Reap The Benefits Of Hearty Laughter

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How many times do you laugh in a day? Research shows that a newborn baby laughs around 300 to 400 times a day. But a grown up hardly has time to have a hearty laugh these days. Grownups’ laughs are few and far between than children’s. As we grow we tend to get busy with our problems and issues. Stress tends to take over us.  As a result we have forgotten how to laugh from the bottom of our heart like a child.

Stress is one bad factor that controls all aspects of our life. It affects our physical and psychological health.  Stress creates all kinds of health problems such as high blood pressure, ulcers, heart disease, insomnia, depression, etc. It also affects our performance at work and at home.

Laughter is a great stress buster. Here is some of the stress relieving benefits obtained through laughter:

1. Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones such as epinephrine, adrenaline and cortisol.
2. It increases the level of health-enhancing hormones such as endorphins. It strengthens our immune system by increasing the release of anti-bodies in our system.
3. It leads to a physical and emotional release - many people cry at the end of a good laughter. There is a sense of freedom from bottled-up emotions. They experience a cleansed feeling after a hearty laugh.
4. It is a good internal workout – a good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, the abdominal muscles and the heart. You feel more relaxed afterwards.
5. It distracts your feelings away from anger, guilt, shame, etc. so that your focus is shifted from negative feelings to positive ones.

Laughter plays a vital role in a human being’s wellbeing. Laughter has the capacity to heal and make us feel healthier so that we feel refreshed and we regain our strength to carry on with our life. Some of the medical benefits of laughter are: Improved blood circulation, increase in the sense of wellbeing due to release of endorphins, which are in layman’s language called as ‘feel-good hormones’, increased immunity, pain relief, etc.

Now that you understand the positive effects of laughter why don’t you raise your laughter level with the following tactics?

1. Instead of watching serious movies on romance and war, you could watch truly hilarious movies on TV or go to funny movies and enjoy a belly-full of laughter with your family.
2. There are enough worries in life. Instead of focusing on them, try to laugh at them. Complain less and laugh more.
3. Studies show that faked laughter also has positive benefits on health. Fake laughter may lead to real smiles and laughter.