Monday, August 21, 2006

Under stress? Start Laughtercising™ with new CD

Under stress? Start Laughtercising™ with new CD

Laughtercising(TM) is a new form of exercise utilizing the healing powers of laughter to help ward off stress.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) September 22, 2004

Laughter has been proven to reduce stress, improve heart health and even help you lose weight. This is the impetus behind the "Laughtercising(tm) CD available at heyugly. org for $10.00. Don't let the name fool you; Hey U G L Y Inc., developed in 2001, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to help pre-teens and teens counter bullying, eating disorders, violence, substance abuse and suicide. UGLY is an acronym meaning unique, gifted, lovable, you and proceeds from the CD help to support this cause.

Instructions on the "Laughtercising" CD advise listeners to laugh continuously for at least one minute. Every day, increase the laugh session until you can laugh for ten minutes for a great, workout. The CD is 60 minutes so it can be used as a mood adjuster by playing it in the background as white noise while studying or at work. Comedien Tom Dreesen uses the CD to combat Road Rage. When he's stuck in traffic he plays the CD to reduce his stress.

CAN LAUGHTER ACTUALLY REDUCE STRESS?

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, "Laughter is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress, and preliminary research suggests laughter may also boost immunity, relieve pain, lower blood sugar in people with type-2 diabetes, and help protect against heart disease."

"When you are stressed and have anxiety, there's an activation of various stress areas in the brain," says Dr. Bruce Rabin, director of the Healthy Lifestyle Program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "This alters the concentration of various hormones in blood. These stress hormones have a variety of impacts on health - you feel stressed, they impair your ability to think over time, they increase cholesterol in the heart, and they change how the immune system functions."

Up to 80 muscles are used during a hearty laugh, the blood pressure rises, the heart beats faster and blood oxygen levels increase. In fact, a study released by German gelotologist, Professor Gunther Sickl, revealed that a one-minute guffaw has the same health benefits as a 45-minute gym workout. When the laughter stops, the blood pressure returns to normal and stress hormones are reduced - actually strengthening the immune system.

For more information about the CD call 219-778-2011.

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