April 2007
The monthly, members-only, e-zine keeps AATH members updated on the latest developments in the world of applied and therapeutic humor. Each link will open a new window for anything outside the AATH website. All web links below have been carefully checked and worked at the time of publication. If the link does not take you to the listed article, please contact the owners of that website about finding that article. Disclaimer: Published by Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. AATH accepts no responsibility for any claims, either expressed or implied, in this publication. The information and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of AATH, its officers, directors, staff, or members. |
Humor Research
Effect of Workplace Laughter Groups on Personal Efficacy Beliefs.
Beckman H, Regier N, Young J
Purposeful laughter is a realistic, sustainable, and generalizable
intervention that enhances employees' morale, resilience, and personal
efficacy beliefs.
J Prim Prev 2007 Mar 1, :
KYW.com
Health Wrap-up: Laughter, Obesity & Cell Phones
By Stephanie Stahl
March 12 2007
A new seven year study of 54,000 people from Hungary says adults who have a sense of humor outlive those who don't. And the benefit of laughter was especially significant for cancer patients. There was a 70 percent reduction in the risk of death for cancer patients with a sense of humor.
http://cbs3.com
The New York Times
What’s So Funny? Well, Maybe Nothing
By John Tierney
March 13, 2007
“Primal laughter evolved as a signaling device to highlight readiness for friendly interaction,” Professor Panksepp says. “Sophisticated social animals such as mammals need an emotionally positive mechanism to help create social brains and to weave organisms effectively into the social fabric.”
www.nytimes.com
USAToday
A laugh a day may keep death further away
By Marilyn Elias
March 13, 2007
Adults who have a sense of humor outlive those who don't find life funny, and the survival edge is particularly large for people with cancer, says Sven Svebak of the medical school at Norwegian University of Science and Technology…Not everyone buys that view. "I'm very skeptical," says William Breitbart, psychiatry chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
www.usatoday.com
News-Medical.net
Laughter increases altruism—unselfish concern for the welfare of others
March 12, 2007
The study revealed that after watching the funny clip subjects who laughed a lot were more likely to give their money to strangers. Further research suggests that this may be due to the effects of laughter on endorphins (naturally produced neurotransmitters that improve people's mood).
www.news-medical.net
International Herald Tribune
It’s no laughing matter why we laugh
By John Tierney
March 14, 2007
Researchers have scanned brains and tickled babies, chimpanzees and rats. They've traced the evolution of laughter back to what looks like the primal joke.
www.iht.com
Neuroevolutionary sources of laughter and social joy: Modeling primal human
laughter in laboratory rats.
Panksepp J
Rats make abundant 50kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) when they play and
exhibit other positive social interactions. This response can be
dramatically increased by tickling animals, especially when directed toward
bodily areas toward
Behav Brain Res 2007 Feb 20,
fitsugar
Laughter: More Than The Best Medicine
March 20, 2007
Folks that have a sense of humor, especially in the face of cancer, outlive those who don't find life funny. The study tracked 57,000 Norwegians for 7 years and the larger role humor played in participants' daily lives, the greater their chances for surviving.
http://fitsugar.com
SpiritIndia
Laughter increases altruism towards strangers
March 19, 2007
A new study from psychologists at the universities of Kent and Liverpool has revealed that laughter increases altruism towards strangers, a finding which may have important implications for charities and other fundraising bodies.
www.spiritindia.com
Belvoir
Managing Your Moods Can Benefit Your Health
March 27, 2007
Humor/laughter: Release of tension; lowered blood pressure, heart rate and respiration rate; elevated immune response; improved pain tolerance; increased levels of endorphins resulting in improved mood.
www.newswise.com
AATH in the NEWS:
Naperville Sun
New laughter yoga class is one big joke
By Steve Metsh
February 27, 2007
Sultanoff (E-zine Ed. note: AATH member and past President) claims of boosters. "It's overrated for the part that is laughter. The idea is if people get together and do any kind of meditative activity, they'll all have physiological benefits.
