Have you ever been in a bad mood and have someone try to make you laugh? I’m sure that you know, as I do, that you can’t be in a bad mood if you’re laughing.
Not only can laughter erase a bad mood but it also has a slew of other benefits. The University of Maryland Medical Center discovered that laughter can help:
• Reduce stress
• Lower blood pressure
• Elevate mood
• Boost the immune system
• Improve brain functioning, and
• Protect the heart [1]
In essence, any potential damage that can be caused by stress, depression, anger, or anxiety can be undone by laughter.
“The Doctor says, ‘You’ll live to be 60!’ ‘I AM 60!’ ‘See, what did I tell you?’”
—Henny Youngman
“If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving definitely isn’t for you.”
—Steven Wright
How many times do you laugh in a day? I mean really laugh…the laugh-from-the-belly-until-your-eyes-water-up kind of laugh.
Here are some suggestions for helping you experience a good laugh:
~Rent a movie that you know will make you laugh: It doesn’t have to be appropriate (as long as you’re watching it with others who share your sense of humor). My wife and I bust a gut while watching Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. This is a totally inappropriate movie (not for children), but Laurel and I often come close to peeing our pants while watching it.
~Buy your favorite comedian’s newest CD.
~Hang out with friends who make you chuckle.
~Read a funny book: If you don’t know which authors might be humorous, ask friends or the helpful clerk at Barnes and Nobel.
Better yet, how can you build a life around laughter? Try some of these ideas:
~Work on your sense of humor: You may not be the type that causes raucous laughter at the water cooler, but everyone can look for the humor in every situation. Those with good senses of humor look for what’s funny in the moment. Just be sure not to laugh at someone but with them.
~Lighten up: Being so serious can actually cause a heart attack (eventually). If you want to be happy and have a shot of living a long, healthy life, let the annoyances of life go. As the old adage goes, “Will this matter in a hundred years?” Learn to laugh at life’s vagaries.
~Be mischievous (to a point): Be quirky. Make stupid jokes. Play harmless pranks that make everyone (including the target of the joke) laugh.
~Seek out laughter: If you see people having a good time, join them.
~Make it a goal to belly laugh five times a day. If you haven’t almost wet your pants from laughter today, seek out an opportunity to do so. The search is well worth the effort!
Laugh to live, and live large!
Reference: www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm
Photo by: craigallyn