Do you laugh enough?
Did you know that laughing has been proven to help your health?
“When we laugh, natural killer cells which destroy tumours and viruses increase, along with Gamma-interferon (a disease-fighting protein), T-cells (important for our immune system) and B-cells (which make disease-fighting antibodies). As well as lowering blood pressure, laughter increases oxygen in the blood, which also encourages healing.â€? “Science of Laughterâ€? Discovery Health Website
“Without humor one’s thought processes are likely to become stuck and narrowly focused leading to increased distress.â€? Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor
and my favorite quote by far: “By the time a child reaches nursery school, he or she will laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh an average of 17 times a day.� “Science of Laughter� Discovery Health
Laughter lowers blood pressure - if you laugh regularly, your standing blood pressure will be lower than the average person. Initially with a laugh, your BP may rise, but then it will decrease to lower than normal and your breathing will even become deeper sending extra oxygen and nutrients through our blood!
Humor changes our biochemical state - antibody levels are raised during laughter, attentiveness, heart rates & pulses are also quickened!
Laughter gives our bodies a good workout - ever laughed so hard that your stomach hurt? You’re massaging your abdominal muscles, toning your intestinal functioning and using your diaphragm, respiratory system, facial, leg & back muscles. It has been estimated that a good laugh can buy the equivalent amount of calories as several minutes on an exercise bike or rowing machine!
Humor improves brain function and relieves stress - this is my favorite benefit of laughter! Laughter eases muscle tension & psychological stress keeping your brain more alert & ready to retain more information!
“Humor enhances our ability to affiliate or connect with others. Humor helps us replace distressing emotions with pleasurable feelings. You cannot feel angry, depressed, anxious, guilty, or resentful and experience humor at the same time. Lacking humor will cause one’s thought processes to stagnate leading to increased distress. Humor changes behavior – when we experience humor we talk more, make more eye contact with others, touch others. Humor increases energy, and with increased energy we may perform activities that we might otherwise avoid. Finally, humor is good for mental health because it makes us feel good!”
Humor & Laughter: Health Benefits
humor, stress, laughter, Discovery Health, Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor
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