Laughter Therapy: Is Laughter the Best Medicine?
Laughter is the best medicine. The benefits of laughter therapy extend beyond coping with stress to strengthening the immune system and improving your overall stress health. What is good for your health and more contagious than a sneeze or a cold? That’s right – laughter. Having your funny bone tickled promotes relaxation and reduces stress. But the benefits of laughter extend beyond reducing the effects of stress, by improving muscle tension, strengthening the immune system and reducing blood pressure. Laughter can reduce the incidence of stress related illness and promote your health and well-being. Is laughter the best medicine: Some health benefits of laughter therapyDo you remember the movie Patch Adams, in which Robin Williams discovers the benefits of humor as a form of therapy and a means to "lighten the load". The proverbs state that "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Well…finally scientific evidence is confirming what we have felt for a long time - that humor and laughing can be good for us. Humor and laughter therapy lighten the burden and help you to connect with others. Watch this video for a minute and let yourself laugh. Experience the body and mind shift that laughter can promote.
While you were allowing your funny bone to be tickled, your body released endorphins, the natural feel good chemicals and proven pain reliever. At the same time, you probably experienced reduced cortisol levels - a stress hormone linked with stress health problems. At the same time, studies show that laughter is correlated with a strengthened the immune system. See this article on stress and the immune system. Another benefit of laughter therapy is that a good belly laugh can be like an internal jog. Your muscles contract and relax, the depth and rate of respiration increases, blood pressure increases as does your central nervous system. After you have had a good belly laugh your body has a similar level of deep relaxation similar to relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation. Thus the uplifting mood you experience when you laugh is a great way to combat the physical and emotional effects of stress.
At the psychological level, it is hard to experience both negative emotions such as stress and uplifting emotions at the same time - so if you laugh you can lessen the impact of negative emotions. According to our current definition of stress, it is not simply the external event that causes stress, but also how you perceive it. This means that the way we view a situation influences the stress that we feel. Negative thoughts can actually lead to an activation of the stress response which can suppress the immune system. On the other hand positive emotions can strengthen the immune system. Did You Know that we Laugh Less as we Get Older. Laughter and laughter therapy allows you to look at a situation with a different perspective - and this changed perspective can influence the amount of stress that you might feel. By making light of the situation - you are likely to see the event as less threatening - and as a result feel less stress. In his book 'Anatomy of an Illness', Norman Cousins illustrated that a positive mindset and laughter therapy provide a boost to the immune system - which can conquer some life threatening illnesses. So with each laugh, you're giving yourself some much needed stress relief, increasing your stores of personal energy and developing your stress coping skills. How to bring more humor and laughter into Your lifeWhat may be funny to one person may put another to sleep. Find out what tickles your funny bone, so that you can reap the benefits of natural stress relief. Movies, Books and TV. The video and book stores are stocked with shelves of mood-inducing videos and books. Find out those movies and books that set you off on a ripple of laughter and then you can choose when to bring some laughter into your life whenever you need it. Friends and Others. There are some truly funny people in the world. Every time I watch the likes of Billy Connolly I am in stitches on the floor – but I find that when I can share the jokes with friends I get much more out of comedy clubs and comedians. Why not try bringing humor into conversations – try starting a conversation with "What’s the funniest thing that has happened to you this week?" Laugh at Yourself. Everyone makes mistakes. Rather than beating yourself up about the mistake that you made, why not learn from the mistake and move on. Grab a friend and share a joke about the stuff up. I remember when I was learning Korean and everyday for two weeks I asked the bus driver for "A milk (instead of ticket) to the Seoul". Even now, 10 years later I have a good laugh about this and the many other errors I made. Smile More Often. Just as there are studies that show if you smile you rate yourself as happier. This positive effect of smiling (even if you don’t mean it) on wellbeing is also contagious and can result in laughter and viewing yourself less seriously. See the humor in situations. Try to see the humor in things. For every situation there is another way to see it, or a different perspective to take. The other night I was in a Thai restaurant and they did not have any rice. While initially frustrating I was able to see the funny side of this (a Thai restaurant without rice huh?) which actually reduced my stress. Remind Yourself of Funny Times. Make a list of those things that you find funny. It may be a joke, a funny moment or a image you have in your head. I made a list of funny times and have it close to me when I want to have a good laugh. Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone. Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1883 Other ways to cope with stressHere we have discussed laughter therapy as a means to cope with stress. However, laughter therapy is not the only way to reframe stress situations. Here we describe a number other methods of coping with stress.
 Research shows that positive thinking builds your resilience to stress. Negative thoughts turn on the stress response and weaken the immune system while positive emotions strengthen the immune system. Adopting these strategies for a positive mindset can help you to cope with stress more effectively.
Anger is a toxic emotion that causes and can be caused by stress. Anger can be harmful to your health and your relationships. Laughter therapy can be a good way to reframe situations or to focus your attention away from anger-provoking situations. BUT at some point it will be important to resolve your emotions. These anger management tips can help to resolve your emotions and help you to move forward in a positive manner.
 Meditation can reduce your worry about the future and limit you dwelling in the past by focusing your attention on the present. This in itself can reduce stress. Meditation also promotes a calming effect and has been shown to activate the relaxation response which promotes relaxation and counters stress. These meditation techniques can be used to manage stress.
You don't have to sit on top of a mountain to reap the benefits of yoga. Yoga is being practiced throughout the world by people from all walks of life. Yoga exercises, combined with deep breathing and muscle tension can give your body and mind a workout that can reduce stress. Related Articles
Mindfulness Meditation: Mindfulness Meditation to Reduce Stress and Anxiety Time Management: Time Management Techniques for Stress Relief Stress Health: Some of the Stress Related Illnesses The Physical Effects of Stress: Identify your Physical Effects of Stress Not all Stress is Bad: What are your Optimal Stress Levels for Peak Performance
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