"Be sure to listen to some jokes, watch a few sitcoms and call me in the morning."
You won’t actually here that from your doctor any time soon, but it’s actually healthy advice. Don’t laugh – on second thought, laugh, because laughing is good for your health. Seriously!
Reader’s Digest magazine has featured a column called "Laughter, the Best Medicine," for years and recent studies have shown that laughter actually does improve your health. In fact, research at Loma Linda University in California recently confirmed that regularly laughing affects nearly all of our body systems in a positive way and that regular laughter can prolong our lives. Yep, laughing is a good thing not just because it feels good, but because it does good. It’s a fat-free, no worry, no work way to improve your health – and when’s the last time you heard that?
Here’s what laughter can do for you:
Lower your blood pressure.
Turns out laughing at your boss (discreetly, of course) isn’t just okay, it’s good for you. While we don’t recommend laughing at what he says during a meeting, allowing yourself a chuckle in private may keep your blood pressure down, which leads us to the next benefit...
Reducing Stress Hormones.
"If I hadn’t laughed, I would have cried," you may have heard someone say when describing a crisis. They’re probably right – high levels of stress hormones have to find an outlet – and it’s usually either laughter or tears. Crying is a draining experience, while laughter can lighten your mood, so if you aren’t sure which way to go in a crisis, let yourself laugh. Yes, even if others are going to look at you weird and point fingers (which may give you something else to laugh about) – laughing will lower your stress levels.
Boost your Immune System.
Sure, you can take vitamins, exercise and eat right…but there’s something a lot more fun and a lot less like a chore that you can do to improve your health – giggle...or guffaw...or snort...however you laugh, it will trigger a whole domino effect of immune-boosting mechanisms. A good laugh increases the production of T-cells, B-cells and gamma-inferon, which are complex terms for stuff that fights infection and disease. If only the rest of it were that easy. Face it, exercise is a chore and taking vitamins and eating right takes thought and planning. But laughing? It’s the healthiest thing you can do by accident! And guess what? Laughing even reduces food cravings – yes, it turns out you may actually be able to "laugh your ass off!"
What happens to your body when you laugh? Besides your face crinkling up, we mean. Well, your breathing deepens and your muscles tighten and release, relaxing tension in various parts of your body. Not as effective at relaxing the body as great sex or a massage, perhaps, but much more appropriate and convenient in almost any social situation. You just can’t let go and whole-heartedly laugh while your shoulders are hunched with tension and your teeth are clenched!
Remember when you got hurt as a kid and some well-meaning grandparent or coach told you, "Eh, you’ll be fine; just laugh it off." Turns out they were right. Laughter releases endorphins, natural pain killers produced by the body. Next time you take a spill, acknowledge that you probably looked like an incredible dork and laugh – it will take the edge off the pain, we promise.
One of the most extraordinary discoveries is the importance of laughter in relationships – turns out, the more a couple laughs together, the greater the contentment and mental health of the couple. Laughter bonds couples and dissipates anger, so the next time you and your significant other are squabbling, try a little laughter (with him or her, not at him or her, please) to diffuse the situation.
One Final Note – Laughter is Self-Perpetuating.
You know how yawns are contagious? So is laughter. You know how sometimes you can "get in the mood" with a bit of romancing? Even when you didn’t start out that way? Laughter works the same way. So LAUGH. Even if you’re in a crabby mood. Even if the day sucked. Turns out if you’re not a chirpy, chipper type, you can get better at laughing with practice – and it will rub off on those around you (God knows they probably need it). Pretty soon you’ll feel better and realize you’re laughing more – which means you’ll live longer. And since you’ll now be laughing more, most people won’t mind.
By L. Hilliard | VEESH Writer | JAN.15.08