www.suburbanchicagonews.com
The Daily Collegian Online
Research: Laughter the best medicine
By Laura Newcomer
February 27, 2007
Scientists attribute the benefits of laughter primarily to its ability to combat the physical and emotional characteristics of chronic stress, which has been shown to suppress the body's immunity. (E-zine Ed. note: AATH members Lee Berk and Roberta Gold quoted in this article)
www.collegian.psu.edu
DesMoinesRegister.com
Ladies night out at Java Joes
March 1, 2007
Calling all ladies: Java Joe's, 214 Fourth St., is having a ladies night out to benefit the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, which is designed to help military families cope with daily life. From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., enjoy comedy and music. A donation of $10 is suggested.
http://desmoinesregister.com
Examiner.com
Health educator Trieber enjoys last laugh
By Kate Prahlad
March 3, 2007
(E-zine Ed. note: AATH member Roz) Trieber, who teaches mental health and stress management at Towson University, began using humor to teach classes, and from that built her speaking business.
www.examiner.com
baltimoresun.com
A celebration of healing with humor
By Paul Lieberman
March 2, 2007
The Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor now has nearly 600 members, and 200 showed up for the 20th anniversary convention, with an eclectic roster of speakers and performers - from a juggling divinity student to leaders of support groups for breast cancer survivors - offering the attendees broad philosophies and practical tips for improving the lives of their patients, and themselves. (E-zine Ed note: this is a reprinting of the LA Times article noted in last month’s E-zine. Many members of AATH are mentioned in this article)
www.baltimoresun.com
Waterbury, Connecticut Republican American Newspaper
Friday, Feb 23, 2007
"Humor always has a cutting edge and it could be helpful, or it can be hurtful," said Allen Klein (E-zine Ed. note: immediate AATH Past President), a self-proclaimed Jollytologist from San Francisco. "Sometimes you're hurt by it because you're too close to it. Sometimes you're too involved."…
The Daily Collegian Online
New club hopes to chuckle away stress
By Kathryn DeVar
March 8, 2007
She said her idea for the club is partially based on the idea from the movie Patch Adams (E-zine ed. note: AATH member: Patch Adams), where laughter really was the best medicine.
www.collegian.psu.edu
Buffalo Business First
Exceptional professor can laugh at his work
By Tiffany Matthews
September 8, 2006
Bruce Baum may be many things, but his brightest attribute is his sense of humor. Baum is a professor of exceptional education at Buffalo State College. He is also a certified laughter leader (CLL) and former national board member of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH).
http://buffalo.bizjournals.com
Hospital Net
Club and Hotel Controllers Conferences' General Sessions to Discuss Important Workplace Issues
March 7, 2007
In the session “Hospitality LiteR - One-Third Less Stress, Same Great Job,” (E-zine Ed. note: AATH President Elect: Roz) Trieber will use interactive humor, improvisational skills and props to show the three powers of attitude and how to create a workplace where people love to come to work. She will also demonstrate ways to strengthen team understanding, build up relationships and facilitate stress reduction.
www.hospitalitynet.org
DesMoinesResister.com
Military families benefit tonight at D. M. coffeehouse
March 7, 2007
Iowa native and "speaker, humorist, author" (E-zine Ed. note: AATH BOD member:) Deb Gauldin will present a program at 7:30 tonight at Java Joes Coffeehouse, 214 Fourth St. Proceeds from the $10 suggested donation will go to the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor's "Laughter Therapy for Military Families Program."
http://desmoinesregister.com
The Detroit News
Oakland University says laugh your way to good health
March 9, 2007
(E-zine Ed. note: AATH member:) Dr. Paul McGhee, 1963 alumnus of OU's charter class, will present "Lighten Up! Humor is FUNdamental to Good Health," at 7 p.m. March 22 in the Oakland Center Banquet Rooms.
