Defy Aging by Michael Brickey, Ph.D. Board Certified Psychologist

He Who Laughs Lasts

ACTION TO TAKE

Challenge yourself to tell at least a joke or share some humor with someone every day. Consider a dinner time tradition of having family members go around the table and tell a joke or share humor. Or at least look at a cartoon each day (you can even get cartoons E-mailed to you free on the Internet).

Michael Brickey, Ph.D.

WHY?

1.	Our brain is like a muscle and if we don't use it we lose it. Humor is one of the most intellectually complex things we do. To appreciate humor requires a good understanding of both the culture and he language. Telling a joke also requires memory, timing, acting skills, and a good sense of what is appropriate.
2.	Humor helps us see things from multiple perspectives, which helps us understand other people and be creative.
3.	It tenses and relaxes our muscles, giving us a mini workout.
4.	It gets our mind off our problems and any physical pain.
5.	Humor releases catecholamines. These chemicals increase our alertness and mental functioning.
6.	It helps us turn past blunders and pain into a good laugh.
7.	While our blood has a heart to pump it, our lymph has no pump to circulate it. It relies on physical movement. A good laugh helps lymphatic circulation, which helps prevent illnesses.
8.	It keeps us from taking ourselves and our problems too seriously.
9.	It's free.
10.	What other diversion is so much fun?

Defy Aging Quote:

It is his sixth sense that makes him successful-his sense of humor
                                --(source not known)

Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable.
                                --Goethe

Defy Aging Humor:

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Snore and you sleep alone.
                                --Bob Hope

Laughter is God's gift to mankind. Mankind is proof that God has a sense of humor.
                                --(source not known)

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Michael Brickey, Ph.D. is a life coach and a Board Certified psychologist and serves on the medical staff of several hospitals. He is the author of Defy Aging: Develop the Mental and Emotional Vitality to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier Than You Ever Imagined. Critically acclaimed by Dr. Bernie Siegel, Betty Friedan, Dr. Ronald Klatz, and four past presidents of the American Psychological Association, it is available at many bookstores and through his web site www.DrBrickey.com. He coaches people and organizations all over the country by phone as part of his mission to help people do things they didn't think they could do. He also speaks on Defying Aging. Please E-mail Dr. Brickey at BeautyWalk@DrBrickey.com.