As a child, I didn’t find certain jokes played on me as being all that funny. But as I matured and lightened up a bit, I welcomed and even anticipated the humor in the pranks that were played on me, and welcomed the power of laughter.
Humor is infectious and as a physician I can honestly say that one of the best things you can “catch” from someone else is a rip roaring round of laughter. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. Laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body.
Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use!
Laughter is strong medicine for mind and body
Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.
With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.
Laughter and humor help you stay emotionally healthy
Bottom line…Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.
More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better.
Laughing with others is more powerful than laughing alone
Humor and playful communication strengthen our relationships by triggering positive feelings and fostering emotional connection. When we laugh with one another, a positive bond is created and this bond acts as a strong buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointment.
Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. All emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationship bonds, but sharing laughter and play also adds joy, vitality, and resilience. Laughter unites people during difficult times.
Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.
“A day without laughter is a day wasted” Charlie Chaplin