The Importance of Laughter

It has been said “By the time a child reaches nursery school, he or she will laugh 300 times a day. Adults laugh an average of 17 times a day.” (Discovery Health). Tonight we will look at the importance of humor and laughter and how it affects our physical and mental health.

What are the benefits of laughter?
• Reduces stress. Laughter stimulates both sides of our brain and eases muscle
tension
• Lowers our blood pressure
• Elevates our mood (and gives our body a good workout)
• Boosts our immune system (releases antibodies)
• Improves our brain functioning
• Helps us connect with others
• Fosters relaxation

Why do we need humor and laughter?
• Replaces negative emotions with pleasurable feelings
• It changes behavior. We talk more, make more eye contact, touch more
• It increases our energy level
• It makes us feel good and heals our pain
• It is a safe way to introduce ourselves to others (connect)

How can you expand your sense of humor?
• Look for everyday humor. Look for absurd, silly or funny things that happen
around you
• Watch children. Observe how they delight in light things
• Increase your exposure to humor (comedies, joke books, listen to joke tapes,
joke a day online)
• Hang around with funny friends
• If you hear a joke you like write it down (make sure you tell someone else
and brighten their day).

Kindness

"When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace." 

~The Dalai Lama ~

A Good Night's Sleep is Essential for Managing Your Stress

Sleep is essential just as essential as food, air and water. But, some people have difficulty attaining the sleep they need. Statistics indicate that one in three adults have difficulty with sleep or insomnia in their lifetime. Tonight we will focus on some information to help you get a good night’s sleep.


What typically keeps us from sleeping?
• Body noise. Side effects of medications, stimulants, caffeine, alcohol
• Mind noise. Anxiety or repressed emotions from the day
• Bed noise. Environmental noise from outside, feeling hot, uncomfortable.

What are the five basic strategies for preventing insomnia?
1. Never oversleep. Get up at the same time every day even after you have lost
sleep. Sleeping late just resets your body clock to a different cycle.
2. Set your body clock. Light helps restart your body clock to its daytime
phase. When you get up get some sunlight or turn on all the lights in your
room. Make sure you walk around to get oxygen to your brain.
3. Exercise. Keep active during the day—especially after a bad night’s sleep.
When you sleep less you should be more active the next day. Try strenuous
exercise in late afternoon.
4. Don’t nap. When you feel sleepy go take a walk or do errands.
5. Set a bedtime schedule. Try to go to bed at the same time each night. If
you have lost sleep the night before, go to bed a little later not earlier
and then move it back to its original time.

Are there any other tips for non-sleepers?
• Take a warm bath and never a shower before bed
• Dim the lights an hour before bedtime to stimulate dusk.
• Try to stretch and relax—read a boring book or watch a boring show.
• Make sure you don’t eat right before you sleep—try to eat 4 hours before you
go to sleep
• Try warm milk at bedtime, which stimulates the serotonin in your body. Try a
piece of whole-wheat bread or other carbohydrates.
• Avoid coffee, colas, tea, chocolate and fermented cheese cheddar cheese,
avocados and red wines
• Don’t watch anything disturbing before bed—horror movies, shooting/dramas or
anything that will keep your mind going overtime.

Lastly do you have some suggestions for enhancing sleep environments?
• Keep the room at around 60 degrees and pile on another blanket
• Keep humidity in the room
• Try to have white noise or a fan running or music to block out disruptive
noise.
• Keep the room as dark as possible. Light suggests it is time to wake up.

Start the Journey

We are offering a one-time coupon for our blog readers only. Many of you have considered therapy, but have not taking the step. Here is something that might help you make that call. Print out this coupon and bring it to your first intake session and you will have $20 taken off your first appointment rate.

We will to be your referral connection, so you can use this gift coupon for yourself, or give it to a friend who might benefit from your kindness.

*This is a one-time only coupon for our dedicated blog readers, and it can only be used for NEW clients making appointments at our office. To make an appointment, please call our office M-Th from 8:30am-5pm and speak to our office manager Sherrill.

Man's (or Woman's) Best Friend

Can pets really have an effect on our mental health? The answer is a strong resounding… YES! In fact, research shows that pets affects their owner’s depression level, life expectancy, and physical health.

Let’s look at some of the recent studies related to pets and blood pressure. A current study investigated a group of patients who owned an animal versus those who did not own a pet. The findings were dramatic! The research documented that pet owners had lower blood pressure compared to those patients who did not own a pet. In fact, another study discovered the act of talking to a pet can actually decreases blood pressure.

What are some of the benefits of owning a pet?

• In a study of over 1000 Medicare patients, dog owners in the study had 21% fewer physician contacts than non-dog owners.
• Research indicates that our blood pressure is lower if we own a pet, vs those who do not own a pet
  

Why are pets so helpful in treating depression?

• Pets give unconditional love and support; undivided loyalty and devotion; total acceptance and nurturing. They make us feel appreciated and seem to increase our sense of self-esteem and worth

What are 5 major reasons to have pets?
• Pets provide a sense of security and protection ( someone is always around, which gives us
the sense of safety and being part of something larger)
• Pets are friends (helps with loneliness)
• Pets ease loss ( people with pets are less likely to experience deterioration in health
following stressful events)
• Pets encourage us to become more active (we go for more walks and generally are
more active than those without pets)
• Pets encourage us to take better care of themselves (generally we take better care of
their pet and themselves because they have something to love and nurture)

* Note: Last night we lost one of our beloved labs who had graced our lives for almost 13 years. She provided so much love, laughter, and comfort to us, and we know the power that pets hold in changing our lives in such a powerful way. This entry to a dedication to our little Dakota who taught us how to love unconditionally and always have a loving disposition to all we meet.

Kokology defines graduation

You've enjoyed the Kokology collection...so here is another one in honor of graduation.

Think back on your graduation and what do you remember the most?

1. The face of your principal giving you the diploma and shaking your hand
2. The banner reading "Congratulations to the class of XXXX"
3. Your graduation class standing in their caps and gowns
4. Listening to the graduation march.

Here's the evaluations ala' Kokology
1. If you picked this option, you have a great aptitude for remembering names and faces. Your ability to remember people makes people around you feel valued and important in your life.
2. You have a head for numbers, birthdays, and phone numbers. These powers make you serious and dependable and of course, you never forget an appointment.
3. You love to reminisce about things. Not only do you have the ability to remember a scene, but the emotions that it aroused in you. But, you also may have difficulty forgiving and forgetting when you have been hurt.
4. Visual images fade quickly, but what people say and what you hear holds an important place in your experiences. Hearing a special word, or a bit of a melody can bring back the power of a moment and all that it holds.
~Kokology 2: Tadahiko Nagao & Isamu Saito~

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them
into the impossible.
~Arthur C. Clarke