www.detnews.com
Georgetown News-Graphic
Hard to argue against laughter
By Mike Scogin
March 11, 2007
(E-zine Ed. note: AATH member: Stan Jones is quoted saying:) The assertion that children laugh 400 times a day and adults an average of only 15 times a day has never been shown in any published research, as far as I know. Still, it is a common myth in the field that continues to be repeated as if it is fact. The one study that I have known has actually showed that when smiles, chuckles, belly laughs and the whole gamut of "laughing" are taken into consideration adults laugh more often than children. (E-zine Ed. note: “Thanks, Stan, for making this correction”)
www.georgetownnews.com
The New York Times
The Laugh Gap Explained
By John Tierney
March 16, 2007
The Laugh Gap is partly due to status, partly due to women’s empathy for what their partner is looking for, and partly due to men’s desire to make their partners laugh.
http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com
Columbia News Service
Laughter meditation helps the humor-deprived let loose
By Andrew Goldberg
February 13, 2007
“I asked did they see any humor in the process, and 98 out of 100 said yes,” said Klein (E-zine Ed. note: Immediate AATH Past President: Allen Klein), who lost his wife to a rare liver disease when she was 34. “I wrote about how humor, even in those situations, can help us cope. It’s such a powerful tool.”
http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu
CG Newspapers
Laugh your way to good health
By Linda Sheppard
March 2007
Laughing elevates the heart rate and changes breathing patterns. “You feel more alert,” (E-zine Ed. note: AATH member, Paul:) McGhee said. “It’s a good way of releasing tension.” Studies have shown that laughter can aid a compromised immune system and is effective in reducing pain, he said.
www.candgnews.com
Kalamazoo Gazette
Amusing antidote Patient therapy can be a laughing matter, holistic-health experts say
By Santosh Rao
March 27, 2007
(E-zine Ed. note: AATH members:) Laurie Young and Kay Caskey, two renowned experts in Michigan on the subjects of health and humor, believe therapy programs like those at Bronson that make patients smile and laugh are becoming more common at hospitals across the country.
www.mlive.com
View News
February 27, 2007
By Jan Hogan
(AATH E-zine Ed. note: record of AATH essayi winner, Rebecca Carrol)
Not too many people think a concussion is funny. But Rebecca Carrol, an eighth-grader at The Meadows School in Summerlin, found a way to turn hers into a winning story.
She was notified in late January that she was the middle school-level winner for a nationwide essay contest sponsored by the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor in New Jersey. The contest asked students of all ages to discuss the importance of humor and describe a time when laughter helped to ease a difficult, frightening or sad situation.
Rebecca said she thought of many situations she could have used, but decided on the time she fell off her bike four years ago and suffered a concussion.
HUMOR in the NEWS:
STLtoday.com
Stuck in a runway? Let the mood soar with laughter
By Chris Erskine
February 25, 2007
What's a seasoned traveler to do? Well, as someone once noted, "Laughter is an instant vacation."
www.stltoday.com
The Sentinel
Dole talks about humor in politics
By John Hilton
February 26, 2007
Dole’s speech, “Laughing (Almost) All the Way to the White House,” was based on his book of the same title. He also wrote a second book titled “Great Presidential Wit... I Wish I Was in the Book: A Collection of Humorous Anecdotes and Quotations.”
www.cumberlink.com
USA Today
Ellen’s humor was bright spot
By Robert Bianco
February 26, 2007
A general aura of good feeling pervaded the evening, and much of it stemmed from the night's unfailingly sunny host, Ellen DeGeneres.
www.usatoday.com
Hernando Today
Dying for a few good belly laughs
By Joe Kloch Sr.
February 26, 2007
It is a proven fact that, although the Readers Digest is somewhat over the top in claiming that laughter is the best medicine, there is ample evidence that it is one of the better ones, and clearly the least expensive.
www.hernandotoday.com
Shelby Promoter
Merhar demonstrates the old adage that laughter is the best medicine
By Linda Bruch
March 1, 2007
Whatever the struggle might be, we all deal with them in our own way. Sometimes the best defense is to have another sense, a sense of humor that is.
www.goldentrianglenews.com
The News Sentinel
Some facts about laughter
By Jodi Wailander-Ferrell
March 5, 2007
Here are five things you didn't know about laughter: …1. Is laughter the best medicine? Laughter may reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. …2. Laugh it off: Laughing just 15 minutes a day can help you lose weight….3 The world laughs with you: There's now scientific proof that laughter is contagious…. 4. Belly laugh: A good laugh stimulates your organs, soothes tension and tummy aches, improves your immune system, relieves pain and increases personal satisfaction, according to a Mayo Clinic advisory on stress….5. Send in the clowns: Laughter and its effects on the human body is a hot field of study called gelotology.
