Do You Need Some Laughter Medicine?

Did anyone try to fool you on April 1? Not me! Personally, I don’t like being fooled and honesty is very important to me.
But  April is National Humor Month!
Just thought I would share the benefits of laughter as medicine…because as they say, “Laughter is the BEST MEDICINE!”
That’s right! Back in 1976, Dr. Norman Cousins, a professor at UCLA who had ben diagnosed with heart disease and a severe form of arthritis, developed a recovery program incorporating megadoses of Vitamin C, along with a positive attitude, love, faith, hope, and laughter induced by Marx Brothers films. He cured himself with laughter medicine!

 

Laughter is FREE and FUN! And is not covered by insurance, LOL, hmmm…

Don’t you just love a good belly laugh? It’s also known as “internal jogging!”
It figures that if laughter is internal jogging, then it should be part of every fitness program, eh?

Founded in 1976 by author and humorist Larry Wilde, the original idea of National Humor Month was to heighten public awareness of the therapeutic and restorative values of joy and laughter. After all, many studies have shown that laughter can actually improve our health. And laughter is fun! After all, you can’t feel sad or angry when you’re laughing, right? Indeed, laughter IS the best medicine!
Now I’m not saying we should laugh all the time, it is said there is a time to laugh and a time to cry. There are a lot of sad, depressed people taking a lot of medications and still suffering. So here’s to humor…

Laughter has many benefits among which are:

Laughter Reduces Stress: When stressed, we produce a hormone called cortisol. Laughter can significantly reduce cortisol levels.

Laughter Can Reduce Pain: Laughter causes us to produce endorphins, which are natural, pain-killing hormones.

Laughter Strengthens the Immune System: A hearty laugh decreases stress hormones and increases production of T-cells, immune proteins and infection-fighting antibodies.

Laughter Helps the Heart: When we laugh we increase blood flow and the function of blood vessels, which can help prevent cardiovascular problems.

Laughter Relaxes the Whole Body: One good belly laugh can relieve physical tension and relax your muscles for up to 45 minutes.

Laughter Helps You Recharge: By reducing stress levels and increasing your energy, laughter can help you focus and achieve more.

Admittedly, I copy/pasted this off Huffington Post, for the full article, click here.

This month, and every day, I encourage you to look at things a little differently, try to find humor in situations that might otherwise trouble you. This is how we can “trouble our troubles!” If you are having trouble with this, know that it’s a mindset, there’s actually a wavelength known as “alpha” (which is brain wave activity in the 8-12 Hz range) associated with happiness and creativity. With EEG biofeedback, or brain wave training, we can actually help you to find that place. Way cool technology!

So share a smile, a laugh, or an encouraging word to whoever crosses your path, especially if they are sad or in pain. Once again, it’s free, it is our free choice to seek laughter. It’s a good thing 😆

Here’s how I found laughter in a situation recently… I have two horses in the throes of SHEDDING BIG TIME. Imagine 2000lbs of shedding animal. It’s a lot of work, brush on, brush off, covered in hair like a Sasquatch. A girl’s gotta have fun…

Celebrating humor,

Becky:)