Laughter is the Cheapest Medicine

No, really. Your laughter is healing you.

Okay, we can all admit it, right? There aren’t many things more adorable or hilarious than a baby cracking up. Babies laugh because something is funny. Then we laugh more because babies are funny when they laugh. Thus, laughter is usually associated with humor – rightfully so! Humor absolutely brings laughter. And, in turn, laughter brings many things. There are tons of obvious reasons to laugh (it’s just fun!) but there are also measurable health and community benefits that we may be taking for granted. So, why not, amidst all of this holiday cheer, talk Secret Benefits of grinning ear to ear – and laughing loud for all to hear!

DID YOU KNOW??

• Sharing laughter aids in the development of deeper interpersonal bonds, and the space of mutual and simultaneous joy.
  Laughter is connection.
• It is a subconscious method of comfort used by children to cheer others who express sadness or frustration.
  Laughter is empathy.
• You get more endorphins, those ‘feel good’ hormones, and helps let go of stress and worry.
  Laughter is happiness.
• It genuinely builds emotional and physical resilience and helps reduce anxiety.
  Laughter is the understanding of self.
• Regular laughter helps improve problem-solving skills and encourages one to look deeper.
  Laughter is the understanding of all that is around you.

Laughter lives outside of a simple reaction to humor. It is the opening of your heart and your mind to the world. Your blood flows more freely, and your heart allows itself to rest. Your mind lets go of the things it cannot control, and finds humor (yes, we’re back to humor!) in things that once were frustrations.

It serves as a reminder that there are many things in this book of life that you can read however you like – you can write joy into your story at any moment.
Let laughter be the pen!

Alright, just for fun, these are some of my reasons for laughing this week.

• My friend’s cat tried to climb on the Christmas tree but was frightened by its movement underfoot. She ran and hid in a box for a while.
• Recently, at the hospital, I watched as a (hired on-staff!) clown approached a patient who was scared and confused in the waiting room. I smiled and laughed because this adult wasn’t taking themselves too seriously, and this child was able to appreciate that. The child laughed too.
• Something really great happened for me, unexpectedly, and I couldn’t help but laugh because, sometimes, the world is accidentally a little bit funny.

What were yours?