www.fortwayne.com
Appleton Post-Crescent
Increased fun at work boosts productivity
By Judy Waggoner
March 4, 2007
During the nine months following a workshop by humor consultant C.W. Metcalf at Digital Equipment Corp. in Colorado Springs, 20 middle managers had increased productivity by 15 percent and cut sick days in half, he reports.
www.postcrescent.com
Appleton Post-Crescent
Laughter can help heal the scars left by domestic abuse
By Terri Dougherty
March 6, 2007
While there’s nothing comical about being in an abusive relationship, she’s found that laughter is part of the healing process.
www.postcrescent.com
Haaretz.com
Laughing matters
By Neri Livneh
March 8, 2007
It's regrettable, but there are still very smart feminists who think, mistakenly, that by laughing at ourselves we play into the hands of the men.
www.haaretz.com
4 Hoteliers
Laughter Eases Work Woes
By Enda Junkins
March 9, 2007
If we can allow laughter at work, we will feel less overwhelmed and better able to do our jobs. An appropriate, playful attitude will help us enjoy our work and feel more positive about the people we work with. Laughter creates bonds between management and employees, and employees feel more connected to one another.
www.4hoteliers.com
MaineToday.com
Health to take stage
March 9, 2007
Diet and exercise get top billing when discussion turns to health and fitness, but School Health Coordinator Kristen Gilbert insists that humor should be part of the equation as well.
http://news.mainetoday.com
Today’s Zaman
I have a problem with humor
March 12, 2007
One of the hardest things to communicate across cultures is humor. Humor is a complicated human response: We laugh at things that are both absurd and tragic.
www.todayszaman.com
The Michigan Daily
The psychology of humor
By Andrew Sargus Klein
March 15, 2007
"There's a purpose for humor which enables us to deal with all our ambiguous impulses, even the ones of aggression, because it's just mock aggression," he said. "Wouldn't the world be so much better if we had mock aggression instead of real aggression?"
http://media.www.michigandaily.com
Los Angeles City Beat
Nervous Laugher
By Joe Piasecki
March 15, 2007
“Cartoonists are arguably the most incendiary journalists. They’re the ones who hit us in a primitive place,” Wallis explained by phone from his office in New York. “Part of their job brief is to offend, and that makes editors increasingly uncomfortable.”
www.lacitybeat.com
The Harvard Crimson
Half Political, Half Painful
By Steven T. Cupps
March 14, 2007
Humor has long been a sacred political tool. News can be spun or deliberately falsified. Books can be burned. Opposition parties can be marginalized. But the power of laughter can never be completely eradicated. Laughter, like murder, will out the tyrants, the hypocrites, the liars, and any others who abuse publicly-entrusted power.
www.thecrimson.com
AZ Central
Humor helps us at work, seriously
By Diana Knight
March 15, 2007
"Humor isn't just a coping mechanism or a way to get through work," says Scott, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. "It's a way we do work together, a way we collaborate."
www.azcentral.com
Top Cancer News
Live Longer With Laughter
By Robert White
March 2007
This sounds too much like -- you need to have a positive attitude -- cancer survivors are not particularly fond of hearing that our cancer came back because we didn't have a positive attitude or we didn't have a great sense of humor -- but laughter does make life more enjoyable!
www.topcancernews.com
Guardian Unlimited
After the laughter
March 16, 2007
Since its launch in 1985 Comic Relief has raised more than £425m and has given over 6,000 grants in the UK and 1,700 internationally. In the UK it helps people with mental health problems, refugees and asylum seekers, victims of domestic violence, younger and older people and disadvantaged communities.
http://society.guardian.co.uk
North Lake Tahoe Bonanza
Who should have the last laugh?
By McAvoy Layne
March 21, 2007
What is new, and what is exciting about humor in general, is that science is discovering how healthful laughter is; it might just happen to be the best homeopathic medicine available over the counter.
www.tahoebonanza.com
Chicago Tribune
Think this is funny?
