With "aimless sloth" being one of my greatest strengths, I just might live to be a 100... http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010418/sc/health_laziness_dc_1.html

Relax -- Laziness Is Good for You, Scientist Finds

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Good news for Bridget Jones and the millions who share the fictional diarist's angst and guilt for failing to jog their way to health and happiness.

A German scientist is now prescribing aimless sloth as the antidote to professional stress and the secret to a long life.

``People who prefer lazing in a hammock instead of running the marathon or who take a nap in the middle of the day instead of playing squash have a better chance of living into old age,'' Professor Peter Axt told the German magazine Bunte on Wednesday.

Axt, who teaches at a college in Fulda, said light exercise and avoiding getting overweight were nonetheless healthy. But overdoing it was not: ``It's a question of dosage.''

Keeping down stress was vital, he added, especially at work.

His prescription?

``Waste half your free time. Just enjoy lazing around.''

-- CD (costavike@hotmail.com), April 18, 2001

Answers

Wow, I'm finding all kinds of good medical news today. Living to 100 should be a breeze...

U.S. Study Finds Drinking Is Heart-Healthy

-- CD (costavike@hotmail.com), April 18, 2001.

Unfortunately for the world a fat-ass lazy lush like you should live forever then.

-- (die@cd.die), April 18, 2001.

I'm with you, CD! A G&T, a hammock, and a newspaper, that's all I ask.

-- Bemused (and_amazed@you.people), April 18, 2001.

I'm going to print this off, frame it, and hang it on my office wall.

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), April 18, 2001.

I'm going to print this off, frame it, and hang it on my office wall.

Don't bother. It's too much work.

-- (catching@some.zzz), April 18, 2001.

"Don't bother. It's too much work."

OK. That cracked me up bigtime!!!!

I appreciate it.....

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), April 18, 2001.

Although I love playing sports, especially soccer and basketball, I can't stand the repetitive stuff, like jogging. I've learned how to do stairs at home, though -- or the stairmaster at the "Y" -- mostly in the winter -- but it HAS to be with something to read, or I'll go nuts.

Anyway, it's really nice to know this. I'm reminded of an acquaintance who hated to exercise -- he used to love to say -- especially right in the face of an enthusiast -- "Well, ya know, I used to jog, but I quit -- ah, I just got tired of the windblown ashes from my cigar smearin' up my sweatsuit..."

I'll leave y'all with another quote, from an author whose name escapes me at the moment...and, hey -- I think I see a new slogan...

"Every time I get the urge to exercise, I lie down until it passes."

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), April 18, 2001.

Cool!,sinse it's my day off I think I'll practice my 12 oz curls.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), April 18, 2001.

capn

Now I'm jealous.........

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), April 18, 2001.

I was a REALLY lazy mother. My kids have been making their own sandwiches since they were two years old. I re-arranged the whole kitchen so the poisons were above the stove, put away all the glass dishes and replaced them with melmac or plastic, and each kid had his or her name on ther plate/glass. I'd fill the sink with soapy water each morning and fill a plastic pitcher with milk and put it in the frig. The peanut butter and jelly jars were low enough for them to reach, as were the bread and jelly knives.

Heh. They made their sandwiches on the lid of the garbage can. I maybe needed to take a swipe or two at that lid once/day, but not much more. I may have even needed to take a swipe or two at a little blotch of spilled milk on the floor, but not much more. They knew I wouldn't wash their dishes, so they were always washed and rinsed and in the rack. [Young children LOVE to wash dishes.] The rest of the time we had fun. Um...I forgot that they started cleaning their own rooms about the time they were two also. There's nothing funnier than a neat line of used tissues on a dresser.

On a trip to Europe in 1995, where we visited 10 countries in about a month, the kids and I were laying back on the grass when SO said, "Let's go to the Louve [which doesn't look spelled right.]" One of the kids said, "Do we have to keep going and going and going like the Energizer Bunny?" I said, "Not in my opinion. I'm quite content to just lay here for a while." We met up with SO later [somewhere outside the museum, which STILL had a waiting line a block long].

SOMETIMES stress is good, but sometimes it's a killer. I suppose it's up to each individual to identify when one needs stress as a motivator and when one needs to accept "laziness" as a relaxor.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), April 18, 2001.

Eve, I recall that quote about the urge to exercise, being a favorite of Carleton Fredericks.

Anita, good for you! ... I think the spelling is "Louvre," but I may be missing an apostrophe and an accent or two. Did you by chance visit the Champs Eleeyayzeeyay (phonetic spelling courtesy of Bugs Bunny).

On a more serious note, I wonder if the above study took into consideration that people with "Type A" personality (which has been characterized as a health risk factor) might tend to gravitate to vigorous exercise. Not that I have a quarrel with the conclusion!

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), April 18, 2001.