Get serious, get funny

Have you laughed today? Good thing if you have because most people take life too seriously.

Those who laugh are healthier because laughing helps them loosen up. Although it causes the pulse to quicken initially, it slows down considerably, so that blood pressure sinks.

"The skeletal muscles relax and the overall result is better circulation to the muscles," says psychologist Michael Titze, chairman of HumorCare in Tuttlingen, Germany, and a researcher into laughter.