Beating Depression with Laughter

By Dexter Yarbrough. Laughter can reduce depression? Absolutely. The importance of laughter in our lives can help us to be happy and calm. Does this make any sense to you? It does to me. But is there any evidence that this is true? Yes. Not according to me but from Italian researchers as well as those at the Mayo Clinic.

Laughter is known to increase the levels of endorphins and stimulate the left frontal lobe of the brain. This is where happy thoughts and feelings are created. According to Italian researchers studying clinical depression at the Sapienza University of Rome, laughter can improve mood directly and can lessen the negative effects of stressful events on a persons' psychological well-being.

The Italian researchers referred to previous evidence that reduction of laughter frequency is a symptom of depression and that an increase in the frequency of laughter could be used as a marker of clinical improvement.

The researchers also mentioned that the positive effects of laughter on social relationships and physical health may have a role in influencing the ability of depressed patients to face their condition.

Undoubtedly, most of us know that laughter is the best medicine and it would appear that this is true concerning depression. A good, deep laugh on a regular basis does wonders for our mood.

According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, there are short-term and long-term benefits of laughter.

In the short-term, laughter can:

• Soothe tension.
• Stimulate your heart, lungs and muscles, thus increasing the endorphins that are released by your brain.
• Activate your heart rate and blood pressure while cooling down and relieving your stress responses.

In the long-term, laughter may:

• Increase personal satisfaction, making difficult situations a little easier.
• Ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural cures.
• Improve your immune system by fighting negative thoughts (which can cause stress) and allowing positive thoughts to release neuropeptides, which fight stress and potentially more serious illnesses.

The importance of laughter in our lives is undeniable. The more positive energy we get from laughter during the the day the less the negative energy caused by worry and depression will take over.

With all the negativity in the world, the importance of laughter should be obvious. Therefore, let's laugh loud, laugh often and chase worries and depression away!

So take time out and enjoy the short videos. They WILL have you laughing!!

Dexter Yarbrough - Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved.