“Laughter is the best medicine.” We’ve heard the expression time and again. For decades, researchers have explored how humor helps patients relieve stress and heal. A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments, but data is mounting about the positive things laughter can do.

Short-term benefits
A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:

• Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
• Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response and increases your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
• Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Long-term effects
Laughter isn't just a quick pick-me-up, though. It's also good for you over the long haul. Laughter may:

• Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can impact your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. In contrast, positive thoughts actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.
• Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers. Laughter may also break the pain-spasm cycle common to some muscle disorders.
• Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.

Stay tuned for more tips on Mental Health in future newsletters from HealthFirst Wellness Center.

Resources:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-relief/SR00034

Canisius College (2008, January 26). Laughter Is The Best Medicine. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 14, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/01/080124200913.htm

*This article has been reprinted from materials provided by the resources above with editorial adaptations by HealthFirst Wellness center staff.

Can Bad Posture Be Affecting Your Health?

Since the time of Hippocrates, the relationship between posture and health has been studied and examined. Ideal posture is really a matter of simple engineering. The human body is designed such that the centers of mass of the head, ribcage, and pelvis should be perfectly centered and balanced on each other. From the front, the spine is perfectly aligned with gravity. But the spine, when viewed from the side, contains three curves to properly balance the weight of the body and allow free movement. So, with posture abnormalities comes a restriction of movement, and with most cases pain.

Several factors contribute to poor posture:

· Stress

· Obesity

· Pregnancy

· Weak postural muscles

· Abnormally tight muscles

· High-heeled shoes

Back pain isn't the only sign of questionable back posture. A skeletal problem may induce perpetual or recurrent pain in the knees, hips, ankles or neck. As your alignment changes, you may be more susceptible to muscle strains.

Our office now offers a new comprehensive postural analysis tool which will be able to determine if you are suffering from postural abnormalities. Using the new iPod2, the results can be emailed directly to you for same day results. Call our office today to make an appointment!

Stay tuned for tips on how to improve or maintain your good posture!

Resources:

http://www.theamericanchiropractor.com/techniques/item/4195.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/96763-bad-posture-symptoms/#ixzz1RWKatwJl

http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=1452

With just 4 minutes a day with Tabata Interval Training your whole body can experience huge improvements in health and fitness. Tabata training is a very intense form of interval training.

Tabata Training is broken down into 4 minute intervals to maximize your workouts. Here is how it works:

· Sprint as hard as you can for 20 seconds

· Walk for 10 seconds

· Repeat 7 more times for a total of 8 sets.

· Total workout time: 4 minutes

Tabata Training can be done with a number of different exercises. The idea is to use an exercise that gets the whole body involved or at least the major muscle groups. Tabata Training can be done with Barbells, Dumbells, Kettlebells, Resistance Bands, or just Bodyweight exercises. You can also pair Tabata training with your favorite activity, such as cycling, to help improve endurance.

Tabata Training was developed by Izumi Tabata, at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. They did a study on comparing the effects of moderate intensity endurance (aerobics) and high endurance intermittent training (tabata training intervals) on VO2 max and anaerobic capacity.

The results of the comparison were staggering. Subjects in the moderate-intensity exercise trial improved their VO₂ max by a healthy 9.5 percent, while their anaerobic capacity did not change at all. Subjects in the maximum-intensity intervals trial—despite exercising for only 20 minutes per week, compared to five hours per week for the other group—improved their VO₂max by 14 percent and their anaerobic capacity by a whopping 28 percent.

Since the study was published in 1998, coaches and athletes began to adapt the protocol to sports ranging from swimming to boxing. Virtually everyone who tried the Tabata protocol made the same report: It was excruciatingly painful, but it was effective.

Stay tuned for more tips and information on health and fitness.