What Parents Need To Know
Like many teenagers… 17-year-olds Tyler Marquardt, Amy Schwartz and Laura Waide have their share of stress…
“During school with a-p honors teachers, and three tests in a day is a lot,” says Tyler.
“I did have a breakup about a week ago. Yeah it was tough, I really wasn’t like prepared for it,” says Amy.
“I don’t have any money because I have no job,” says Laura.
But whatever their worries… they still share plenty of laughs…
“Laughing definitely like heals you more I would say… than like dwelling on your sadness,” says Amy.
Laughter is good for your health and University of Maryland researchers now know why.
Laughing causes the lining of blood vessels and arteries to expand… increasing blood flow, and lowering blood pressure.
“Pretty amazing finding because it’s a direct link between the act of laughing, and a physiological response,” says Psychologist Rebecca Jones, Ph.D.
In fact, the researchers report that laughing offers the same kind of benefit to the heart as exercise.
“If you laugh a hundred times, it’s about the equivalent of doing something cardiovascular for ten to 15 minutes,” explains Dr. Jones.
“I actually do believe that,” says Laura, “Because I always get really like worked up and feel like my heart rate increasing when I’m having a really good time or like, laughing all the time.”
Experts say parents concerned about their teen’s health shouldn’t just focus on diet and exercise.
“When they’re scanning their teenagers behavior, they’re paying attention to the things they need to change… and we need to have an eye also for the things we need to encourage, and one those things is good humor,” says Dr. Jones.
Amy says her parents are good at that. “My family, we’re big and we’re loud. We’re always trying to entertain each other and pick each other up.” |