Mark Twain once said, “Humanity has unquestionably
one really effective weapon—laughter.
Power, money, persuasion, supplication, persecution—these
can lift at a colossal humbug—push it a
little—weaken it a little, century by century,
but only laughter can blow it to rags and
atoms at a blast.
Against the assault of laughter nothing can
stand.”
Twain was right, except he forgot to mention
laughter’s ability to profoundly affect
our health.
Laughter is the best medicine for many scientifically
proven reasons:
1.
Laughter is one of the best stress relievers.
A good bout of laughter can keep the muscles
in your entire body relaxed for up to 45 minutes.
Now imagine cracking a few good jokes all
day long.
You’ll never have a crick in your neck or
an aching back again.
2.
Dr. Gulshan Sethi, a doctor of cardio-surgery
at Tucson Medical Center says that laughter
is like internal jogging.
It tones all the internal organs and strengthens
the abdominals without ever doing a single
sit-up.
3.
Laughter induces better social relations.
The contagious nature of a smile or a good
laugh help us to connect with others leading
to friendships and even romantic closeness.
In fact, couples who laugh together are more
likely to stay married longer.
People who have enduring relationships have
also proven to outlive those who have few
friends and are unmarried.
4.
Laughter boosts our body’s immune response.
Studies have found that laughing at a funny
movie or finding humor in a stressful situation
helps to increase the production of natural
killer cells – white blood cells that attack
cancer, colds, and foreign bacteria.
5.
Laughter combats depression.
When we laugh our bodies dump a bunch of good
neuropeptides into our blood stream including
oxytocin and dopamine.
6.
Laughter reduces physical pain.
Perceived pain levels in participants of many
different studies are lowered when they laugh.
Life may cause us pain here and there, but
laughter helps us to deal with it better.
7.
Finally, laughter is a measurable trait found
to be higher in those who are more resilient.
If you want to find a successful person who
can take the punches of life just as easily
as the accolades, you’ll find someone who
laughs a lot.
Laughter builds character and lessens rigidity.
Mark Twain was a smart man.
That’s why he also said “Those that respect
the law and love sausage should watch neither
being made.”
Made you laugh!