By Jason George
March 26, 2007
The Antioch test, which gathers its results by examining both humor and personality, answers all sorts of questions about what tickles whose funny bone. However, it hasn't solved one puzzle that has perplexed scholars since at least the ancient Greeks: Is a sense of humor tied to intelligence?
www.chicagotribune.com
USATODAY
Laughter amid the tears
By Souheila Al-Jadda
March 29, 2007
Though humor and satire are a staple of Western cultures, there is often the misguided assumption in the West that on the other side of the world — particularly in war-stricken lands — humor is a foreigner. A scan of Arab television, however, proves otherwise
http://blogs.usatoday.com
Ynetnews.com
Breaking taboos
By Ray Hanania
March 28, 2007
A proven way to establish trust is through humor. Humor is very personal. When you share humor with someone, you establish trust. When you laugh with someone, you open yourself up to them.
www.ynetnews.com
DallasNews.com
Finding the humor in life
By Leslie Garcia
March 27, 2007
"The chance to laugh helps children and families really connect with that hopeful place," she says. "For that moment in time, they're taken away from whatever is troubling them: Pain, sadness, yearning for home and missing their dog."
www.dallasnews.com
The Japan Times Online
A Japanese sense of humor?
By Hugh Cortazzi
March 27, 2007
Most Japanese would not, I think, attach so much importance to having a sense of humor. Instead, I think they prefer to call themselves serious people (or to use the Japanese term "majime ningen").
http://search.japantimes.co.jp
The Canadian
Laugh and the Work World Laughs With You
By Craig Harrison
March 29, 2007
In the workplace, humour and fun can increase productivity, encourage creativity, enhance team building, and thus improve esprit de corps.
www.agoracosmopolitan.com
The World of HUMOR
HUMOR IN THE NEWS: RELATED ARTICLE
Cape Times
Abbot’s journey from Tibet to Scotland and inner peace
February 27, 2007
To be happier we must strive to put others first - "to be less selfish, increase loving compassion, be wiser, kinder and more tolerant," says Lama Yeshe.
www.capetimes.co.za
The Bulletin
Commentary: Happiness Is A Moral Obligation
By Dennis Prager
February 26, 2007
With some exceptions, happy people make the world better and unhappy people make it worse. This is true on the personal (micro) and global (macro) planes.
www.thebulletin.us
Topics.com
Maybe Tony Blair can export some happiness
By Donna Monday
February 28, 2007
It seems Blair is going where few, if any, politicians have gone before. He's thinking that government ought to work at making citizens happier.
www.topics.com
Deutsche Welle
Most Europeans Feel Happy, Survey Shows
February 27, 2007
"If you realize that nine and a half out of every 10 citizens around you are happy, then it makes you happy yourself," Lerais said alongside his co-author, Roger Liddle.
www.dw-world.de
Common Ground
Happiness is an inside job
By Gwen Randall-Young
March 2007
Happiness that is connected to outcomes or goals is not true happiness…Unconditional happiness is a different matter altogether. It is a choice we make to unconditionally love ourselves and life itself.
http://commonground.ca
Innovations Report
Evidence based happiness advice: a special issue of the Journal of Happiness Studies
By Yvette Nelen
March 1, 2007
In our increasingly complex society happiness is not the simple product of favorable circumstances. Well-being is dependent on making the right individual choices. Handling freedom is not always easy and that has created a demand for happiness advice.
www.innovations-report.de
American Chronicle
The Secret of Happiness
By Linda Weaver Clark
March 1, 2007
Royden G. Derrick said it differently: “Happiness is a byproduct of helping others.”
www.americanchronicle.com
Risk
Towards a theory of cardiovascular economics
By Alexander Campbell
March 5, 2007
Fortunately, according to David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald's paper, it turns out that national blood pressure - or at least incidence of hypertension - is linked fairly closely to national happiness, whether you call it "Glucklichkeit" or "bonheur". (Generally happy nations, such as Denmark, have low rates of hypertension; unhappy nations like Italy have high rates.)
