Laughter is just what the doctor ordered
We’ve all heard the saying “laughter is the best medicine”. Now let’s talk about why this is the prescription we could all use.
Think about how you feel when you watch a funny show or movie, or you’re told a funny story. You can’t help but to smile and feel good. Well, when this sensation happens, a similar positive response happens internally to your body systems. Laughter benefits us in many ways. These benefits can be physical, emotional, spiritual and can help us to heal.
So, how does this work and how can you take advantage of these benefits?
Short-term Benefits of Laughter
Laughing has the ability to benefit our short- and long-term health. In the short-term, it can be an immediate relief for us.
Laughing can…
- Relieve tension by relaxing your muscles. By laughing, you can increase circulation and help relax your muscles.
- Stimulate organs. When you laugh, more oxygen enters circulation in the body, helping to stimulate body systems.
- Stabilize blood pressure. Laughter has been shown to relax blood vessels, helping to decrease blood pressure.
- Aid digestion. The act of laughing stimulates activity of the digestive tract and can aid in digestion.
- Reduce stress. Laughing decreases stress hormones, cortisol and epinephrine, in your blood. In other words, it demonstrates a reversal of the body’s stress response.
Long-term Benefits of Laughter
When we fill our life with laughter, there’s more than just an immediate feeling of joy and catharsis. We can experience benefits way beyond that immediate moment. For instance, laughter can profoundly impact our health overtime.
Overtime, laughter has the ability to …
- Improve your immune system and mood. When you experience negative thoughts, these trigger a stress response in the brain and suppress the immune system. But when you experience the positive emotions that laughter brings, endorphins– the “feel good” hormones, are released. Then your immune cells and antibody activity are strengthened. This all helps to support your immune system.
- Relieve pain. Studies have shown that when you experience laughter, your brain releases endorphins. This response enables you to better tolerate pain.
- Help with coping. By finding humor in stressful or difficult situations, you can turn a negative perspective to a positive one. As a result, you may be better able to cope with stress.
- Benefit mental health. Laughing has the ability to reduce feelings of anxiety and depression and increase your resilience. Therefore, you may bounce back faster from life challenges and see the positive in hard situations.
- Improve relationships and social connectivity. Laughter has the power tounite and connect people. It also increase perceptions of others as likable.
How Can You Fill Your Life With More Laughter?
- Make it a habit to be around people who make you laugh and improve your mood
- Watch a funny show, video, or movie to relax and unwind
- Call a friend who you can laugh and joke with
- Tell a story of something funny that happened to you
- Do fun activities that spark joy and laughter (games, sports, goat yoga, reading, etc.)
Along with these laughter-eliciting activities, there are scientifically studied therapies that include laughter as a form of healing.
Laughter Therapies
- Laughter yoga is a technique that combines simulated laughter and breathing exercises for physiological and psychological benefits.
- Humor/Laughter therapy includes a range of laughter-eliciting activities. And it has been used in healthcare for its physical and psychological benefits.
- Laughter meditation is the practice of focused laughter to release emotional and physical stress.
Humor for Wellness Marketing
Humor and laughter don’t just have a direct contribution to our body health. They also contribute to the effectiveness of health interventions for a broader population. For example, humor is a great tool for marketing wellness. It engages us and makes us laugh and tune in. As a result, humorous messaging is shared more often and passed along, broadening the reach of a message. And when the message is something that can help individuals improve their health and wellness, it is even more important that we pass it along.
If you are looking to spread the message of wellness to your employees, contact us at beryl@bkomplete.com to sign up for our wellness newsletter.
Humor to Empower Health
When we talk about our health, it can be an intimidating or overwhelming discussion. But when we use humor, we have the power to eliminate some of the stress associated with confronting one’s health. That’s why there is nothing wrong with using a funny meme or video to initiate a discussion on health. Otherwise this topic may be too difficult for some to address.
By empowering people to talk about their health, goals, and needs, we can help them take steps to improving their health and being the best version of themselves.
Humor is empowering, healing, and therapeutic. So take advantage of the power of a good laugh and enjoy the benefits that follow. To learn more about how you can reduce stress and bring positivity to your life, contact B.Komplete.
And for a quick laugh and wellness tip, check out our video below!
Written by Heather Schissler, B.Komplete Office Assistant