Laughter, it's said, is the best medicine. It's one of the best tools we have for dealing with stress and relieving discomfort. You see, when we laugh, it improves the flow of oxygen to the heart and the brain, which helps to improve our immune system and uplift our mood. Research has shown that laughter also has an anti-inflammatory effect that protects blood vessels and heart muscles from the damaging effects of cardiovascular disease. And laughter appears to burn calories, too! Vanderbilt University conducted a small study in which they measured the amount of calories expended in laughing. It turned [...]

Endorphins can be your own private "narcotic!" They can affect us like codeine or morphine, but without the addiction. Understanding this can then help you increase a sense of euphoria in your life. Endorphins are neurotransmitters, chemicals that pass along signals from one neuron to the next.  They originate in various parts of your body and interact mainly with receptors in cells found in regions of the brain responsible for blocking pain and controlling emotion. While endorphins block pain, they're also responsible for our feelings of pleasure, and these feelings of pleasure exist to let us know when we've had [...]