Laughter is the best medicine
In this day and age of heart friendly foods and what not, we want to add yet another heart friendly habit in the list: laughter. Laughter is portable, immediate therapy, a way of charging up the battery of your soul. Someone rightly said: laughter is jam on toast of life. It adds flavour, keeps it from being too dry, and makes it easier to swallow.
Laughter is good for the heart. A study has shown that laughter is linked to healthy functioning of blood vessels. Laughter is favourable to the mental system and mental stress is unfavourable.
What is laughter?
Firstly laughter is not same as humour. It is the psychological response to humour. It consists of two parts: a set of gestures and a production of sound. When we laugh our brain pressures us to bring out both these activities simultaneously. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines laughter as “rhythmic, vocalized, expiratory and involuntary action.”
Many researchers believe that the purpose of laughter is related to making and strengthening human relations. Laughter occurs when people are comfortable with one another, when they feel open and free. And more the laughter, the more bonding occurs within the group. This feedback loop of bonding-laughter-more bonding, combined with the common desire not to be singled out from the group, may be another reason why laughter is often contagious.
How does laughter work?
Laughter appears to cause the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels to expand in order to increase blood flow. When volunteers were shown a movie that produced mental stress, their blood vessel lining developed a potentially unhealthy response called vasoconstriction, where the blood vessels narrow and reduce blood flow. Two days later they were shown a comedy which produced laughter. A total of 160 blood vessel measurements were performed before and after the laughter and mental stress phases of the study. Overall, average blood flow increased 22% during laughter and decreased 35% during mental stress. At the very least, laughter offsets the impact of mental stress.
Is laughter actually the best medicine?
Yes, following reasons add to the fact that it truly is the best medicine! And the best part about laughter is that it is free and does not have any known side effects! Laughing is found to lower blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, increase muscle flexion and boost immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and B-cells, which produce disease-destroying antibodies. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers and produces a general sense of well-being. It actually increases your intellectual performance and boosts information retention. Laughter is a good cardiac exercise because a belly laugh is equivalent to an internal jogging. Laughter can provide good cardiac conditioning especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercises. Women who laugh a lot seem to benefit more than men in preventing hypertension. Frequent belly laughter empties your lungs of more air than it takes in resulting in a cleansing effect - similar to deep breathing. Especially beneficial for patient’s who are suffering from emphysema and other respiratory ailments.
What is laughter therapy?
It is a form of therapy, which encourages us to use the natural physiological process of laughter to release the painful emotions of anger, fear and boredom. In fact, it is recommended that one should learn to laugh at things that hurt. Sadly for many people it is unacceptable and hence prevents them from using the healing power of laughter to deal with the pain. Many of us are unaware that we laugh because we hurt. Abandoning our laughter because of overwhelming pain simply keeps us feeling victimized. Tapping into laughter as nature meant for us to do restores our personal power so we no longer feel like victims. We are able to cope with our pain. It is commonly believed that we laugh because we are happy. That is not perfectly true. We are actually happier because we laugh! Every time we laugh, we heal. That is why we feel better after we laugh, not before.
Who needs laughter?
Everybody! Laughter is important and effective for individuals, couples, families, businesses, schools, medical facilities and all other organizations. Patients, doctors and health-care professionals are all finding that laughter may indeed be the best medicine.
Laughter is infectious. Hospitals in some parts of the world are incorporating formal and informal laughter therapy programs into their therapeutic regimens. In countries such as India, laughing clubs -- in which participants gather in the early morning for the sole purpose of laughing -- are becoming popular. Humour is a universal language. It is a contagious emotion and a natural diversion. It brings other people in and breaks down barriers.
|
