How Laughter Benefits Us

What makes one person laugh, is a very individual choice. Some people laugh at Seinfeld re-runs, others follow a daily comic strip and some people thrive on watching live stand up comedy. Whatever you choose to make you laugh, can help you cope with the day to day stresses of real life.

Laughter's Health Benefits

Laughing is no joke. Scientists for years have been studying the effects of laughter on our overall health. It has been found that those of us who are able to laugh on a regular basis enjoy better relationships, and more stable mental health. While laughter cannot be a cure for all of life's problems, it can at the very least distract us from them for awhile.

Short Term Benefits of Laughter

the physical and emotional short term impact of laughter and the effect it has on our minds and bodies continues to be studied by Scientists. Cancer patients in particular, h ave been shown to live longer even with terminal cancer, once daily doses of laughter are introduced into their lives.

When we first begin to laugh, our face changes expression, our facial muscles relax and the physical changes begin. In order to laugh we need to draw more air into our lungs, and this increased intake of air stimulates not only our lungs, but our hearts as well. Having this increase of oxygen loaded air in our bodies also benefits the muscles making them relax, especially when we fall into deep laughter. Aches and pains begin to fall away, and our bodies lose the fight or flight syndrome often associated with daily life.

People, who suffer from chronic pain, often find it easing at least temporarily after they have engaged in a good hearty laugh. When we laugh our stress response decreases, and often other effects such as improved digestion from being in a relaxed state can be noticed.

Why do we feel this new sense of wellness when we engage in short term laughter? Well simply put, laughter releases endorphins in the brain that send a signal to our physical bodies, that all is well. A similar effect can be gained from eating chocolate, but laughter is free without the calories!

Long Term Benefits of Laughter

for people who engage in long term bouts of laughter on a daily or weekly basis, the positive effects can be fantastic. Those able to laugh often find they have an improved immune system, and are less susceptible to common colds and other minor ailments.

Laughter has also been shown to help reduce physical pain. the release of neuropeptides into the blood stream when we laugh, are believed to act as a natural pain killer, and in some hospitals there are laugh yourself to wellness programs, that have been shown to help extremely ill patients.

Developing Your Sense of Humor

Many of us in our fast paced society often do not find much to laugh at. Developing our own personal sense of humor can help us increase both our physical and mental health, and make us nicer people to be around.

One thing I always do, is when I find a good humorous quote or a short funny story on the Internet, is to forward it to Internet friends who in return do the same for me. Develop your own friend laughter network; you'll be amazed at the results!