GROUP LEARNS LAUGHTER CAN BE GOOD MEDICINE

Laugh, it's good for you.

Ever laughed so hard you were left out of breath? That's because continuous laughter is an aerobic activity. Ever feel drained of tension and somewhat euphoric after a really good laugh? That's because laughter releases endorphins, the same chemical that produces a "runner's high" after strenuous exercise, into the blood stream.

Mary Gosche, human development specialist with the University of Missouri Extension office in Jackson, explained the benefits of laughter to a group of people Wednesday morning at the Main Street Fitness Center in Jackson.

"You need 15 belly laughs a day to keep you healthy," Gosche said.

She said studies have shown laughter:

-- Raises blood pressure initially, then drops it lower than it was before the laughter started.

-- 100 laughs a day is the equivalent of 10 minutes of rowing.

-- It's non-fattening, contains no salt, non-polluting, non-taxable and is free.

She said people should develop an eight-step humor development program that includes: keeping a notebook of favorite jokes, looking for humor in every situation, laughing at yourself, laugh more often and more heartily and surround yourself with humor.

"It is good to have some deadlines in our life," she said. "Some stress is good for us. But to feel better we need to bring more laughter in to our lives."

Gosche said laughter can be beneficial in tight situations, especially at work. She said it would be better to laugh at some bad situations instead of biting someone's head off.

She said laughter strengthens the immune system, increases muscle relaxation, decreases stress and pain, elevates alertness, creativity and problem solving. Laughter increases work productivity, morale, job satisfaction and decreases burnout and sick days.

She administered a humor test to the group, asking them to fill in the blanks on some jokes. What do you get when you cross an elephant with the family dog? Either a flat dog or a nervous mailman.

Jo Ann Reiminger of Jackson was the one person in the audience who said she had laughed 10 times already that day. She said after the meeting that her doctors have told her laughter has kept her alive.

"I laugh all the time," she said.

Reiminger said her six children and four grandchildren all have a healthy sense of humor. "The only one that doesn't laugh a lot is grandpa," she said.

Reiminger had extensive heart surgery recently and her doctors told her then she might not survive the procedure. But she made it through and has been enjoying life ever since.

"They told me to keep laughing or I was going to die," she said. "I wouldn't change a thing about my life, it's been just as happy as it could be."