http://blog.risk.net
Herald Sun
Less is more for a happy life
By Bryon Patterson
March 4, 2007
Happiness doesn't depend on what you have, but what you think you have.
www.news.com
Guardian Unlimited
Government seeks secret of keeping us all h appy
By Gaby Hinsliff
March 4, 2007
He says adored people are happy people, and the happier they are, the longer and more productive lives they lead.
observer.guardian.co.uk
Financial Times
Health is best gauge of national happiness
By Scheherazade Daneshku
March 3, 2007
Mental health and blood pressure are a better guide to happiness in European countries than economic performance, according to recent research co-authored by a member of the Bank of England's rate-setting monetary policy committee.
www.ft.com
MSNBC
In search of happiness
By Dawn Fratangelo
March 5, 2007
"There's a genetic influence on happiness," Diener says. "That means that our genes influence to some degree how happy we are. But also, our attitudes, our social relationships, what happens to us in life matters a lot too."
www.msnbc.msn.com
MSNBC
Is happiness more than a state of mind?
By Dr. Nancy Snyderman
March 6, 2007
"If you're high in happiness, you're about one-third less likely to develop a cold," says Dr. Sheldon Cohen at Carnegie Mellon.
www.msnbc.msn.com
MSNBC
Happiness is more than chasing pleasure
By Jane Weaver
March 6, 2007
To paraphrase Gandhi, happiness is when what you think, you say and what you do are consistent with each other and are consistent with your values. Science is beginning to more precisely measure, understand and construct mechanisms for attaining a frame of mind that potentially can have as significant an impact on health as diet, exercise or not smoking.
www.msnbc.msn.com
Hindustan Times
Study challenges theory of human happiness
March 6, 2007
A new study has challenged the set point theory for happiness that states that subjective well-being is largely independent of our life circumstances. The researchers suggest that life events have a bearing on happiness.
www.hindustantimes.com
San Francisco Chronicle
America’s pursuit of happiness picks up steam
By Steve Winn
March 7, 2007
"And the more happiness there is in the world, the less we have to worry about the threat of war, disease and economic hardship." Being happy, it seems, shall set us all free.
www.sfgate.com
WebMD
Can Your Happiness Change for Good?
By Miranda Hitti
March 7, 2007
The review focuses on the "happiness set point" theory, which suggests that people have a happiness set point, a natural level of happiness they gravitate to, despite temporary rises and falls in happiness…But your happiness set point may not be carved in stone, suggests Michigan State University professor Richard Lucas, PhD.
www.webmd.com
PR.com
Happiness Is a Serious Health Issue
March 8, 2007
"The difference was 10.7 years [average lifespan] between the happiest group and the unhappiest group, so that's a huge effect. Cigarette smoking can knock a few years off your life, three years, if you really smoke a lot, six years. So ten years for happiness is a huge effect."
www.pr.com
The BadgerHerald
Why money does not mean happiness
By Hasim Salman
March 9, 2007
As students, we need to look at this and step away from the computers, the iPods and the televisions in order to take back our happiness.
http://badgerherald.com
Canada.com
Lab probes science of happiness
By Kelly Cryderman
March 9, 2007
One of his main arguments is it's hard for economic growth -- once the necessities are covered -- to increase happiness. This helps explain why richer societies are no happier than poorer ones.
www.canada.com
sbsun.com
Gaining ground in the pursuit of happiness
By Sahra Susman
March 12, 2007
Elements of flow and positive psychology are now being applied to the study of work and education. Long-term implications may result in work being "happier." School could become more enjoyable if children had a more positive learning experience.
www.sbsun.com
KansasCity.com
Study: For long-term happiness, don’t get divorced or fired
By Faye Flan
March 12, 2007
But nobody had specifically looked at the impact of big life changes, such as marriage, divorce or unemployment, he said. He found that marriage buoyed the spirits for only about two years, after which the spouses were no happier than they had been as singles. But divorce, he found, could plunge you permanently into the emotional dumps. So could losing your job.
www.kansascity.com
The Capital Online
Achieving happiness Playing to your strengths
By Tom Muha
March 11, 2007
The coach taught Sam and his top team about the positive psychology research that found people who surpass the 5:1 threshold of positive to negative interactions have the highest levels of success and satisfaction.
www.hometownannapolis.com
Yorkshire Post
Fame, fortune, friendship…what is the secret of happiness?
