We think your health, and everyone else’s too, is a matter of laughing....more.

By Perrie Meno-Pudge

While the reason is not always clear, people who laugh more, generally have a better sense of well-being and control in their lives. The power of humor has been recognized and recommended for centuries. Today, modern medicine offers a multitude of clinical studies showing that humor and laughter have a positive effect on our immune system, our heart, liver, internal organs, stress levels and even pain management all appear to benefit from laughter and a positive outlook. A shared laugh is often the best kind of remedy for what's got you down!

"GROW A SENSE OF HUMOR" sunflower seed packet.

When you get the sense of humor knocked out of you,

we recommend you find a sunny spot and grow one back...FAST!!!

Both traditional and alternative medicine use many forms of humor therapy. Scores of physicians, nurses, and other health care practitioners recognize the value of humor and laughter by mixing them in with medication and treatment.

And there’s more good news. Humor has a positive effect on how we function intellectually and emotionally.  It can help us put life’s hard knocks into a healthy perspective. It helps us to overcome fear. Humor allows us to take ourselves less seriously. It  even kindles our creativity.

So how can you add a large dose of humor into your daily routine? We’re glad you asked!

•  Brown bag it! Bring a few kids toys to work with you and keep them handy. Then, when you’re stressed out by a difficult phone call, reach for a toy and play. That caller will have no idea that you’re keeping yourself from losing your marbles literally by playing with some.

•  Keep funny pictures of friends and family around your office, especially ones that remind you of a fun outing or vacation you enjoyed with them

•  Fill your office with funny cartoons, sayings and jokes. (we recommend you include lots of PERRIE MENO-PUDGE® cartoons and some of our Signature Products that are designed to put a smile on your face!) ( Yes, we’re shameless) When things are looking particularly grim, look at them again. You’ll get a good laugh and in no time, be better able to put things back into perspective.

•  Exaggerate! Take a look at your situation and imagine it even bigger than it is. Go for the extreme. Blowing the problem out of proportion in this way will allow you to see the absurdity of it, and studies show that a good laugh may make the worries disappear

•  Share our cartoons, and hopefully a laugh, with your friends and family. Tell them you are thinking of them and that you’ve been there, done that, too! It always makes us feel good to spread the smiles.

Ultimately, we all have a choice. We can continue to let all of the frustrations and disappointments in life weigh us down, or we can find ways to introduce levity into even the toughest circumstances. Take life’s lemons and make lemonade. If we can do that, we are more likely to enjoy each day to its fullest and perhaps spend less time at the doctor’s office in the long run. We think your health, and everyone else’s too,  is a matter of laughing....more.

Please tell us what you do to keep your funny bone strong & healthy. Tell us about a situation in which you used humor to make lemonade from life’s lemons. We might even turn it into a cartoon!!!

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