Laughter
Updates September
2006 back
to E-zine list
Lots
to explore in the news this month . . .
Visit
our new pages on leadership
training. Find out the "who, what, when, where and why" of
Laughter Links Leadership training.
You will also find the answers to some of your most frequently
asked questions.
Plus:
Parade Magazine - Stress Free for Good
Life
Magazine - Update on Dr. Miller's blood vessel study
Parade
Magazine - Daniel Goleman
The
Monitor on Psychology - What's new from Provine
Readers
Digest - Stimulate your thinking
Parade
Magazine - Sept
24, 2006 Love
my Sunday morning paper!
"Just
Relax!" --
that's what Dr. Frederic Luskin, author of "Stress
Free for Good" says.
In
the article he offers five simple steps for dealing
with daily stress.
Take
a deep breath or two. Isn't
that exactly what we do at
the beginning of every laughter class?
Think
of the good stuff. That too sure sounds like laughter
class to me.
Slow
down. We rev up our engines with
laughter then enjoy the relaxation when we stop.
Change
the tape. We sure do that with deep robust
laughter every day.
Let
it go. Doesn't it feel good to
let it all go when we engage
in deep breathing and gentle stretching before our
laughter exercises? We certainly let it ALL go, don’t
we?
Dr.
Luskin talks about how the smallest of stresses can
cause big stresses on our every cell. Long work hours,
financial pressures and problems with loved ones can
influence the chemicals in our bodies. Great article,
enjoy its entirety on their web site at:
http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2006/edition_09-24-2006/Just_Relax
Also
in the news . . .
A new note
about Dr. Miller's blood vessel study appears in the September 1,
2006 issue of Life Magazine. It states they used the movie, "There's
Something About Mary", for the humor segment of the test. I have
not seen it, so cannot attest to its hilarity, but then again,
I don't always find the same things funny that others
do.
The article
goes on to say that, 75% of
participants improved their blood flow due to laughter. On the other
hand, 95% restricted
their blood flow when watching the harrowing opening
scenes of "Saving
Private Ryan". Dr. Miller observed, "It appears that laughter
allows the flood vessels (to) open, which suggests good chemicals
are being released."
Other laughter
lessons in the news . . .
Parade
Magazine
Sept-4-06
Daniel Goleman
"Indeed,
social IQ has a real impact in the workplace. Australian
researchers found that workers recall a boss's downbeat
comments far more often, in greater detail and with
more intensity than they do his encouraging words.
When negative remarks become a preoccupation, that
worker's brain loses mental efficiency."
"Such
results have caught the attention of businesses. Many
companies routinely look for signs of superior emotional
and social intelligence when they hire and promote
people to leadership positions. A growing reliance
on teams -- often working together from faraway places
via e-mail -- puts a premium on cooperation and empathy,
even at a distance. And the increasing diversity of workmates and
customers makes it important to be able to get along well with people
of different backgrounds."
Goleman is
the author of Emotional Intelligence.
Another
quote I found elsewhere for him says," "Laughter seems to help
people think more broadly and associates more freely. Call it the "ha-ha
to a-ha!" effect".
Another
laughing matter . . .
from The
Monitor on Psychology
by Lea
Winerman
Psychologists
are finding that the ancient roots of laughter predate
the idea of 'funny'.
The University
of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) psychology professor Robert Provine,
PhD has spent close to two decades taking careful notes on situations
just like this, trying to understand how and why people laugh.
Laughter,
he says, is universal among humans and has a simple structure, and
so is a good system for beginning to explore the connections between
the brain and behavior.
At
the moment, the staff and customers at Salsa Rico
are illustrating one of his most basic findings:
In general, he’s found, laughter isn’t
inspired by particularly funny remarks. Instead, it’s a ubiquitous
response to social situations. People laugh when they’re interacting
with other people regardless of the “jokiness” of the
conversation, but they don’t laugh when they’re alone.
“Laughter
and humor are related but different things,” Provine says. “Laughter
is ancient. It’s a primate play vocalization. Humor is a more
modern, cognitive and linguistic development. There
was laughter long before there was humor.”
For the complete
article go to http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun06/laughing.html
Reader's
Digest
September
2006
Last year,
Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, a psychologist at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, found similar results when she showed subjects
either videos of comical waddling penguins or neutral videos of sticks.
The amused penguin watchers were more likely to think broadly. These
results have convinced psychologists that amusement and other positive
feelings make people think more flexibly and try more novel alternatives
when solving a problem.
All this
suggests that by enjoying humor, playing and exploring, we can better
understand ourselves, others, and, the world we live in. What's more,
those changes last, and help us during hard times. So limber up your
mind and wise up by having a laugh.
Hope
you enjoyed these tidbits from the world of laughter research. If you
haven't read Giggles are
Good at Work, check it out. To date, it is the
only study to be completed on the effects of laughter-in-the-absence-of-humor
in the workplace.
And,
be sure to visit
our
new pages on leadership
training.
Find out the "who, what, when,
where and why" of
Laughter Links Leadership training.
You will also find the answers to some of your most frequently
asked questions.
Remember,
we love hearing from you!
Until
next time … laugh yourselves
silly. You'll feel better!
Judy back
to E-zine list
P.S. You have received this issue because you have shown
an interest in supporting laughter (in the absence of
humor) in the workplace. You may unsubscribe at any time
by clicking here and
selecting the "send" email.
Feel free to forward this e-zine to friends and colleagues.
The more we spread the word, the sooner the world will
be a happier and healthier place for all of us. If you
received this as a forwarded email, you can sign up for
your own copy by clicking here.
Laughter
is good for the soul and good for business too!
|
