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Laughter and Your Health
By Lisa Branigan
Did you know that according to research, children laugh about 400 times a
day while adults only laugh about 15 times a day? Some how we lost the
ability to laugh, as we got older. Could it be that putting more humour and
laughter into our day will improve our health and wellbeing?
In an article written by Drs. Gael Crystal and Patrick Flanagan they stated
that; “Scientists have found that laughter is a form of internal jogging
that exercises the body and stimulates the release of beneficial brain
neurotransmitters and hormones. Positive outlook and laughter is actually
good for our health! More than ever, scientific evidence suggests that
laughter really is one of the best medicines.”
According to a study done by Dr. Tan from California's Loma Linda University
Medical Centre, laughter can have a huge impact on our immune system. The
university conduced a study of average adults. One group of adults was
subject to an hour of laughter through watching videos of comedians and
another group sat quietly out of earshot of the first group.
What did they find? Through regular blood tests carried out during the
comedy shows they found that the laughter group had an increase in good
hormones and a decrease in the body’s stress hormone. Dr. Tan concluded
that; “Laughter brings a balance to all the components of the immune
system.” Some clinics are now using this information with their patients.
They are using laughter therapy to replace anti-depressants and to reduce
the use of painkillers. According to researchers faking laughter will also
produce the same health and wellbeing results as real laughter.
Do you need to improve your ability to laugh more?
Well here are some tips from Family Scientist, Herbert G. Lingren to help
all of you, who are humour impaired, to add laughter and humour to your
everyday life.
1. Hang around funny friends, or better yet, marry a funny partner.
2. Start looking for the absurd, silly, incongruous activities that go on
around you each day.
3. Take a 5-10 minute humour break each day. Read jokes, add to a humour
notebook, and listen to a funny tape.
4. Rent a comedy video, go to a funny movie, and watch humorous programs on
television.
5. If you hear a joke you really like, write it down, or tell it to someone
else to help you remember it.
My final tip would be to spend more time having fun with children maybe you
will catch a few hundred laughs off them! Better still join a laughter club
or start your own.
About the author:
Lisa Branigan specialises in coaching women who are stressed, tired and
overwhelmed with their busy lives. For further information:
Phone: +61 8 9757 3750 or 0439 828 594
Website: http://www.quantumcoaching.com.au
Email: lisa@quantumcoaching.com.au
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