Laughter is the best medicine.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
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The search for happiness – it seems to be a perpetual human condition.
But as we try to balance - and rebalance – our lives in search of something that makes us happier, we can often fall into an ironic trap. We become so focused on what we need to get done that we can end up very serious and driven – in the belief that this will enable us to relax at some other time.
It’s at times like these that we need to remember the power of laughter – even in the midst of all that busy-ness! Laughter helps relieve the symptoms of stress because a good hearty laugh releases relaxing endorphins from the brain.
Although what is considered funny can vary from culture to culture, laughter is still part of the universal human vocabulary, crossing many boundaries. And it seems that laughter is contagious. One person starts another off, and so it goes merrily on. From this perspective, laughter indicates being happily part of a group, involving acceptance and positive interaction.
According to doctors and nurses who are members of the American Association for Therapeutic Humor, the psychological benefits of humour are quite amazing. Laughter provides a way of releasing negative emotions rather than storing them in our bodies – laughter is cathartic. That’s why some people who are upset or stressed-out go to a funny movie or a comedy club where they can laugh negative emotions away.
The benefits of laughter are not only psychological. A good laugh actually gives the body a bit of a workout - It gives exercise to the diaphragm and various muscles. No wonder that medical research believes laughter improves health, increases life expectancy, and contributes to overall improved well-being. Researchers are now saying laughter can help us ward off diseases by basically bringing balance to all the components of the immune system. Laughter releases chemicals like neuropeptides that improve health and have antioxidant properties. 
Building on this knowledge, the Laughter Yoga movement was started by
Dr. Madan Kataria, an Indian physician from Mumbai who started the first laughter club in a park on 13th March 1995. People gather in groups to laugh for no reason as a form of exercise. The Laughter Yoga movement has now spread throughout the world with over 6000 laughter clubs in 60 countries. For more information on this movement see www.laughteryoga.org.
Did you know that adults laugh on average about 17 times per day, while kids laugh up to 400 times per day? Given the great benefits of laughter, as well as the wonderful feeling it creates at that moment, let’s learn from the young ones and seek out more opportunities for a good giggle!
As they say, laughter is the best medicine.
Reprinted from the Hubbards Clipboard Issue 103.
