LAUGHTER – we all need more of it.
Sonia Jones ND
Our general attitude to life will have a direct effect on every cell in our body. It will have a direct effect on every aspect of our lives. Making laughter a bigger part of your life and trying to make other people around you laugh is healthy. Laughter is a true gift and there is no other living creature on this earth that is so lucky, even the laughing hyena really doesn’t laugh.
Research reveals that laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline. All of these hormones when they reach chronic levels are destructive and will increase pain, anxiety, irritability, interfere with our quality of sleep, speed up ageing and slow down healing and repair. For others this can mean binging and/or comfort eating. At the same time laughter will increase levels of health-enhancing hormones like endorphins and neurotransmitters (happy chemicals). This means generally – you will feel better, have less pain, be in a much better mood, speed up healing and repair, sleep better, maintain better blood sugar levels and slow down aging.
Laughter increases the number of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T-cells. All this means a stronger immune system, which is a really pleasant way of protecting yourself from the viruses and ‘bugs’ that are around us all the time. We have all heard and used the expression “didn’t know whether to laugh or cry”? Though, they both provide physical and emotional release its more fun to laugh. A good ‘belly laugh’ exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward. This means less aches and pains in the neck and shoulder areas that are so common today. It even provides a good workout for the heart – known as a ‘hearty laugh’.
We stretch muscles in our face and body, our pulse goes up, we breathe more deeply, our heart rate goes up therefore increasing our oxygen supply to every part of our body. It is like a very pleasant mild workout. The research reveals that while watching a comedy blood vessels expand and contract normally with ease, however while watching a drama blood vessels constrict, hindering blood flow. Laughter has a positive effect on our blood sugar levels, too.
Laughter connects us with others, it is a very sociable thing to do and it’s wonderfully contagious. We are 30 times more likely to laugh if we are with other people.
Laughter moves the focus away from anger, worry, guilt, stress and negative emotions. Studies show – our response to stressful events can be altered by whether we view something as a ‘threat’ or a ‘challenge’. Humour can give us a more light hearted perspective and help us view events as ‘challenges’, thereby making them less threatening so we are able to deal with them more effectively. I wonder how and why we lose the ability to laugh so much? A recent study showed that pre-school-aged children laugh up to 400 times a day!!!! That is enviable wouldn’t you love some of that? How many times a day do you laugh now you are a sensible ‘grown-up’?