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The Herman Trend Alert June 24, 2009 Laugh your Way to Health In his classic book, "Anatomy of an Illness", Norman Cousins describes his process of self-healing---when all his healthcare professionals had given up hope. Diagnosed with a rare form of arthritis, he said, "I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep". Now recent studies presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine confirm other healing properties of laughter. Not only can laughter reduce stress, which can damage the heart, but it can also lead to improved blood flow, which helps prevent high blood pressure. In both studies, groups of healthy adults watched either a comedy or a documentary film. In one study, during the films, the researchers monitored subjects' carotid arterial blood flow---the main arteries that bring blood to the brain and face. People who watched the comedy had greater amounts of blood moving through their arteries. Decreased arterial blood flow is often associated with high blood pressure and heart disease. The second study found that watching comedies improved dilation (expansion) of the blood vessels); constricted blood vessels can be a cause of high blood pressure. "Not only did comedies improve vascular dilation, but watching a documentary about a depressing subject was actually harmful to the blood vessels," said Takashi Tarumi, lead researcher on the second study. "[Watching] these documentaries constricted blood vessels by about 18 percent". In both studies, the positive effects of laughter lasted for 24 hours. Add to this evidence, the results of a 2006 study conducted by the University of Maryland Medical Center. This study showed that laughter, along with a healthy sense of humor, is good for your heart. The Maryland researchers found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease. Our forecast: we will continue to discover these types of low-tech, non-pharmaceutical ways to heal human bodies. Those discoveries, combined with high-tech advances in personalized medicine will improve life spans and quality of life. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: RETENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM A growing number of people have expressed an interest in attending our Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program. We'd like to schedule on that's convenient for those who want to attend, but need your feedback to do so. Please place RETENTION SPECIALIST in the subject line and Joyce will personally call you back to schedule the workshop. Or you can call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548 (PDT this and next week). BUSINESS IS PICKING UP Most employers are unprepared. The recovery will bring a new set of challenges for employers that have been in prolonged contracted mode. They will need more skilled workers or will need now to begin to upskill their current staffs. But organizations can not engage in Strategic Workforce Planning, when they don't know how. That's where The Herman Group can help. We can help you with your "People Review"----large or small---so that you will know who you will need and when you will need them. . . and we can also guide you to the best sources for the people you will need. For more information, call Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail joyce@hermangroup.com. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL Discover what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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