Watching the World

For Better Health​—Laugh!

Good-natured laughter does more than brighten a person’s day. According to some Japanese doctors, it also normalizes imbalances in the endocrine, nervous, and immune systems, stabilizes heartbeat and breathing, and can bring temporary relief to sufferers of rheumatism. Laughter stimulates sympathetic nerves, thereby boosting the blood flow to muscles and increasing brain activity. When we laugh heartily, we also exercise our muscles. In a test cited in the IHT Asahi Shimbun newspaper, one laughing subject’s abdominal muscles “showed the same level of exertion as required by sit-ups.” Osaka psychiatrist Michio Tanaka praised the positive influence of laughter. According to Tanaka, “it’s like an effective drug with no side effects.”

 Animal “Doctors”

“A growing number of animal behaviourists now think that wild animals can and do deal with their own medical needs,” reports The Economist of London. Chimpanzees in Tanzania cure themselves of intestinal worms by eating the pith of a plant containing chemicals lethal to such worms. And chimps across Africa eat leaves covered with microscopic hooks that scour their intestines of worms. Macaws that eat seeds containing toxic alkaloids also eat clay, which apparently detoxifies their dangerous diet. Alaskan brown bears, Canadian snow geese, and wolves all consume vegetation to rid themselves of intestinal parasites. Blood tests on a range of wild animals showed that in their natural habitats, many had survived serious viral and bacterial infections that are often fatal in captivity. “Such observations,” notes The Economist, “suggest that wild animals can do something to keep themselves healthy that captive animals cannot.”

Top Killer

“AIDS is set to put the Black Death in the shade as the worst pandemic in history,” states New Scientist. “In the 14th century, the Black Death swept through Europe and Asia, killing about 40 million people. Now, nearly 700 years later, history is repeating itself.” According to a British Medical Journal report, some 65 million lives will have been claimed by HIV by the end of the decade. While more people are currently affected by tuberculosis and malaria, the economic and social impact of these diseases is said to be less than that of AIDS.

Parents and Teenagers

According to a report in The Times of London, parents suffer far more emotional and psychological damage from family conflict than do their teenage offspring. The report suggests that parents should not “tip-toe around moody adolescents for fear of hurting their delicate feelings.” Rather, “parents should protect themselves . . . by adopting a more authoritative style of parenting.” A researcher on adolescence, Professor Laurence Steinberg of Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., says that children are much more resilient than people assume. After studying thousands of parents for more than ten years, Professor Steinberg observes: “The authoritative parent is warm and involved, but is firm and consistent in establishing and enforcing guidelines, limits and expectations.” Adolescents raised in such homes are higher achievers, are happier, and are therefore less likely to engage in antisocial behavior and crime, says the report.

The Need for Touch

“We need touch just as we need sunlight, water, and food,” states the Polish weekly magazine Polityka. All of us have under our skin a network of detectors that are sensitive to various types of touch. When someone touches us, “our brain can perceive it, appreciate it, and change it into a smile, a better mood, or some other friendly gesture.” Children in particular need physical contact, especially during their early years. Unfortunately, many parents touch their children only when dressing, washing, feeding, or punishing them. But numerous studies have suggested that children who are held, hugged, kissed, and caressed enjoy better health and growth and turn out more intelligent than those kept “at a cold distance,” notes Polityka.

World’s Lakes in Peril

“There is not a lake left on the planet that is not already being affected by human activities,” states William Cosgrove, vice president of the World Water Council. “We’re killing the lakes, and that could be disaster to the human communities that depend on them.” Contamination comes from industry, farms, and sewage; and serious damage may already have occurred to a lake even though it looks pristine, Cosgrove said, adding: “Then something happens​—like a change in water temperature—​and all of a sudden a lake can be completely transformed. Once the process starts, it’s hard to stop.” Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, is one example. Over the last two decades, several species of fish in the lake have died because of pollution that included raw sewage. Also seriously threatened is Lake Tai Hu in China. “Experts say you can practically walk on its surface because of severe pollution,” the World Water Council statement said. According to a Reuters report, some 90 percent of the fresh water that humans use comes from lakes.

“The Heart Is So Full​—The Head So Empty”

Love letters composed by professional letter writers are in demand, according to the German weekly Die Woche. For those who just cannot put their feelings into words, several ghostwriter services offer help for a fee. The text might be on the passionate side or rather businesslike, according to the customer’s request. Poems are also available, with the price subject to negotiation. The approach to creating these surrogate confessions of love varies greatly. While some ghostwriters are professional writers and journalists, others write love letters as a hobby. Some even provide an on-line questionnaire from which a computer-generated letter is produced. In any case, success cannot be guaranteed. After three years of “touching proposals and vows” composed by one ghostwriter, his loyal customer’s girlfriend still won’t say yes to his proposals.

Fitness and Sick Days

Exercise reduces sick days, according to a study by the Finnish Fitness Association. To keep their staff on the job, many employers in Finland are acting on this knowledge. “One-half of working Finns are employed by businesses with employee fitness programs,” reports Finnfacts, a publication of the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers. “Businesses are running quit-smoking and weight loss courses and various types of fitness groups.” Finnish businesses invest more than $67,000,000 annually in such programs, knowing that reduced absenteeism will pay them back severalfold.

Take Care of Your Back!

“Bad posture, being overweight, and not getting sufficient physical exercise slowly cause our spine to deteriorate,” says the Spanish newspaper El País Semanal. An estimated 80 percent of the population in developed countries have back problems at some time in their life. The Spanish Kovacs Clinic, which specializes in spinal problems, recommends that we learn to adjust our posture in order to prevent and alleviate back pain. Some simple recommendations are: Sleep on your side with the spine straight. When seated, support your back against the back of the chair. At a computer, keep your shoulders in their natural position. If you have to bend down, bend your knees rather than your back. And if you have to stand still for a long time, put your weight on one leg while resting your other foot on a stool or step.