By Sarah Freeman
March 13, 2007
"Money is a ticket to social interaction, to dignity and respect, and understanding how the distribution of wealth affects the well-being of a nation is vitally important for those responsible for social policy."
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
The Vancouver Sun
Listen to what the kids say they need for happiness and health
March 13, 2007
Children who spent significant amounts of their free time online or watching television also reported less self-confidence, happiness, optimism and empathy than those who spent more time with adults or peers.
www.canada.com
The Stamford Times Online
Club spreads happiness
By Amanda Pinto
March 14, 2007
The multi-faceted organization is dedicated to more than just service, Glass said. Other high school sponsored organizations — like community service club Interact — are not as far-reaching as The Happy Club, which explores how to be happy and what makes one happy, she said.
www.thestamfordtimes.com
VOA
Life-Changing Events Can Have Long-Lasting Emotional Impact
By Rose Hoban
March 15, 2007
"So people who experience the divorce seem to be lower in their level of happiness after the divorce than they were before the divorce, and people who became disabled were much lower after their disability than they were before the disability."
www.voanews.com
Retrospectacle
What is Happiness and Can We Ever Achieve It?
By Shelley Bates
March 15, 2007
I would hope, as would most idealists, that the people who feel spurred on to use their life in a meaningful way can ONLY feel happiness when this is the case.
http://scienceblogs.com
BostonHerald.com
Difficulty defining happiness gives it power, allure
By Associated Press
March 16, 2007
”The book is more about the pursuit than the attainment, because in some ways you never get there,” McMahon said in an interview. ”Happiness, as I try to argue in the book, tends to slip away from you when you think about it too much.”
http://theedge.bostonherald.com
ScientificAmerican.com
The Science of Lasting Happiness
By Marina Krakovsky
April, 2007
The biggest factor may be getting over the idea that happiness is fixed--and realizing that sustained effort can boost it. "A lot of people don't apply the notion of effort to their emotional lives," Lyubomirsky declares, "but the effort it takes is enormous."
www.sciam.com
OpenPR
Heart Healthy Flax Seed may also promote general happiness
By John Schutt
March 19, 2007
Conklin and her colleagues found in a study group of 55 participants that the volume of gray matter in the human brain, particularly the parts associated with mood, was proportional to the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids.
www.openpr.com
The Eastern Progress Online
Compassion is in style
By Maria Fitzgerald
March 22, 2007
He compared the contemporary and classical views of happiness, saying that contemporary happiness is mostly fleeting, but classical happiness springs up from deep within a person.
http://media.www.easternprogress.com
Union Sentinel
Conscious Creating: Unlock the Secret to Happiness
By Benita A. Esposito
March 22, 2007
If you want your outer world to change, you must first change your inner world. Unhappiness, unfulfilling relationships, too little money, and illness often arise from not knowing how to manage thoughts and emotions.
www.unionsentinel.com
Telluilride Daily Planet
World-renowned scientist delves into happiness
By Susan Viebrock
March 27, 2007
“We have learned that happiness can be conceptualized as a skill, not fundamentally different from learning to play the violin or learning to play golf,” said Davidson.
www.telluridegateway.com
WZZM13
Study finds life’s throws can deflate happiness in the long run—MSU professor looks at our ups, downs, how we handle them
My Matthew Miller
March 27, 2007
The upside of Lucas' latest research, published in the April issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, is the fact that it indicates certain life events have the potential to change our long-term happiness. The downside is that the ones he's found change it for the worse.
www.wzzm13.com
The Times Gazette
How do you measure happiness?
By Bill Horne
March 26, 2007
To determine whether we are happy or not some researchers use the old-fashioned method of just asking us. There are some, on the other hand, who measure electrical activity in different areas of our brain. The only other method that I saw was one where friends evaluate each other.
www.timesgazette.com
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