Laughter is the Best Medicine
What you can do:
Share funny moments - even if they are embarrassing - with your friends and family.
Host a game night for friends.
When you hear laughter, move towards it.
Seek out playful people who laugh easily.
Learn to laugh at yourself.
Laughter is good for your health
Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
Laughter burns calories.OK, so it’s no replacement for going to the gym, but one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn about 40 calories-which could be enough to lose three or four pounds over the course of a year!
Laughter lightens anger’s heavy load. Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster than a shared laugh. Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.
Laughter may even help you live longer.A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who didn’t laugh as much.The difference was particularly notable for those battling cancer.
How laughing together can strengthen relationships
Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. All emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationship bonds, but sharing laughter also adds joy, vitality and resilience. And humor is a powerful and effective way to heal resentments, disagreements and hurts. Laughter unites people during difficult times.
Humor and playful communication strengthen our relationships by triggering positive feelings and fostering emotional connection. When we laugh with one another, a positive bond is created. This bond acts as a strong buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointment. Using humor and laughter in relationships allows you to:
Be more spontaneous. Humor gets you out of your head and away from your troubles.
Let go of defensiveness. Laughter helps you forget resentments, judgments, criticisms, and doubts.
Release inhibitions. Your fear of holding back and holding on are set aside.
Express your true feelings.Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.
Creating opportunities to laugh:
Watch a funny movie, TV show, or YouTube video
Invite friends or co-workers to go to a comedy club
Seek out funny people
Read the funny pages
Share a good joke or a funny story
Check out your bookstore’s humor section
Host a game night with friends
Play with a pet
Go to a “laughter yoga” class
Good around with children
Do something silly
Make time for fun activities (bowling, miniature golfing, karaoke)
–Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/emotional-health/laughter-is-the-best medicine.htm
Did you know?
Red blood cells live for about four months
White blood cells live on average more than a year
Skin cells live about two or three weeks
Colon cells have it rough; they die off after about four days.
Sperm cells have a life span of only about three days.
Brain cells typically last an entire lifetime (neurons in the cerebral cortex for example, are not replaced when they die.)
Your body is designed to heal itself! It is in a constant state of change and repair! In order to do this, your body must follow a precise program. Your nervous system (your brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves) is the thing that runs that program; it is your computer central command center, and as long as it is functioning normally everything works at it’s best…you have optimal health and that is normal. If something interferes with the function of your nervous system your body won’t be able to do what it is programmed and designed to do…it will fail, it will break down, it will compensate, and it will never be as good as optimal. Chiropractors are the only ones who are trained to assess and improve the function of the nervous system.
So…no matter the age, everyone deserves to have optimal function and to live life at it’s fullest. Make sure that you have a chiropractor as part of your wellness team and see them regularly so you live life at it’s fullest and raise your kids at their highest potential.
