"Laughter is the best medicine" - Unknown

“Why are we often attracted to others with a good sense of humor? Because we seem to intuitively know that the ability to see the absurd, the ridiculous and the entertaining in the serious and trivial helps keep us mentally stable and healthy. Somehow the burdens of overwork, excess responsibility, and the grief of life can fall off our shoulders, as laughter lightens our hearts.” -Reverend Ed Hird

"You cannot feel depressed if you are laughing. You cannot get an ulcer while you are laughing. Laughter, even forced, can produce endorphins, and you become cheerful." -Unknown.

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” -Old Testament

Throughout the ages, laughter has been looked at as a way to help the body heal! Now studies confirm that they were right!

Laughter:

Reduces Pain by producing endorphins that act as a natural pain killer.

Strengthens immune function by increasing the production of t-cells, interferon, and immune proteins called globulins.

Decreases Stress by lowering the cortisol, dopamine, adrenaline, and growth hormone levels and returning the body to a more relaxed state. Our body produces those hormones when we are tense, working hard, worried, or afraid. These are released because of the body’s natural fight or flight instincts but in today’s modern culture there is usually no exercise following the burst of hormones which makes the body suffer.

Helps Protect the heart "We don't know yet why laughing protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels. This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack," says Michael Miller, M.D. (Director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.) So if you reduce stress then you keep your heart healthier!

Cardiac Exercise- A belly laugh is equivalent to "an internal jogging." Laughter can provide good cardiac conditioning especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercises.

Respiration- Frequent belly laughter empties your lungs of more air than it takes in resulting in a cleansing effect - similar to deep breathing. Especially beneficial for patient's who are suffering from emphysema and other respiratory ailments.

Diabetes - A study in Japan shows that laughter lowers blood sugar after a meal. -(Keiko Hayashi, Ph.D., R.N, of the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki) Scientists suggest that chemical messengers made during laughter may help the body compensate for the disease.(² WebMD 2003)

When we laugh, at first the heart rate increases as does our rate of breathing. After our laughter ceases, there is a period of relaxation, easing muscle tension and useful in breaking the muscle spasm in some neuralgias and rheumatism. It has been estimated that 100 good laughs are equivalent to 10 minutes of rowing. Dr. James Walsh, in his book Laughter & Health, described laughter as a massaging of all the organs within the body. Cumulative laughter throughout the day, says Dr. Fry, may be significantly greater than that of an average marathon. He describes laughter physiologically as an aerobic experience, an internal stationary jogging!

What are easy ways that I can bring laughter into my life without adding extra pressure? ( Following examples were found at http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/the-healing-power-of-humor/ )

“Humor up” your work environment.

Bring kids’ toys to work and keep them within reach. When you are stressed, take out a toy and play. That irate customer on the phone will have no idea that you are keeping your cool by playing with a Slinky. Place funny pictures of friends and loved ones around your office, including ones of you when you were a ridiculous-looking kid.

Create a humor file.

Fill it with funny cartoons, sayings and jokes, as you run across them. When things are looking particularly grim, refer to your file. You’ll get a good laugh and be able to put things back in perspective in no time.

Create sitcom situations.

When you find yourself in a nerve-wracking situation (such as locking your keys in the car), think of how Groucho or Lucy would handle it.

For recreation, do some of the things you did as a kid.

Go to the zoo, an amusement park, bowling or swinging — the sky’s the limit! You’ll find that these activities completely take you away from all of that “heavy” stuff. And the escape will do wonders for your attitude.

Exaggerate a stressful situation.

Take your situation and make it even bigger than it is. You might think this will cause more stress; however, blowing the problem up will allow you to see the absurdity of it, and afford you a great belly laugh.

Invite friends over for a “come as you are” party — and insist that they come as they are!

Host a slumber party.

You’re never too old! Have friends bring pillows and blankets, eat junk food, and stay up all night telling scary stories. Trust me, this will provide you with a new perspective — a hysterically funny one.

Babies have the ability to laugh before they ever speak. Children who are born blind and deaf still retain the ability to laugh. Even apes have a form of laughter. Laughter is primitive, an unconscious vocalization. So the next time you are sick or stressed, use the body’s natural form of healing and laugh!!!!