Laughter Therapy?
“Laughter is the best medicine” is a saying that has been around a long time.
Is that really true?
Turns out there are plenty of good things happening when you laugh!
Not only do you feel good emotionally, but laughing is a stress buster, can boost your immune system as well as provide other health benefits.
Sounds like a fun way to keep the reset, refresh, and re-connecting happening, don’t you think?
How’s it work?
When you laugh, you intensify your inhalation of oxygen, which provides relaxation to your muscles, as well as stimulates your heart and your lungs.
And, laughter promotes the release of endorphins, giving you a very nice feel-good feeling.
Pain Management:
Endorphins are also responsible for increasing the body’s natural pain relievers, which is how Norman Cousins, the author of “Anatomy of an Illness” came to use it as his “medicine.”
Norman Cousins is famous for his use of laughter to help with his own pain with a debilitating disease back in the 1960s.
Stress Reducer:
When you are laughing, it’s really hard to feel angry, stressed, worried, and or fearful. It naturally takes the stress away.
Muscle Relaxant:
When you stop laughing, you feel relaxed, your body may feel limp-depending on how much you laughed-and all is well in the world at the moment! There’s a definite release of tension from a good laugh.
Immune system booster:
And, with all the benefits of the endorphins and relaxation of your body, your body is functioning better. When it’s functioning better, it has a much better chance of activating infection-fighting cells. And, with the oxygen-rich blood being circulated around from the intensity of the inhalation, it works to promote healthy cellular growth.
Now, all that adds up to a pretty good reason to add laughter to your toolbox for stress and anxiety relief and for getting a refreshed mindset, don’t you think?
Here are some ways to intentionally add laughter into your life:
Watch funny movies, videos, YouTubes, TV shows, etc.
There are so many ways to watch something funny these days. Take advantage of these and give yourself some laughing time! So much better than any scary crime show that gets your heart racing, your blood pressure elevated and promotes tension in your body!
I love watching funny cat and dog videos on YouTube-yes, I let the cat out of the bag on this one!
Read something funny!
Look for comedy in the reading section of your online or in-person store. Change it up from the more serious novels or information-filled books.
I find some of the comics in our daily newspaper give me a few chuckles!
Play with a furry child/friend!
Animals are great entertainment and can really make you laugh at their antics. Even if you don’t have a furry pet, you can play with a friend or watch them in your local dog park.
Find a laughter yoga class to attend virtually
Laughter yoga is amazing. It teaches you how to laugh for no reason and once you get started, you just keep going. There are many exercises to help you get into the groove of laughing. It feels awkward on the first try, but if you give yourself permission to “play along,” you will reap tons of benefits.
This is a fun video to watch yoga laughter in action:
I was laughing just watching without even doing the exercises! ?
Now that you know the benefits of laughter as a “tool” for your toolbox, I’m sure you can find many other ways to consciously bring more laughter into your life.
I was laughing just watching without even doing the exercises! ?
Now that you know the benefits of laughter as a “tool” for your toolbox, I’m sure you can find many other ways to consciously bring more laughter into your life.
Make it a mission to laugh a lot as well as find the humor in your life.
Not only is it good for your heart, your soul, and your health, its benefits are bound to reach out and contribute to the health and well-being of others as well.
“The person who has a sense of humor is not just more relaxed in the face of a potentially stressful situation, but is more flexible in his approach.”
John Morreall
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