Posts Tagged ‘health benefits of laughter’
Laughing Benefits, Why Is Laughing Good For You
May 5th, 2009
Here is an interesting and inspiring article I found recently on the benefits of laughter by author Jennifer Macleay that I would like to share with you today… I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
For those who want to go straight to laughter therapy to begin healing immediately click here!
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I have been doing some study on the benefits of laughter . The reason for this is that my husband and I have the responsibility of managing a guesthouse. One of the functions of this guesthouse is to provide accommodation for workers who are assisting in third world countries.
These workers may be sick or burnt out or just in need of a break. I set about to collect a book of jokes to place on the coffee table to be a source of cheer. I decided to go further and include some of the physical benefits of laughing . What I found was quite enlightening and I found that my own spirits were lifted from doing this study.
One may question does God have a sense of humor?
The stock answer is: of course, He made you and me didn’t He
In recent years there has been many studies and much written on the benefits of laughter so I won’t go into detail in this article, except to serve as a reminder.
Laughing is thought to help you to fight illnesses and tumours.
Laughing acts as a muscle relaxant for example if someone is fearful of injections, a laugh just before will do wonders.
Laughing reduces allergic responses.
Laughing lifts your mood or your spirit.
Laughing reduces the effect of stress by lowering stress hormone levels.
One study showed that laughing helped keep diabetes under control.
Lowers blood pressure.
Improves brain and mental functions.
Gives a feeling of inner joy.
This is just a brief view of a few benefits of laughing. Although these are from relatively recent studies, the ancient words of Proverbs, which is writings of practical advice for daily living, confirms that: A cheerful heart is good medicine. The second half of this verse confirms what recent studies have found in angry, unhappy people, that their health deteriorates. Proverbs says: a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)
Learn how to transform pain into joy
My work as a clinical nurse has bought me in contact with a lot of older people. What stands out to me is that just about every old person 85 years plus, who does not have dementia, has a wonderful sense of humor. One dear old lady, had a long list of severe physical problems on her medical records, but to see her it was hard to believe, she just kept on keeping on with life, laughing and telling jokes as she went.
Although times may be tough and hard, Proverbs also says: the cheerful heart has a continual feast.
For a number of years we lived in a remote part of Papua New Guinea. We had to radio out to a town on the other side of the range with an order for the supplies that we needed. These supplies were bought and put on a boat that took several days to get to where we could pick them up. From our place to the pickup point was a two-day hike over rough mountainous trails and across dangerous rivers.
Quite often on arrival to meet the boat we would find that rough seas had turned the boat back. Or we may have ordered crucial parts for the chainsaw. Then after this long process to get them, we found that the wrong parts had been sent. This of course was causing much delay and frustration. We ate a lot of local foods when they were available, but we took the opportunity when a supply trip was coming up to order in some special things like canned foods and eggs. You can imagine our despair to find 18 dozen eggs, all broken and smelly after the two-day hike back from the boat because someone did not treat them with care.
So how does one deal with these extra frustrations in an already trying situation. For starters we had a deep conviction that despite all these events, God was still sovereign.
We would sit around the meal table, there were four of us, and we would take these frustrating events and turn them into humor.
We would use our imagination to concoct the most way out stories of how these events went wrong. We would laugh and laugh at each ones story. Then we might see who could think up the most uses for 18 dozen rotten eggs. Or what could we make out of all these useless chainsaw parts that we had collected through frustrating mistakes. We found that despite our often-desperate situations that the cheerful heart has a continual feast.
As wonderful as laughing is it is not always appropriate to laugh, and discernment is needed to be wise with ones humor. As the Bible states in Ecclesiastes: There is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.
By Jennifer Macleay Article Directory http://www.articledashboard.com
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Health Benefits Of Laughter
April 12th, 2009
Everyday you must be laughing for different reasons. Have you ever noticed, how you feel relaxed after laughing? There are a number of health benefits of laughing and that’s why, laughter is stated to be the best medicine.
Every person laughs several times a day for different reasons – after hearing a joke, watching a comedy movie or reading a comic book. Humor is one of the important senses that human being is blessed with. Laughing expresses a feeling of happiness. Humor and laughter are contagious and they cause a cumulative effect of amusement and joy.
In addition, they offer a number of positive health benefits.
Laughter makes it easier for us to cope with different challenges in life. It improves and strengthens our immune system and helps prevent a number of diseases. Laughter therapy can be used to cure several diseases such as hypertension, ulcers, arthritis, stroke, diabetes and even heart diseases. It offers good relaxation and helps you relieve stress and depression. Read on to know about benefits of laughing in detail.
Benefits of Laughing
Get a free list of 47 Laughter Yoga exercises!
Laughing is not just related to facial expressions, but it causes a number of chemical changes within the body. Good hearty laughter helps release enzymes and hormones that are helpful for normal functioning of various organs. This is due to a connection between laughing and stimulation of brain and different glands. Laughter enhances the body to release natural antihistamines. It also activates T-cells, a natural anti-biotic produced in the body. It helps boost the immune system and fight infections. It prevents numerous diseases by strengthening the immune system.
Laughter reduces the levels of certain hormones, namely cortisol, growth hormone, epinephrine and dopac, which are associated with stress response. Thus it helps relieve stress, depression, anxiety, grief, anger and irritation.
Laughing also decreases pain by releasing a hormone, endorphins. It improves our attentiveness, pulse and heart rate.
Laughing is proven to be very beneficial for the people suffering from hypertension. It helps lower the blood pressure to normal. Laughing causes deeper breathing and increase in blood flow, due to which oxygen and essential nutrients are supplied to all body parts.
Laughter is a good workout for respiratory, abdominal, leg, back and facial muscles. It tones intestinal functioning, massages abdominal organs and strengthens abdominal muscles. This activity is advantageous for digestion as well as absorption. Laughter also helps burn calories and is beneficial for weight loss.
In addition to
physical health benefits of laughing
it offers several
psychological health benefits .
It boosts self-confidence and gives mental strength to cope with conflicts and challenges in life. It also helps us come out of anxiety and depression. It improves out mental health and makes us forget all the tensions in our daily busy lives.
Laughing enhances our ability to connect with others. It also causes a number of behavioral changes. It makes us energized and increases our interest in daily activities.
Laughing also offers many social benefits. A person with a smiling face is always popular amongst a group. It lessens the distance between two individuals and brings them together. It increases healthy communication with others.
Laughter positively affects many aspects of your life , including your health, well-being and energy, leading to a healthy, quality life. So always smile, it improves your face value too.
Change your Attitude in 4 Days
And when you make a mistake, learn the lesson in that mistake and laugh at yourself. In fact people who can’t laugh at themselves are not only more negative, but they’re also more susceptible to cancer, stroke, and heart disease. … As boxing champ Sugar Ray Robinson said, “To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will.
If you want to see your neigbour up to something then it is all here! 4.Ask Uncle Ralph- This website is radically funny. It is about real questions and real answers from the “experts” to make you laugh! Go on to post yours! … You will find weird news so weird it is out of this world! 7.Comedy Central – A another popular haunt for people looking for comedy shows.
Laughter quotes – Best Laughter Quotes Laughter Sayings Phrases Poems
Laughter is subcategorized into various groupings depending upon the extent and pitch of the laughter: giggles, clicks (which can be almost silent), chortles, chuckles, hoots, cackles, sniggers and guffaws are all types of laughter.
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