European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 06, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Hospitals find Himor really can by Rick Davis " Scripps Howard news service Ere s a prescription or. Humor wants you to follow next time you re sick or stressed out take two Laurel and hardys one i love Lucy preferably a Strong dose like the episode where she stomps grapes and Call him Call him anything you want the next morning. Go ahead and laugh that s the idea. People have Long said that real gut busters were healthy. Proverbs even refers to a merry heart being Good Medicine. But Only recently has it been scientifically proved. The modern notion that laughter can help us Cope with or overcome health problems was planted in 1964 when former saturday review editor Norman cousins was diagnosed with a debilitating disease. In pain and Given Little Chance of full recovery from spinal problems he researched his illness and discovered imbalances in the endocrine system could be caused by negative emotions. Cousins decided he could help himself by feeling More positive. _ he found that watching old films and laughing heartily helped him sleep without pain for a few hours. Eventually he recovered and wrote about his experience in Anatomy of an illness.  ".  humor therapy has its limits but or. Clifford Kuhn a psychiatrist with the University of Louisville medical school in Kentucky says it can help us gain control Over pain and promote Healing. Kuhn applauds the Small but growing number of hospitals that Are adding humor libraries that f make movies old to comedies and Light Reading material available to their patients. According 6 Kuhn Only in the fast 15 years have researchers and scientists begun measuring things such As pain tolerance or the response of the immune system to laughter. He says that while it s not a cure All humor can be a Poten stress reliever and help someone Cope with a serious situation. When tension builds it interferes with sleep and often makes it difficult for patients to communicate their needs. Humor can break that tension. Twenty seconds of a gop laugh doubles the heart rate Kuhn notes. And it stays elevated for three to five " minutes. When it comes Back Down it dips to a rate lower than when you started. It the kind of response you d expect from aerobic  cousins called this inner jogging because laughter increases blood circulation decreases muscle tension increases oxygen Supply to the Muscles and creates an " Overall sense of Well being. This is  you consider the average person laughs about 15 times a Day a number that can drop to Zero for Hospital patients. Kuhn and others say laughing aside from keeping a patient s mind off his illness May stimulate the release of endorphins Jar feel Good chemicals. _ Eri dolphins Are the body s natural healer pain killer adds Kathleen Burton who works with Indiana s first Hospital humor Library in Muncie. It opened in 1988r you can t always function in a state of stress she Points Oufa it would be like putting your car in High gear All the time. You be got to be Able to manage stress have times when you laugh.". Sheila Hauck a Hospital coordinator of oncology services says she has used humor in treating cancer patients. She says laughter can stimulate the body s immune system helping fight off infections and that tears of laughter even carry away " toxins found in cells under stress. Hauck says terminally ill people want to laugh again. The treatment the Side effects sometimes the cancer can be devastating. They want to feel Good again even if for a Short period. Laughter rejuvenates   Hauck recalls a Bone cancer patient who hated her researchers believe that the likes of i love Lucy left and Laurel " and Hardy can help relieve the depressing humourless feelings that _ frequently hang Over hospitals below. File treatments because it was painful for her to be moved. As Hauck and others approached the woman pulled taut a big squirt gun left behind by her grandson. " suddenly she was empowered Hauck recalled with a smile she wanted to be left alone at least until she ran out of  " everybody laughed and the treatment began. What this Hospital humor libraries is All about is bringing a smile Back to someone s face a moment of happiness a moment of feeding Good says  Kuhn who is studying the effects of laughter on Bone marrow transplant patients in Louisville says it s important that a humor Library be used once it s in place. And that Burden Falls on Hospital staff members. Patients Aren t Likely to seek out humor in a Hospital says Kuhn. There s nothing funny about being sick. But humor will increase one s sense of Well being and might even in some instances decrease a need for certain  " " the holidays bring a lot of must do tasks that when added up cease to be fun. Don let the by Pam Mckeown Scripps Howard news service or Many the Holiday season Marks one of the most depressing times of year. But if the holidays Are stressful maybe just maybe l you have too Many expectations of what Christmas should be like j 3 _ Christmas for most people is not a Norman Rockwell painting scene in which everything is wonderful and glowing with the whole Happy family sitting around the fireplace says or. Theresa Farrow psychiatrist atthe _ University of Oklahoma health sciences Center Tulsa Campus. If we expect such a scene and it does i. Happell we will Only be  Lowe neg expectations is one of the most important things you can do to help Christmas become the Happy peaceful he tiday it should be says Farrow. People forget to relax and enjoy themselves which is what Christmas is really All about. We can schedule so Many enjoyable _.-. Things at Christmas that these events soon become tasks. That s when you know you re doing too  gave these tips for staving off stress a Christmas Mark off every third item on your list of things to do.  find that Many must do s Aren t really necessary she says. If something in t important 8&s Dave Casey to control stress take time to enjoy the charms of the season. Enough to remember then it probably does t need to be  _ take care of yourself. Stick to your exercise program Jake warm Baths see a movie and give yourself the Little pleasures you would at other times of the year. Remember Hauhe holidays Are really about. Take time target in touch with your spiritual Side and your basis of love for other people and yourself. Also Reserve some quiet time for yourself " r stay within your budget when shopping for gifts so. That shopping does t become another source of stress if your budgets strapped for Cash give of your time. If feelings of grief or loss exist acknowledge them. If you re separated from family or friends or have suffered a recent loss in your family realize that a feeling of loss is Normal you May need to take an hour or so just to cry about missing somebody and allow the grief to be expressed says Farrow. If you repress such feelings they will Only continue to try to  if you re lonely get out among people. Volunteering for non profit organizations or visiting nursing Home residents or shut ins Are Good ways to get into the spirit of giving. Allow yourself to experience the Joy of Christmas., the holidays Are supposed to be a time of Joy peace and tolerance of others and yourself. If you can remember that it often helps you keep you priorities straight about what s important and what in t All that  not 16 the stars and stripes tuesday december 6,1994 the stars and stripes 17