control mosquitoes.

1. HORSEMINT/SPEARMINT/PEPPERMINT

Peppermint has long been used as a treatment for colds and flu. It has natural fungicidal and bacterial retardant properties because its essential oils are high in thymol. Peppermint is very easy to maintain and can also be planted under your larger plants as a beautiful ground cover to cover the soil.

Soil : Well drained soil
Sunlight: Partial to full sunlight (3-4 hours)
Water: 30-50 ml (for 6 inch pot), avoid water logging

2.  ROSEMARY

This wonderful herb we use for seasoning is also a great, natural mosquito repellent. It has been used for centuries to keep pesky mosquitoes away.

Rosemary is a native of the Mediterranean, so it likes hot, dry weather and well-drained soil. It is an inexpensive and attractive way to boost the appearance of the landscape and have natural mosquito repellents on hand as well.

My quick rosemary mosquito-repellent recipe: Mix 4 drops of rosemary essential oil with ¼ cup olive oil. Store in a cool, dry place. Apply as needed.

Soil : Red, well drained soils, add coco peat or small loose stones to make the soil more permeable as plants
Sunlight : Partial to full sunlight (2-3 hours)
If you live in a very hot tropical country like India where temperatures can reach 40 degrees C, then it’s best to keep in semi-shade conditions
Water : 30-50ml (6 inch pot), avoid water logging

3.  MARIGOLD

Organic gardeners have used marigolds as companion plants to keep aphids away. Mosquitoes don’t like its scent any better (and some humans feel the same way). Marigolds are sun-loving annuals that come in a variety of shapes and sizes for almost any landscape. They are quite easy to grow.

Soil :   All types of soil.
Sunlight: Full sunlight (6-8 hours), strictly outdoors
Water: 50-80ml (6 inch pot)

4. AGERATUM

This charming little bedding plant contains coumarin, and mosquitoes detest the smell. It is used in the perfume industry and is even in some commercial mosquito repellents. Don’t rub ageratum on your skin, though. It has some other less desirable elements that you do not want on your skin . Ageratums are annuals, and they come in a muted blue and white that compliments most other plants in your garden.

Soil : Heavy loamy soils
Sunlight : Partial sunlight (Semi shade) to full sunlight conditions(4-5 hours) helps the plant flower more
Water : 50-80ml (6 inch pot),  avoid waterlogging

5. CITRONELLA

Citronella oil is popular as a ‘natural’ insect repellent. Its mosquito repellent qualities have been verified by research, including its effectiveness in repelling Aedes Aegypti (dengue fever mosquito). To be continually effective most citronella repellent formulas need to be reapplied to the skin every 30–60 minutes.
This plant has also been known to have superb anti fungal properties and is used in the perfumery industry for its high oil content.

Soil :   Well drained soil
Sunlight :  Full outdoor sunlight (At least 6 hours)
Water : 30-50 ml (for 6 inch pot), avoid water logging

6. CATNIP

Catnip is one of the most powerful mosquito repellant plants . Recent studies have shown that it is ten times more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes. It is a short lived perennial and is easy to grow from seed, and quickly reseeds. Aside from its intoxicating effects on cats, the leaves make a very soothing tea.

Soil :  Light, well drained soils
Sunlight :  Plant is quite hardy, Can be kept both indoor / outdoor (6-8 hours)
Water :  30-80ml (6 inch pot)

How do I use these plants to repel mosquitoes?

With all of these plants, the leaves must be crushed to release the aroma. Otherwise mosquitoes cannot smell them. With rosemary and catnip, you can simply crush a few leaves and rub on your skin and clothing to enhance the effect.

What are other plant based solutions to repel mosquitoes

The other kind of mosquito plant is Agastache cana. Its common names include Texas hummingbird mint, bubblegum mint, giant hyssop, or giant hummingbird mint. As you might guess, hummingbirds are quite attracted to it.

Another slightly smelly but organic way to get rid of them is Garlic which is the main component in many herbal remedies. Mosquitoes hate it. Gardeners who eat lots of garlic may find that they scratch those mosquito bites far less. Of course, you would have to eat a lot of garlic and you may find that you repel more than just mosquitoes.

Nevertheless, organic gardeners use garlic sprays, powders and plants to help deter the creatures. It may not reduce their numbers dramatically, but when coupled with other natural combatants, you may see a reliable reduction.

So, next time you have an opportunity to plant, consider using some of these attractive plants to do more than just enhance the landscape.

ABOUT THE GUEST WRITER

Shaan Lalwani

SHAAN LALWANI is the 25 year old owner of the rapidly expanding nursery named Vriksha Nursery which is based in Mumbai, India . This nursery was passed down to him by his parents who fully supported him in getting his B.Sc degree in Horticulture and in attending one of the best landscape schools in the world for an M.A. in landscape management at University of Sheffield,U.K.

