and they lead us to the conclusion that a negative attitude can be debilitating for your health. It is very clear that laughter and humor at the very least influence both our physical and psychological well-being and humor can influence health outcomes.
In light of this, one has to wonder what the physical changes are the body goes through during laughter, and there have been several studies that explain this further. Some studies equate laughter as being equivalent to a form of aerobic exercise because laughter actually stimulates the heart and blood circulation, however, unlike exercise; laughter may actually lead to the relaxation of muscles with this post laughter period lasting up to 45 minutes.
Laughter may also lead to a change in the respiratory function because laughter causes us to have episodes of sporadic deep breathing.
Bennett (2008) found that all emotions, regardless of what they are, lead to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system finding that humor helped to buffer some of the negative aspects of the sympathetic activation on one's blood pressure.
In light of all this information, it may be time to take laughter a bit more seriously. Laughter and humor have many positive effects that help us feel better.
Laughter can have some amazing benefits helping you free up space in your mind to put towards greater productivity and even creativity.
It's hard to have a creative thought when you are stressed or angry. In many ways, laughter helps us remember that life is supposed to be enjoyed, not merely tolerated. So many of us are dragging through our days dreading every moment, that it is no wonder we have so many health problems.
Employers may actually get more out of their employees if they cut them a little slack and allowed them to have a good laugh every now and then. Abraham Lincoln actually said that:
In this instance, laughter may have even saved a country because Abraham Lincoln knew that he needed to give himself a break every now and then in order to be the best that he could be. Scientifically, laughter has been shown to increase muscle flexion and even boost the immune function. Laughter has even been equated to internal jogging, with just as many benefits.
It is quite obvious that a healthy worker is more productive than a sick worker or a depressed worker. What about laughter's effects on things like teamwork? Laughter can promote bonding, which helps teams work better together. Laughter can take the pressure off of tense situations, helping people cope better. Laughter can encourage creative thinking and out of the box thinking, because it allows people to think in a different way. Brainstorming sessions would probably go much better with a little laughter thrown in because laughter helps clear the mind clutter.
Laughter can be the perfect antidote for our problems and help us achieve bigger and better things.
Now if this doesn't give you the incentive to laugh more, I don't know what would. Laughter can help you in more ways than one, and you may just find yourself laughing all the way to the bank! A great joke or funny antidote can boost our creativity, encourage conversation and even build a more trusting environment. When you get stuck in your thoughts or stuck in your mind, laughter can help you shift your energy and your focus.
Laughter gets the kinks out and helps you think more clearly. Creative inspiration doesn't usually occur when one focuses intensely on the problem at hand; it is more likely to occur the moment one takes their eye off the ball. Sometimes, our best ideas occur to us the moment we stop thinking so hard about something. There is a reason your best ideas come from the shower and the reason is that you distracted your mind enough to allow your creative mind to solve the problem.
There have many writers and inventors who claim that they write from a part of their mind that they are not necessarily aware of. They speak of the creative process like it flows from another universe or another state of mind. Einstein received his greatest inspirations through something he called the Super Conscious Mind or the Universal Mind. If Einstein admittedly stated that he accessed a part of his mind and tapped into the creative process by distracting himself, think of all the miracles and innovations that are yet to occur from tapping into something as simple as laughter!
If everyone is universally connected, imagine how much healing could occur through something like shared laughter?
Laughter is fun and laughter makes us feel better. Laughter is a psychological phenomenon in many ways and researchers have barely begun to tap into its powers. In many ways laughter is nature’s tranquilizer and natural pain reliever. Think of all the hundreds of dollars that people spend on medication and prescriptions and think of all the money we could save if all just took a little time to laugh more!
What is laughter anyway and why do we find the need to engage in it? Laughter helps us release our emotions in some sense because our emotions can tangled up inside of us causing our energy to feel jumbled. There are also many reasons why we laugh. We obviously laugh from humor but we also laugh when we are excited, nervous or happy. We may laugh just because someone else is laughing as well.
Laughter obviously causes us to release endorphins, which in turn helps us relieve pain naturally. Laughter also increases the amount of T cells, which in turn attack viruses, foreign cells, cancer cells and gamma interferon, which is a protein that helps fight disease. Laughter can also increase our B-cells, which create disease destroying antibodies. Our stress hormones are reduced when we laugh and this can help us in many ways as well. When we are happier, we are often healthier so the more we laugh, the happier we are and the healthier we feel!
Laughing exercises our cardiovascular system and helps us lower our blood pressure and increase our heart rate. It most likely also causes us to improve the coordination of our brain functions, which helps us increase our memory and alertness.
Laughter may actually be one of the most powerful medicines we have because it helps us activate our own unique system of healing. Laughter is a very powerful force and it can help us in many ways. Incorporating daily laughter sessions may be the perfect way to unwind every day. Perhaps instead of coming home and having a drink, one could come home and just have a laugh!
Laughter may just be the medicine of the future and it is probably more powerful than the strongest dose of morphine one could acquire. Laughter has many benefits, but it is not taken seriously or used enough. People who laugh more are just happier people. People who spend their time focused on everything that is going wrong, instead of everything that is going right definitely have a harder time in life.
Laughter helps remind us that life is supposed to a fun and fascinating journey, not a torture chamber. In many ways, laughter helps us be the best that we can be. It helps us be true to ourselves. It helps us remember those things that make us smile. It allows us to release our inner child and remember how much fun it to play and dance and sing. Laughter is like a giant relief valve, helping us deal with the difficulties in life.
Laughter
