According to Body and Soul, a website on health and happiness, blowing up a balloon requires full use of the diaphragm through deep and slow breathing, which then reduces the heart rate and relaxes the muscles in the body.

“As I blew into the balloon I got all pudgy,” senior Brian Johnson said. “After feeling relaxed and focused, I let go of the balloon but then it made a super loud farting noise as all the air rushed out, which gave me the giggles and entertained me for quite a while.”

The classic childhood pastime of shaping squishy blocks of silly putty into multiple types of objects has proven to do more than just expressing a child’s imagination. According to the Love to Know Stress Management website, shaping, mashing or rolling silly putty helps the mind focus by providing a physical outlet for built up stress.

“I did use my silly putty more than ever during finals; in between mental breakdowns I found it rather relaxing to roll my silly putty,” junior Reggie Fenner said.

Professional studies recently conducted on the effects of humor in an individual’s life prove that laughter soothes tension, improves the immune system, relieves pain, but most importantly helps cope with depression and anxiety.

An even cooler discovery is that laughter will not only improve one’s life and health but the well-being of others as well. 

“Laughing makes me happy because it makes other people smile,” junior Prudence Chan said. “Sharing that happiness is my secret to joy.”

Sour to the taste but sweet to the health; according to gizmag.com, the odor given off by lemons contains a substance called linalool with anti-inflammatory properties that relax the brain and the body.  As the fresh scent travels up the nose, tiny olfactory nerves transfer the linalool to a system in your brain called the hypothalamus and reduces the activity of stress-ridden genes in the body.

“I feel refreshed already,” freshman Andy Castillo said after giving it a try.