Shaan is available through his blog Vrikshanurseries.blogspot.com where you can get weekly updates. For any questions regarding the gardening world, he may be contacted at  +91-9820704069 or at shaan_lalwani[at]hotmail.com

Vriksha nursery strives to change the face of urban gardening in India with over 25,000 gardens executed in Maharashtra/Goa/Gujarat. We have a team of dedicated professionals who will leave no stone unturned to give your gardens the utmost quality attention. Vriksha nursery has been synonymous with innovation – be it set landscaping (over 5000 teleserials/movies/adfilms), temporary landscapes (over 2500 exhibitions and weddings), ikebana flower arrangements, urban farming, rooftop gardens, living walls etc.

Further links you may be interested in:

EWTT: How to Grow Fresh Air Using Houseplants

EWTT: How to Compost at home using Container Pots

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– Dr. William Fry, Stanford University Medical School

You might wonder why an article on laughter has found its way into an environmental website. For several good reasons, let me assure you.  I have seen many activist friends of mine feeling overwhelmed about the scale of the problems facing the world, and it is common to see a feeling of depression and helplessness.

Should we starve ourselves, because there are millions dying around the world? On the contrary, we need to eat and exercise well to have all the physical energy to continue in our efforts to help ourselves, our families and communities in which we live. Similarly, should we feel low and sullen all the time because of myriad challenges facing the world? Without mental stamina it would become increasing difficult to put the energy behind the causes we are supporting. Laughter is food for the soul. The article below shows how important it is to incorporate a sense of humour in one’s life and also seriously consider laughter as another form of exercise and even a vehicle for healing.

I’m really grateful to Toastmasters International, who hold full copyrights to the following article, for allowing us to share this on our website. It really is one of the best pieces I’ve found on the net on the subject. The author Kathyrn Rose Gertz was a former United Nations Guide and prolific writer whose work appeared in leading magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times.

– Bhavani Prakash

WHY LAUGHTER IS GOOD FOR YOU

By Kathryn Rose Gertz

Warning: Laughter may be hazardous to what ails you. That’s the message from researchers investigating the physiology of mirth. Not that laughter as good medicine is anything new. Even Hippocrates took note of its salutary effect. Now, though, there are studies to prove in measurable ways that laughter does in fact soothe the mind and restore the body.

“If medicine could harness the proven health benefits of laughter,” says Clifford Kuhn, M.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, “drug companies would be knocking themselves out to get the patent.”

No question levity boosts resilience in the face of all manner of assault. Mirth, especially when directed at ourselves, imparts a sense of control, puts distance between us and our pain, gives us perspective, relieves tension, allows us to take a break. As Milton Berle put it, “Laughter is an instant vacation.”

But can it really help heal? Send in the clowns and get better? Dr. Kuhn, author of The Fun Factor, says yes and so do the scientists who have taken laughter into the lab and found that a walk on the funny side does a wondrous amount of good. Their work shows that laughter:

• Reduces the level of stress hormones
• Perks up the immune system
• Relaxes muscles
• Clears the respiratory tract
• Increases circulation
• Eases perceived pain

And at laugh’s end, feel-good endorphins flow, blood pressure settles down to below the norm, and increased oxygen to the brain revs up creativity. In short, laughter both stimulates and soothes, which is why we feel “enlivened, refreshed and clear-headed, much as we do after an aerobic workout,” observes laugh researcher Lee Berk, associate professor of pathology at Loma Linda University in California.

In fact, laughter really is a workout, according to psychiatrist William Fry, M.D., professor emeritus at Stanford University. “It’s a total body exercise,” he says. What’s more, the benefits build when you laugh often and regularly; as with any exercise, conditioning requires repetition. Dr. Fry should know. He has been researching mirth for more than 40 years and is considered the grandfather of the field.

But laughter is not a subject that lends itself easily to scientific scrutiny. It’s a surprisingly complex physical response to the psychological tickle of humor. Indeed, this seemingly simple act involves most of our body systems, including, of course, the brain. Using pinpoint imaging to eyeball the brain circuitry of volunteers as they laugh, scientists can track the movement of mer-riment as it activates both left and right hemispheres. Maybe this brain-wide involvement is why, as writer Daniel Goleman notes in his book Emotional Intelligence, “laughter…seems to help people think more broadly and associate more freely.” Call is the “ha-ha to aha!” effect.

Dr. Fry takes it a step further. “All mental stimulation expands brain function,” he says, “which is a good reason to laugh a lot.”

Immune Booster
Another fine reason is the measurable impact of laughter on the immune system. Dr. Berk’s field of interest is psychoneuroimmunology, the study of how the brain and the immune system, in effect, talk to each other. To listen in on this “conversation,” he hooks subjects up to IVs and angiocatheters and monitors them as they watch comedy tapes. Taking blood samples at 10-minute intervals, he has found that levels of the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine actually lower when we laugh. (They both rise when we’re anxious and contribute to the recurrence of heart attacks.) He has also shown that laughing increases antibody immunoglobin A, which fights upper-respiratory-tract infections, mobilizes cells that attack tumors and viruses, and activates infection-fighting white blood cells.

