Laughter Therapy for Your Better Health
We all love to laugh, it’s one of the things that makes life so enjoyable.
As the saying goes, “laughter is good medicine”. It’s no lie, laughter therapy is a natural therapy for the mind & body. When we experience laughter, it literally helps our body function right and helps us heal physically and emotionally.
When we let ourselves loosen up & be free to find the humor in a situation, our body changes in many ways. It activates the soothing “feel good” centers of our brain that produce serotonin and dopamine; and our moods begin to improve.
As the body follows the mind; it begins to strengthen the immune system, our vital organs, and acts as a natural tranquilizer to pain (both physical and emotional). This is our natural state, it’s the way we our supposed to function.
When we were kids, this came naturally to us. Somewhere along the way, we begin to lose our joy; as life piles on layers of stress, disappointments, and heartbreaks. These are all less than perfect experiences, and they all have an effect on us.
We do ourselves a great favor when we get into the habit of seeing the humorous side of things again, light back into our lives, and bringing us back to our “emotional roots”.
Being in a light hearted, playful mood will completely renew our life and help you gain a fresh outlook. As well as strengthen relationships with others, and our overall health. It’s about the closest thing to the fountain of youth that exists.
Even the Cancer Treatment Centers of America are endorsing laughter therapy, and are using it as an important part of their treatment with patients. Here’s what they had to say about it.
What is laughter therapy?
We were born with the gift of laughter. Laughter is a natural medicine. It lifts our spirits and makes us feel happy. Laughter is a contagious emotion. It can bring people together. It can help us feel more alive and empowered.
Laughter therapy, also called humor therapy, is the use of humor to promote overall health and wellness. It aims to use the natural physiological process of laughter to help relieve physical or emotional stresses or discomfort.
Credit: CancerCenter.com
The Many Uses of Laughter Therapy
Laughter is the Cure All of Conflict
Laughter is a universal way of resolving our differences with others, and letting by-gones be by-gones. Both with ouself, and the people that are closest to us in our lives.
Think about it, when we have a fight with a family member or significant other, doesn’t the dispute usually end when we decide to share a laugh about the situation instead? Forgiveness usually comes shortly after. Even enemies become friends when they find a common connection to laugh about.
We’ve can all recall times where we have been hard on ourselves as well. Finding the bright side in things or the funny side helps us lighten our spirits instantly. The best part is, a smile and a laugh doesn’t cost a thing. It’s 100% free. And it really is “good medicine”.
7 Amazing Effects of Laughter On our Body
According to: HelpGuide.org
Laughter is good for your health
Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
Laughter burns calories. OK, so it’s no replacement for going to the gym, but one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn about 40 calories—which could be enough to lose three or four pounds over the course of a year.
Laughter lightens anger’s heavy load. Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster than a shared laugh. Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.
Laughter may even help you to live longer. A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don’t laugh as much. The difference was particularly notable for those battling cancer.
Physical health benefits of laughter
- Boosts immunity
- Lowers stress hormones
- Decreases pain
- Relaxes your muscles
- Prevents heart disease
Mental health benefits of laughter
- Adds joy and zest to life
- Eases anxiety and tension
- Relieves stress
- Improves mood
- Strengthens resilience
Social benefits of laughter
- Strengthens relationships
- Attracts others to us
- Ehances teamwork
- Helps defuse conflict
- Promotes group bonding
Credit: www.helpguide.org
Laughing Soothes & Renews the Body, Mind, and Spirit
The fastest way to pull ourselves out of a foul mood is to take a more light hearted approach, and switch to a state of humor. It’s fun, it’s playful, and the feeling can stay with you for the rest of the day if you let it.
Laughter and humor is what keeps our spirits up and our attitude shining bright whe going through difficult times. It brings us back to that same level of happiness we had as children; breathing new life into us, and lifting the “weight of the world” off our shoulders. That’s the power of laughter therapy.
It’s how we can add more years to our life, and more life to our years. This is why it’s so important for us to remember to laugh more to improve the quality (and the quantity) of our life.
Laughter Is a Spirit
can you remember any time when you found yourself laughing uncontrollably, just because a friend was laughing first?
