To Laugh Or Not To Laugh … Isn’t In Question
By Troy Rampy, Editor, The Wellness Blog™
“Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.” — Norman Cousins
Okay, so I have a tendency towards melancholy. Nothing clinical, mind you, just a wee bit on the serious side. My brother, on the other hand, loves to laugh … and play … and have fun. My children, too: they’re big into laughter.
And as it turns out, they’re all doing a lot more for themselves than simply having a good time. According to a recent study by doctors at Loma Linda University, laughter therapy reduced cholesterol levels and lowered inflammation in a group of diabetics with high blood pressure. (”Laughter Therapy”? I know, it sounds like an oxymoron. But bear with me.)
In a 2005 study at the University of Maryland’s Center for Preventive Cardiology, researchers also found that laughing reduces stress and improves heart functioning. Center director Michael Miller M.D. emphatically states, “We know that exercising, not smoking and eating foods low in saturated fat will reduce the risk of heart disease. Perhaps regular, hearty laughter should be added to the list.” It appears that laughter may indeed be the best medicine after all.
Norman Cousins, former editor of The Saturday Review turned wellness advocate, used laughter for his own healing. After being diagnosed with a life threatening illness, Cousins questioned the advice of Western allopathic medicine and instead developed his own recovery program incorporating megadoses of Vitamin C, together with a positive attitude, love, hope, faith, and especially laughter.
“He says he literally laughed himself back to health,” says health writer Cindie Leonard. “He immersed himself in only funny movies and television shows. He enjoyed every one of the Charlie Chaplin movies, and watched ‘Candid Camera’ episodes until his sides hurt, laughing. His illness disappeared. From this experience, he wrote an enlightening book, Anatomy of an Illness.”
What we already knew about laughter is that it’s free, readily available, and that it has no harmful side effects. But what we’re now learning is very exciting: laughter apparently alters our brain chemistry in positive ways, it reduces harmful stress hormones, cholesterol and depression, and it improves respiratory, circulatory and immune functions. Besides all that, it just flat out makes us feel better!
As renowned Harvard psychologist William James said nearly 100 years ago, “We don’t laugh because we’re happy — we’re happy because we laugh.” In other words, our habits — what we do on a regular basis — affect how we feel. While we all can relate to laughter, for some of us it’s a habit we can learn more about, or rather re-learn as adults. Especially now during the holidaze.
You can start today to incorporate laughter as a bigger part of your life. Here are a few simple things to do, suggested by laughter therapist Enda Junkins, LCSW.
- Wear a smile. It puts you closer to laughing. It also improves your attitude and outlook. (Try it. It works.)
- Laugh at least 5 minutes a day. Fake it until you make it.
- Learn to laugh at yourself and your life situation(s) more often. (Especially when you wouldn’t think to.)
- Practice telling more jokes and funny stories.
- Let go of being an adult all the time and give yourself permission to play more often.
- Bring laughter into your intimate relationship and lovemaking.
- Laugh out loud for no reason at all.
- Look for humor all around you–on signs, in people’s behavior, in the newspaper, the things others say, the crazy things that happen to you.
- Share your embarrassing moments with other people.
- Learn to play with things that are “serious” like work, social issues, money, etc. For example, use word play, silly songs, or develop a comical view of the issue at hand to help you laugh and cope.
- Laugh with other people when they laugh.
- Seek out entertainment that makes you laugh.
- Amuse yourself with your own sense of humor.
- Buy and listen daily to a tape of laughter, a laugh box, or a laughing toy.
- Cultivate your innate playfulness.
- Be creative with fun.
- Make sure you have fun. (This one’s really important.)
- Give yourself permission to laugh at anything you need to.
- Do at least one silly, non-conforming thing every day.
The evidence is clear: laughter is an important — and fun(!) — part of a well-being lifestyle. And it’s one of the few things you can do for yourself that actually nets instant benefits. So what are you waiting for?
Watch out Bro. I’m about to take the lead in having a good time … .
