Listening 23 – Listen for specific words

The human body is full of intriguing surprises. For example, you are actually tallest when you first get out of bed. The difference between the early morning and late night averages around one inch. The reason for this disparity is that while you , the spinal fluid between the discs in your vertebral column is replenished. As you go about the daily grind the discs and the spinal fluid seeps out, causing you to lose a bit of height.

Did you ever stop to consider how your skeleton is? Your bones hold you together. Without them, we’d be sacks of tissue incapable of bearing our own weight or around. Human bone is about 75% water, and you may be surprised to learn that bone is four times stronger than concrete. A small 3 inch cube of bone is capable of supporting 20,000 pounds of weight! The largest and strongest bone in your body is your femur (thigh bone).

There may actually be a scientific to the saying that “Laughter is the best medicine.” Laughter is proven to reduce chronic pain – partially due to being a , but also because it triggers the release of endorphins, in your brain that produce a sense of general well-being.

Studies have also shown that laughter strengthens your immune – people who laugh more have greater numbers of antibodies; they are thus less susceptible to disease and more easily able to from illness. Finally, laughter relaxes the and the mind, thus alleviating stress and its many detrimental effects on the body.

If you suffer from cold sores, watch out – at Columbia University have discovered that people with cold sores were more likely to cognitive decline, such as the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The good news is that physical activity counteracts this effect and the risk of losing your mental abilities.

Finally, people in developed nations tend to about aging. We spend a fortune on anti-wrinkle cream and hair-loss treatments. This may seem superficial, but a recent study showed that the more wrinkled your skin, the higher your risk of from blood pressure related conditions. The solution to both these problems isn’t a cosmetic quick fix – instead, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet, as well as smoking, will give you both a more youthful appearance and a healthier .