The Humor Cure
A demonstration of laughter’s splendid power lies in the experience of Saranne Rothberg, a single mother from New Jersey who was diagnosed five years ago, at age 35, with advanced breast cancer. At the time, she was struggling through a contentious divorce and had a 5-year-old daughter, Lauriel, to keep safe and happy. Would she have the strength to parent? Would she even survive? From the doctor’s office, Saranne went right to the video store and rented every comedy video on the shelves. The next morning, thanks to Bill Cosby, et al., she put aside her considerable tears and enlisted her daughter and friends as “humor buddies” to tell her funny stories every day. So unshakably passionate was Saranne about the goodness of laughter that during the grueling course of three surgeries, 44 radiation treatments and two years of immune-weakening chemotherapy, she founded a charity, the ComedyCures Foundation, to bring humor strategies to others. Through it all, Saranne worked on the foundation, cared for Lauriel and, of course, laughed. “I was around illness all the time,” she recalls, “but I never even got a cold. It was as though my cancerous breast and I laughed and turned stress and disease on its head. We laughed and moved on.” Today she is cancer free. “I learned that whatever happens, you have a choice,” she says. “Choosing to laugh puts you in control.”

Though not everyone experiences such a turnaround, Saranne’s triumph over illness hardly surprises Dr. Kuhn, who runs humor-therapy groups for cancer patients and is himself a part-time stand-up comic. “Laughter is there precisely for the purpose of keeping our balance when we get knocked off,” he says. “It helps counteract things we would otherwise have no control over.”

Why We Laugh
Is this why human beings are blessed with the ability to laugh? Or, alternatively, did laughter evolve to help us connect and bond with each other in order to ensure survival of the species, as Robert Provine, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Maryland and author of Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, suggests?

Both of these theories may be true, happily coexisting under the heading of endurance – the endurance of mind and body.

Of course there are those who wonder if it really matters why we laugh and what happens in the body when we do. Isn’t it enough just to enjoy a good joke? Experts say it actually does matter because the knowledge gained may one day affect the medical treatment we receive and even eliminate the need for some of it. Consider, for example, Dr. Berk’s study showing that mirthful laughter not only lowers the stress hormones that can induce arrhythmias, but is also useful in the process of cardiac rehabilitation. More research is needed, but why wait for science? Go ahead and laugh now. Laugh ‘til the cows come home and don’t worry if the joke is “udder” nonsense. If you do this often, you let fresh air into your mind and sunshine into your soul. You may even fix what’s broken and live happily ever after.

Kathryn Rose Gertz is a New York-based freelance writer.

Laughter Begins at Home
We laugh instinctively. In fact, laughter is so hard-wired in us that we would actually have to be taught not to. Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn explains, “It starts from the beginning with how you build your family. Our family laughs together. We laugh at our mis-takes. We make sure we laugh in a funny way at each other, and that we are able to take it so that we learn to have self humor. That in itself is so incredibly healing.”

Here, then, are some tips from Joel Goodman of the HUMOR Project to help families jumpstart laughter at home:

• On a rotating basis, have each family member be responsible for a “humor bulletin board” on the refrigerator. Each week a different person puts up cartoons, quirky quotes, humorous news stories, silly photos.
• Take funny photos and, once a month, compile them in a family-fun photo album. Or take digital photos and put them on your family Web site.
• Once a week, or even every day, have a joke-around at the dinner table where everybody shares something that made them laugh.
• Encourage your kids to keep their own humor journals by suggesting they write stories and draw pictures about things that have tickled their funny bones that day. Periodically reread these stories with your kids to re-enjoy the humor.

Tears and Cheers
It may seem futile to laugh in the face of pain and fear, but studies show that laughter, with its saving way of shifting perspective, is a broad-spectrum analgesic, a balm for both physical and psychological wounds.

When Dan Rather interviewed comedian Bill Cosby, just one week after his son, Ennis, was killed, Cosby said: “I think it’s time for me to tell people that we have to laugh. You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, you can survive it.”

Call it a flashlight for dark times: Laughter just seems to adjust attitude better than anything else. Inspirational speaker Steve Rizzo recalls a TV interview with an injured firefighter a few days after 9/11. The man had fallen more than 30 stories in one of the towers and had a broken leg. Everyone was crying, and the reporter asked, “How is it that you’ve come out of this alive?” He looked at her and without missing a beat, said, “Look, lady, I’m from New York and I’m a fire-fighter; that’s all you need to know.”

“Everyone laughed and though the laughter was only a couple of seconds,” says Rizzo, “some-times that’s all you need to catch your second wind. Laughter gives you that couple of seconds. You’re sending a message to your brain, and the message is: If you can still laugh even a little amid the pain and chaos, you’re going to be OK.”

Of course, there’s a difference between laughing off a serious situation and laughing off the fear that results. The firefighter was doing the latter, states Rizzo, the author of Becoming a Humor Being, and so should we. “If there’s anything we learned from 9/11, it’s how precious life really is,” he says. “We have to send a message that our spirit won’t die. One important thing that unites us is our ability to laugh.”

Thanks again to Toastmasters International for sharing the above write-up.

Further links you may be interested in :

1. YouTube:  Benefits of Laughter Yoga with John Cleese

2. The Sunday Times: The Science of Laughter

Images Credits from Google Images licensed for reuse:

Image 1 and Image 2

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