Look on the Bright Side of Life

Looking on the bright side of life and being optimistic in your thinking and actions can have a direct impact on your life.

Recent studies out of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, indicate that optimists live longer as well as enjoying a highter quality of life, report better physical and social functioning, more vitality, less pain and fewer limitations due to physical and emotional problems.

Christopher Peterson, PhD at the University of Michigan writes that optimists feel that they are"masters of their own fate", they believe that they can make good things happen. They regard their health as something they have control over and therefore engage in more healthful behaviors.

Researchers have also found that optimism leads to development and maintenance of social support systems and the ability to reduce stress better than most of us.

Our thoughts create our reality. Our thoughts regarding health, life and age all mix together to determine how successfully we age.

Watch Your Head

There is now evidence that people who have a blow to their head perhaps experience loss of consciousness may be more apt to have memory loss as they age. In light of these findings all of us need to practice protecting our heads by:

. Wearing Seat Belts
. Wearing helmets while riding a bike or driving a
motorcycle
. Not drinking and driving
. Not using cell phones while driving
. Not driving when you no longer have the ability to drive

BE SAFE NOT SORRY !

Flexing your humor muscles boosts your immune system, helps to reduce stress as well as reducing pain. As they say "laughter is the best medicine." For one thing it costs nothing, you do not have to buy special clothes or shoes and not even leave your easy chair.

Adults laugh about 15 times/day, while children laugh about 400 times/day. When we grow up, somehow we loose a few hundred laughs a day. That's sad! And it also could threaten your health.

Laughing along with exercising, not smoking and eating foods low in
saturated fat will reduce your risk of a heart attack and improve your memory. Give it a try!