Laugh yourself healthy?

Posted by Norma Richardson on March 8, 2011

Laughter is the best medicine. But most people don’t remember how to laugh. Did you know that children laugh 300-400 times a day, but as an adult, you may be lucky to laugh at all. You may base your laughter on responses to a joke, humor, a comedian or funny movie. The problem with that is conditional on what you find is appropriate or funny and the laughter may be in short bursts.

Laughing for 10 – 15 minutes will provide you with many physical as well as emotional benefits. Ask anyone who has done laughter yoga and they will tell you how much better they feel. The effects of laughter are being researched at several universities including Loma Linda in California. Deep belly laughing increases the amount of oxygen going to the brain and the heart. The immune system becomes stronger with the increase of T cells. The brain produces endorphins which relieves pain and improves your sleep. Laughing also supports collaboration and creative problem solving which is a positive step for businesses who are looking to build collaboration and improve wellness of their employees. But the biggest benefit for everyone is that laughter is great at releasing stress, the number one reason for disease and illness.

Many people are not familiar with how you can practice laughter because you may struggle to find reasons these days to laugh. One way to remember to laugh for no reason is to participate in a laughter yoga class. You will not be required to do yoga positions such as the downward dog or triangle pose, but you will laugh as you practice being playful as a 5 year old. You will remember how to let go and have fun. To get a taste of what a laughter yoga class is like, watch this .