When you witness a jolly man laughing, a real hearty laugh, hands on belly, red faced with tears in his eyes. It brings a smile to your face, or even a laugh, and you may not notice it at the time, but this smile has completely changed your outlook on life, atleast for a little while. Maybe it made it so that the pile of homework awaiting you at home didn't seem so intimidating. Or, maybe it made you forget the unwanted day's work ahead of you. No matter the situation, the benefits of laughter are more than what meets the eye.
Laughter has many far-reaching benefits. It can improve all areas of your life; the physical, the mental, and the social areas of your life can all benefit from a healthy dose of humor.
"I believe that if people can get more laughter in their lives, they are a lot better off," says Steve Wilson, MA, CSP, a psychologist and laugh therapist. "They might be healthier too."
Laughter is great for the body, a good belly laugh relieves tension and stress from your muscles, leaving them relaxed for up to 45 minutes. It boosts your immune system by decreasing stress horomones and increasing infection-fighting antibodies. Laughter even protects your heart; it improves the function of you blood cells and blood flow, which can decreases your risk of a heart attack
Laughing makes you feel good! That feeling that you get after getting your jollies off sticks with you. It gives you a different perspective so that you can look at situations more realistically, because humor creates a pychological distance between you and the situation making you feel less overwhelmed.
Humor melts away upsetting emotions. It's hard to feel angry, anxious, or sad when you have a genuine grin on your face.
Laughter is contagious, it's true! Just hearing other people laughing can bring a smile to your face; that's because we are naturally attracted to positive emotions. Group laughter is one of the best tools to strengthen relationships and build group, or one-on-one, bonding. And it can unite people in times of difficulty, after all, laughing with others is more powerful than laughing alone.
The gift of laughter is something that you are born with, it is an innate part of life. Babies begin smiling in the first month of life and are able to laugh out loud well within the first year. Even if you don't consider yourself a naturally funny person, it's not too late, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.
The best way to learn how to laugh is to smile as often as possible; a smile is the beginning of laughter. Start by not taking yourself too seriously, laugh at the things in life that would ordinarily stress you out, then see how big of a deal they seem.
Some things in life are sad, and clearly no laughing matter, but truth is most events in life fall into a sort of gray zone that makes up your daily life-giving you the choice to laugh, or not.
At A Glance:
Benefits of Laughter:
Physical Health Benefits:
- Boosts immunity
- Lowers stress hormones
- Decreases pain
- Relaxes your muscles
- Prevents heart disease
- Adds joy and zest to life
- Eases anxiety and fear
- Relieves stress
- Improves mood
- Enhances resilience
- Strengthens relationships
- Attracts others to us
- Enhances teamwork
- Helps defuse conflict
- Promotes group bonding
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