Q: My sister laughs at everything all the time and she says that is why she never gets sick. Is it true that laughing can keep you healthy?

A: Laughter is an essential part of health. Laughing keeps you healthy and diminishes illness by producing immunoglobulins (natural germ fighters). Laughter also allows the release of endorphins, our natural painkillers. Lung congestion conditions, such as asthma and bronchitis, respond well to laughing because it breaks up mucous and filtrates the exchanges of bad air and good air. Increased oxygen to the brain and body help clarity of thinking and cleanse the body of toxins.

The most obvious result of a good laugh is stress reduction. It is hard to be upset at the same time you are laughing. Children don’t seem to carry stress loads as high as adults. This could be because the average child laughs sixty times a day while the average adult only laughs five times a day.

Laughter and its effects are being studied at institutions all over the planet. Even Harvard University has a laugh study center.

Your sister may seem silly but she is also very smart. If you are not laughing at her, better to laugh with her. In this case the last laugh is best.

Quote of the week: "Flexible people never get bent out of shape"

"Anonymous"