Laughter is the best medicine - HelpGuide.org (2023)

Sharing a good laugh is fun, but did you know it can actually improve your health? Learn to enjoy the powerful benefits of laughter and humor.

The Benefits of Laughter.

It's true: laughter is a powerful medicine. It brings people together in a way that triggers healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter boosts the immune system, improves mood, reduces pain and protects you from the harmful effects of stress. Nothing brings the mind and body back into balance more quickly and reliably than a laugh. Humor eases your burdens, inspires hope, connects you with others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. It also helps you release anger and forgive sooner.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and often is a tremendous resource for overcoming problems, improving your relationships, and supporting physical and emotional health. Best of all, this priceless drug is fun, free and easy to use.

As children we laughed hundreds of times a day, but as adults life tends to be more serious and laughter less frequent. But by finding more opportunities for humor and laughter, you can improve your emotional health, strengthen your relationships, find more happiness, and even add years to your life.

Laughing is good for health.

Laughter relaxes the whole body.A good laugh relieves physical tension and stress and relaxes muscles for up to 45 minutes.

Laughter boosts the immune system.Laughter lowers stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins,natural feel-good chemicals in the body. Endorphins promote general well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart.Laughter improves blood vessel function and increases blood flow, which can protect you from heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.

Laughing burns calories.Granted, it's no substitute for the gym, but one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn around 40 calories, which could be enough to lose three to four pounds over the course of a year.

Laughter lightens the heavy burden of anger🇧🇷 Nothing drives away anger and conflict faster than laughing together. Looking on the funny side can put problems in perspective and allow you to deal with confrontations without harboring resentment or resentment.

Laughter can even help you live longer.A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlive those who don't laugh as much. The difference was especially clear for those battling cancer.

What are the physical, mental and social benefits of laughter?

physical health benefits

• Increases immunity
• Reduces stress hormones.
• reduces pain
• relax your muscles
• Prevents heart disease

Mental health benefits

• Bring joy and enthusiasm to life.
• Relieves anxiety and tension.
• relieve stress
• improves mood
• Strengthens resilience

social benefits

• Strengthens relationships
• It draws others to us.
• Improve teamwork
• Helps calm conflicts
• Promotes group unity.

Laughter helps you stay sane

Laughing is good. And that positive feeling stays with you even after you laugh. Humor helps maintain a positive and optimistic attitude in difficult situations, disappointments and losses.

[Read: Cultivating Happiness]

Laughter is more than a respite from sadness and pain, it gives you courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the hardest of times, a laugh or even a smile can make you feel better. And laughter really is contagious - just hearing laughter primes your brain and sets it up to smile and have a good time.

The link between laughter and mental health

Laughter interrupts stressful emotions.You shouldn't be scared, angry or sad when you're laughing.

Laughter helps to relax and recharge.It reduces stress and boosts energy so you can stay focused and achieve more.

Laughter changes perspective, allowing you to see situations more realistically and less threatening. A humorous perspective creates a psychological distance that can help you not feel overwhelmed and defuse conflict.

Laughter brings you closer to othersIt can have a profound effect on all aspects of your mental and emotional health.

Laughter brings people together and strengthens relationships.

There's a good reason TV sitcoms use laugh tracks: Laughter is contagious. You are much more likely to laugh with others than when you are alone. And the more laughter you bring into your own life, the happier you and those around you will feel.

Sharing the humor is half the fun; In fact, most laughs don't come from hearing jokes, but simply from spending time with friends and family. And it is this social aspect that plays such an important role in the health benefits of laughter. You can't laugh with others if you don't have time to really interact with them. When you care enough about someone to put the phone down and really connect face-to-face, you are participating in a process that rebalances the nervous system and lowers defensive stress responses such as "fight or flight." And when you laugh too, you both feel happier, more positive and more relaxed, even when you can't change a stressful situation.

How laughing together can strengthen relationships

Laughing together is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. Any emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationships, but sharing laughter also adds joy, vitality and resilience. And humor is a powerful and effective way to heal resentments, disagreements and hurt feelings. Laughter connects people in difficult times.

Humor and playful communication strengthen our relationships, triggering positive feelings and promoting emotional connection. When we laugh together, a positive bond is formed. This bond acts as a powerful buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointments. Humor and laughter in relationships allow you to:

Be more spontaneous.Humor takes you out of your head and problems.

Let go of the defensive.Laughter helps to forget resentments, judgments, criticisms and doubts.

release inhibitions.Your fear of holding back is put to rest.

Express your true feelings.Sincere emotions can surface.

Use humor to resolve disagreements and tensions in your relationship.

Laughter is a particularly effective way of managing conflict and relieving tension when emotions are running high. Whether it's with romantic partners, friends and family, or co-workers, you can learnUse humor to resolve disagreements, reduce everyone's stress levels, and communicate in a way that builds rather than destroys your relationships.

How to bring more laughter into your life

Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and innate. Babies start smiling within the first few weeks of life and laughing out loud a few months after birth. Even if you didn't grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.

Start by setting aside special moments for humor and laughter, just as you would with exercise, and build from there. Over time, you will want to incorporate humor and laughter into your life, and you will find it naturally in everything.

Here are some ways to get started:

Smile.A smile is the beginning of laughter and, like laughter, it is contagious. Whenever you look at someone or see something pleasant, practice smiling. Instead of looking at your phone, look up and smile at the people you meet on the street, the person who serves you coffee in the morning, or the co-workers you share an elevator with. Notice the effect on others.

you can be gratefulLiterally make a list. The simple act ofconsidering the positive aspectsof your life will keep you away from negative thoughts that block humor and laughter. When you are in a state of sadness, you must travel further to reach humor and laughter.

