Laughter activates the chemistry of the will to live and increases our capacity to fight disease. Laughing relaxes the body and reduces problems associated with high blood pressure, strokes, arthritis, and ulcers. Some research suggests that laughter may also reduce the risk of heart disease. Historically, research has shown that distressing emotions (depression, anger, anxiety, and stress) are all related to heart disease. A study done at the University of Maryland Medical Center suggests that a good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at stressful situations helps mitigate the damaging physical effects of distressing emotions.

• Humor changes our biochemical state. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases infection-fighting antibodies. It increases our attentiveness, heart rate, and pulse.

• Humor improves brain function and relieves stress.
  Laughter stimulates both sides of the brain to enhance learning. It eases muscle tension and psychological stress, which keeps the brain alert and allows people to retain more information

• Humor help muscle relaxation
  Research has shown that muscle relaxation results from a good belly laugh. One study even showed that people using a biofeedback apparatus were able to relax muscles more quickly after watching funny cartoons than after looking at beautiful scenery. You can see this effect in your own laughter, if you look for it. In my keynote addresses, I have a routine in which I get everyone in the room doing belly laughter for half a minute. Afterwards, I ask them what changes they notice in their bodies. The first comment is usually, “I feel a lot more relaxed.” The next time you have a good long laugh, look for this feeling of relaxation and reduced tension.

• Laughter lowers blood pressure.
  People who laugh heartily on a regular basis have lower standing blood pressure than the average person. When people have a good laugh, initially the blood pressure increases, but then it decreases to levels below normal. Breathing then becomes deeper which sends oxygen enriched blood and nutrients throughout the body.

• Humor contribute to pain reduction Many patients discover this in their own experience. Rheumatoid arthritis patients who report more chronic pain, for example, also say they look for humor more often in everyday life. They have learned that humor helps manage their pain. Consistent with this idea, one study showed that when elderly residents of a long-term care facility watched funny movies, the level of pain they experienced was reduced. In a study of 35 patients in a rehabilitation hospital, 74% agreed with the statement, “Sometimes laughing works as well as a pain pill.” The patients had such conditions as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, arthritis, limb amputations, and a range of other neurological or musculoskeletal disorders.

• Laughter protects the heart.
  Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart      Read more

• Christmas is hectic for all but particularly for Santa, who must live in Kyrgyzstan and make his rounds at lightning speed if he is to deliver gifts to all the world’s children on time, a Swedish consultancy has concluded.

• Between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Santa Claus’s route around the planet includes stops at 2.5 billion homes, assuming that children of all religions receive a present from the jolly man in the red suit, Anders Larsson of the engineering consultancy Sweco told AFP.

• “We estimated that there are 48 people per square kilometer (120 per square mile) on Earth, and 20 metres (66 feet) between each home. So if Santa leaves from Kyrgyzstan and travels against the Earth’s rotation he has 48 hours to deliver all the presents,” he said.                                                                                                                         Read more

In today’s character stakes, nothing is more highly valued than a sense of humor. We seek it out in others and are proud to claim it in ourselves, perhaps even more than good looks or intelligence. If someone has a great sense of humor, we reason, it means that they are happy, socially confident and have a healthy perspective on life.

Four styles of humor have been identified. They are affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor, aggressive humor and self-defeating humor.

Self-Enhancing Humor:

This style of humor is usually used as a coping mechanism to deal with life’s stress and misfortunes. People who use self-enhancing humor tend to be easy-going (”a nice guy” or “gal”). They are not necessarily extroverted but maintain a humorous and positive outlook on life where they tend to “roll with the punches.”

Affiliative Humor:

This is humor that is non-hostile, sometimes self-deprecating and always life affirming. Researchers have found that affiliative humor can reduce tension and facilitate relationships. Affiliative humor is associated with self-assured social extroverts who are “the life of the party.” These people can beguile others with jokes and amusing stories. People who use affiliative humor are perceived as likeable and non-threatening and, as a result, they attract people to them, thereby bringing people together.                                                                                                                Read more

Here’s a list of some of the most popular superstitions in alphabetical order:

Acorn

• An acorn should be carried to bring luck and ensure a long life.
• An acorn at the window will keep lightning out.

Albatross

• An albatross flying round a ship in mid-ocean was an omen of wind and bad weather to come. It was very unlucky to kill it because it was thought to embody the restless soul of some dead mariner.

Amber

• Amber beads, worn as a necklace, can protect against illness or cure colds.

Apples

• Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
• If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

Baby

• To predict the sex of a baby: Suspend a wedding band held by a piece of thread over the palm of the pregnant girl. If the ring swings in an oval or circular motion the baby will be a girl. If the ring swings in a straight line the baby will be a boy.

Bad Luck

• A bat flying into the house
  An owl hooting 3 times
  3 butterflies together
  Hearing a rooster crow at night
  Getting out of bed left foot first
  A picture falling

• Reverse your luck by turning three times counter clockwise.

Baseball Bat

• Spit on a new bat before using it for the first time to make it lucky

Bed

• It’s bad luck to put a hat on a bed.
• If you make a bedspread, or a quilt, be sure to finish it or marriage will never come to you
• Placing a bed facing north and south brings misfortune.
• You must get out of bed on the same side that you get in or you will have bad luck.
• When making the bed, don’t interrupt your work, or you will spend a restless night in it.
• Never turn your mattress on a Sunday, or change a bed on Friday or you’ll have bad dreams.

• Make the foot of the bed before the head, or else my dear, you’ll never wed! Read more