Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills and speech, as well as other functions.
In recent years, researchers have shown that physical changes in the body can be accompanied by mental changes as well.
Medical illnesses such as stroke, a heart attack, cancer, Parkinson's disease, and hormonal disorders can cause depressive illness, making the sick person apathetic and unwilling to care for his or her physical needs, thus prolonging the recovery period.
Imagine, a treatment for a variety of ailments, available without a prescription, whose only side effects are chuckles or giggles.
The idea that laughter can be good medicine is not a new one!
The ancient Greeks used to build hospitals next to amphitheaters for their patients. The field, called psychoneuroimmunology, studies interactions between the brain and the body's disease-fighting immune system, and is finally gaining some respect among scientists.
- Laughter increases disease-fighting cells and infection-fighting proteins in the saliva.
- Laughing improves your energy level and a reflex that produces moisture even gives you "bright and sparkling" eyes.
- Laughter releases endorphins to reduce pain and elevates the serum oxygen level by deep breathing.
If depression, anxiety and social isolation can delay a person’s recovery from various dis-eases and ailments, then laughter and a positive attitude should play a part in relieving stress and improving the outcome for people with heart disease.
Laughing 100 times a day was found to increase your heart rate with the same effect as a 10-minute workout on a rowing machine! Which would you rather do?
- Accentuate the Positive
- Eliminate the Negative
While many advances are being made in the treatment, and hopefully toward the cure, of Parkinson’s, remember that your attitude can be just as important as your medication.
Laughter and Parkinsons Disease
A study shows that men are 1½ times more like to develop Parkinson's than women