[Listen: Gratitude in Difficult Times]

If you hear a laugh, go for it.Sometimes the humor and laughter is private, a joke shared in a small group, but usually not. Most of the time, people are very happy to share something funny, because it gives them the opportunity to laugh again and feed off of contained humor. When you hear a laugh, look for it and ask, "What's funny?"

Spend time with fun and playful people.They are people who laugh easily, both at themselves and at the absurdities of life, and who tend to find humor in everyday events. Her playful outlook and laughs are infectious. Even if you don't consider yourself a cheerful and fun person, you can find people who love to laugh and make others laugh. Every comedian appreciates an audience.

Bring humor to conversations.Ask people, "What's the funniest thing that happened to you today?" This week? In your life?"

mock laugh

So what if you really can't "find the fun"? Believe it or not, it is possible to laugh without experiencing a funny event, and simulated laughter can be just as beneficial as real laughter. It can even make workouts more fun and productive. A Georgia State University study found that incorporating simulated laughter into an exercise program helped improve older adults' mental health as well as their aerobic endurance. Hearing other people laughing, even for no apparent reason, can often trigger real laughter.

To add simulated laughter to your own life, look into yoga groups or laughter therapy. Or you can start by just laughing at other people's jokes, even if you don't find them funny. You and the other person will feel good, it will bring you closer and, who knows, even spontaneous laughter.

create opportunities to laugh

• Watch a funny movie, TV show or YouTube video.
• Invite your friends or colleagues to a comedy club.
• Read the funny pages.
• Find fun people.
• Share a good joke or a funny story.
• Check with your bookstore's humor department.
• Host a game night with friends.
• Play with a pet.
• Go to a "Laughter Yoga" class.
• Play with the children.
• do something stupid
• Make time for fun activities (eg bowling, miniature golf, karaoke).

Tips for developing your sense of humor

A key part of developing your sense of humor is learning not to take yourself too seriously and to laugh at your own flaws and weaknesses. As much as we'd like to believe otherwise, we all do stupid things from time to time. Instead of feeling embarrassed or defensive, accept your imperfections. While some life events are clearly sad and lack the opportunity to laugh, most don't carry an overwhelming sense of sadness or sadness.ÖPleasure. They fall into the gray area of ​​everyday life and give you the option to laugh or not. So laugh whenever you can.

How to develop your sense of humor

Laugh at yourself.Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take yourself less seriously is to talk about the times you've taken on.AlsoYes really.

Try to laugh at situations instead of regretting them.Find humor in a bad situation and discover the irony and absurdity of life. When something negative happens, try to turn it into a funny anecdote that will make others laugh.

Surround yourself with memories to relax.Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put a fun sign in your office. Choose a screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun.

Remember the funny things that happen.If something funny happens or you hear a joke or funny anecdote that you really like, write it down or tell someone to help you remember.

Don't focus on the negative.Try to avoid negative people and don't get caught up in news, entertainment, or conversations that make you sad or unhappy. Many things in life are beyond your control, especially other people's behavior. While you may find it admirable to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, doing so is unrealistic and harmful in the long run.

Find your inner child.Beware of children and try to imitate them; After all, they are experts at playing games, taking life lightly and laughing at ordinary things.

To deal with stress.Stress can be a huge drag on humor and laughter, so getting your stress levels under control is important. A great technique for reliefStress in the MomentIt means going back to a favorite memory that always makes you smile, like something your kids did or something funny a friend said to you.

Don't go a day without laughing.Think of it as exercise or breakfast and make a conscious effort to find something that makes you laugh every day. Take 10-15 minutes and do something you enjoy. The more you get used to laughing every day, the less effort you will have to put in.

Use humor to overcome challenges and improve your life

The ability to laugh, joke, and have fun not only makes life more enjoyable, it also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and think more creatively. People who incorporate humor and fun into their daily lives find that it rejuvenates them and all of their relationships.

Life brings challenges that can either bring out the best in you or become the playthings of your imagination. When you "become a problem" and take yourself too seriously, it can be difficult to think outside the box and come up with new solutions. But if you play with the problem, you can often turn it into a creative learning opportunity.

[Read: Conflict Management with Humor]

Playing with problems seems natural for children. When confused or afraid, they play their problems in a game, giving them a sense of control and an opportunity to experiment with new solutions. Playing with others will help you maintain this creative ability.

Here are two examples of people who took everyday problems and transformed them through laughter and play:

• Roy, a semi-retired businessman, was delighted to finally have time to play his favorite sport, golf. But the more he played, the less fun he had. Though his game had improved dramatically, he resented every mistake. Roy wisely recognized that his golf friends were influencing his attitude, so he stopped playing with people who took the game too seriously. When playing with friends who were more focused on having fun than their score, he was less critical of himself. Now playing golf was as much fun as Roy had imagined. He scored better without working harder. And the better perspective he got from his peers and the game spilled over into other parts of his life.
• JaneShe worked from home designing greeting cards, a job she loved but now felt it had become routine. Next door lived two girls who liked to draw and paint. Finally, Jane invited the girls to play with all of her art supplies. At first he just watched, but over time he joined in. Laughing, coloring and playing with the girls changed Jane's life. This not only ended her loneliness and boredom, but also stimulated her imagination and allowed her art to flourish. Best of all, it rekindled the joy in Jane's relationship with her husband.

When laughter, humor and fun are integrated into your life, your creativity will flourish and you will have new opportunities to laugh with friends, colleagues, acquaintances and loved ones every day. Laughter takes you to a higher place where you can see the world from a more relaxed, positive, and joyful perspective.

Autores: Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith; e Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.

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Last updated: December 5, 2022