Often times we do this when we are kids, and can’t remember what we started laughing about in the first place. This happens because the other person pulls us into a state of humor and playfulness that they are in.
We don’t even have to say anything to each other. When one person laughs, we both feel it, and can’t help ourselves but to engage in the silliness. Engaging in laughter helps us build strong connections with people.
The Effects of Humor on Emotional Health
It Breaks the Chains of Stress & Anxiety
Laughing is a natural pain reliever, it is literally impossible to feel sadness, anger, hatred, or any other negative emotion at the same moment of laughter. We may return to those negative feelings shortly after, but that is up to us whether we do or not. Personally, why go back to being unhappy when you already have a good thing going?
It Revitalizes Us
As previously mentioned, humor breathes new life into us and brings us to the lighter, more enjoyable side of our nature. Allowing us to regain our physical, and mental energy back.
We Become a Whole New Person
Just as soon as we can forget our problems, and let our cares fall by the wayside. Much of the pressure is taken off of us, if not all of it. We take on a whole new form of ourselves.
Even the physical differences can be noticed on our faces. We literally look younger, as if years of stress have been taken off of us; when we choose to smile and take a sunnier disposition.
Builds Strong Bonds with People
Being in good spirits helps us build strong connections with the people all around us. From the people closest in our lives that we love, to the person you just met at the coffee shop, to the complete stranger.
Love and laughter are the common bond we all share with each other. It’s what makes us human. When you invite more sunshine into your life, you will feel more caring, more loving & generous, and more confident too. And you can’t help but share the feeling with others.
Why Not Be Happy?
This is the stuff that makes life worth living, and it costs nothing to have. It’s more a matter of choice. Just remember, everyone has plenty of reasons to be unhappy.
The flip side is that we all have things to be happy about too. It’s all in what we decide we are going to focus our attention on. What we choose to dwell on, dictates how we feel.
Because it takes just as much energy to be happy as it does to be unhappy; in fact it takes much less energy to be happy. Which is why, if we are going to give attention to our shortcomings; we should at least be fair enough to ourselves, and find something to be grateful and happy about too.
Laughter in Relationships
When couples who have been together for decades are asked what the key is to their long lasting relationship, often, the answers we hear boils down to a handful of common responses.
One of the top answers is that they make each other laugh. Playfulness is something that builds long term bonds with one another. Just about any healthy relationship creates their own form of laughter therapy to help one another.
It is an important part of anyone’s relationship. It’s how relationships of all types withstand the test of time. It helps bring fast forgiveness, so resentment never grows.
During trying times, you’ve got to be able to crack a smile, and find something to laugh about. And then help the other person do the same by sharing your happiness. When we build these bonds really strong, virtually nothing can break them.
Here are just a few (of many) Reasons, laughter works wonders in relationships:
Living in The Moment: having a sense of humor about things allows us to be present, and enjoy the moment with one another.
Allows Us to Be Vulnerable: Only in moments when we let our guard down, are we able to truly connect. Doing so with laughter is one of the greatest ways.
Able to Be Our Self: When we partake in playfulness, we are able to forget ourselves and not take ourselves too seriously. This is when we let our true light shine through and expose the very best in ourselves.
It’s a Healthy Outlet: Allowing ourselves to be playful and emotionally honest (in a good-natured sort of way), is a perfect way to express ourselves without spreading resentment. When one of us feels comfortable being ourselves, it helps the other person express their true feelings as well in a healthy way; allowing the 2 of you to discover new things about one another that you may not have known previously.
You Only Live Once
So why not laugh more? when many people reach the latter years of their life, they often come to the realization that it’s not the things they did wrong or the mistakes that they’ve made; but the things that they did not do, that they regret.
Studies show that as adults, we only laugh & smile a fraction of the amount as a child does in a given day. We could all use a little laughter therapy in our lives. As the old saying goes: “don’t take yourself so seriously, you’ll never make it out alive”.
Very true; that’s why it’s important to enjoy the ups as well as the downs. It’s all part of the experience we call life. So live more, laugh more, & love one another (& ourselves) more, and enjoy the ride on this “merry-go-round” of life. We only get this one ride.
