Do This More Often To Benefit Your Health
“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.“
~ George Bernard Shaw
On average, a 4-year old laughs 300 times a day. For a 40-year old? Only 4.
Say, what?
With those sad laughter stats, one thing is for certain – we’re taking our lives much too seriously.
Not long ago, a friend told me about a Laughter Yoga studio in Toronto where people actually pay to attend laughing sessions. I thought that was one of the most absurd things I’d ever heard. Laughing is free so why would anyone pay to laugh?
Well, as it turns out, science has proved that laughter is not only contagious but our body can’t tell the difference between simulated and real laughter. Not to mention, the benefits of laughing are endless.
How Laughing Helps
- Reduces our stress-related hormones while increasing our feel-good, health-enhancing hormones
- Improves our mood and outlook
- Positively affects our relationships and well-being
- Boosts our immune system
- Enhances mental functioning
- Induces positive emotional states
- Elevates our pain threshold and tolerance
- Improves our blood flow to the heart
And those are just some of the positive benefits.
So why aren’t we laughing more?
In fact, when was the last time you had sustained hearty laughter? I mean, tears streaming, gut pounding, belly laughter?
Maybe we need to watch more comedy shows, spend more time with friends who make us laugh, read funny comics, share some jokes or simply learn to lighten up.
At the end of the day, we need to feel good about ourselves and about who we are. So let’s always remember to keep our smile and our sense of humour. Afterall, laughing is good medicine… and it’s free!