Quick Announce

Laughter heals us, keeps us healthy and above all connects and bonds us with other human beings.

We enjoy sharing a good joke with others.

We enjoy making others laugh.

Laughter makes us feel good, eases the tension and breaks the ice.

So we know how laughter helps us to connect with others, but what is it about laughter that heals and keeps us healthy?

Well according to numerous studies have found that the power of laughter
reduces stress and improves health in the following ways:

Raises endorphine levels which contribute to a feeling of well being.
Stops pain.
Increases human growth harmone levels, which are necessary for the healthy functioning and rejuvination of every cell and system of the body.

In a California study, participants experienced increased benefits just by thinking about seeing a funny movie, they increased their beta-endorphine levels 27% and human growth hormone by 87% than those individuals who were expecting to see a comedy.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, found that laughing determines how well blood vessels are able to expand (the better they expand the less chances of a heart attack and stroke.)

Volunteers that watched a funny movie, blood flow increased by 22% in the 19 out 20 volunteers who participated.

Also it is well documented for example, that people have more heart attacks on monday mornings (when the work week begins) than any other day of the week.

A project called (RX) laughter found that children who watch funny videos during a painful procedures have less cortisol (a stress hormone) than usual.

According to psychologist Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Melon University. In a landmark article Cohen and his collegue found that folks who are happy are less likely to become ill when exposed to cold viruses.

In this 1979 best seller, Anatomy of an Illness. Norman Cousin talks about how he cured himself from a crippling disease of the joints (ankylosis spondylitis) by administering high doses of vitamin c and lots of laughter.

In her book Molecules of Emotions, the famous Neuropharmacologist Candece B. Pert, research professor in biophysics and physiology at the Gerogetown University Medical Center in Washington, writes that neuropeptides and receptors are the bio-chemicals of emotion. The emotions are the informational content that is exchange via psychosomatic network with the many systems, organs and cells participating in the process. She says, the emotions are the messengers carrying information to link the major systems of the body into one unit is what we call body-mind.

She goes on to say, that viruses use the same receptors as neuropeptides to enter into a cell. One explanation for how this might work is that the rheovirus, shown to be the cause of the common cold, uses the same receptors for norepinephrine (an informational substance thought to flow in a happy state of mind, to enter the cell.) Presumably what happens is that when you are happy, the rheovirus can’t enter the cell because the norepinephrine blocks all the potential virus receptors.

In conclusion, so what can we do to keep ourselves healthy and happy?

Don’t take life too serious, have a sense of humor about things.
Buy or rent a few old or new funny movies and turn them on when you need a lift.
Don’t watch too much bad news, tune in to something more uplifting and positive.
Join a comedy or an improvisation class.
Remind yourself how good laughter is for you.
As comedian Steve Allen once said, ” we are all born with genetic ceiling and floor, but what we do with our lives determines whether we end up on the ceiling or on the floor.” Laughter lifts us up to the ceiling.

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