“A day without laughter is a day wasted”. This quote by comedian Charlie Chaplin has probably been heard by most people many times. However, what does this quote actually mean? It mainly suggests that life is too short to be spending stressed out or sad. Each day needs to be lived like it’s the last and enjoying yourself is the best way to live. There are many people (me for example) who mindlessly laugh at everything. Some may even call them insane or suggest they belong in a mental asylum. However studies are now often finding that laughing is extremely beneficial for mental and physical health.
In this article, many benefits of laughing are listed. There are social, physical, and mental benefits. Some of the physical benefits include:
- relaxation of the entire body
- boosts in the immune system
- triggering a release of endorphins
- protection of the heart
- Two very important emotional benefits to laughing are the release of stress and easing anxiety and fear. Sometimes when people are very stressed out about classes, work, or any other personal matter, it is beneficial to just laugh it off. Laughing can help you forget about your problems, even if it is for a couple minutes. The article suggests some easy daily activities you can do that’ll help increase laughter and get rid of stress.
For example:
- play with children
- spend time with pets or other cute animals
- go to a comedy club
- read a funny book
- hang out with funny people
- *easiest* watch a funny movie (i.e. Mean Girls, 21 Jump Street, Despicable Me)
Hope laughter is brought into your day!
It is reassuring to see that something so simple as laughing can be so beneficial for your well being. It make me very happy that I do not have to go through some ordeal to improve my health. If it is possible I will have to try to laugh even more each day.
Sometimes when I laugh, I laugh so hard that it’s painful and then I laugh even harder at the fact that I’m in pain from laughing. It’s a painful, pathetic cycle. I know this sounds awful, but there’s a video of a narcoleptic dog and it’s the cutest thing ever. I should laugh but I do. I feel as if the days when I’m stressed and serious, I don’t laugh and I end up waking up in an awful mood. I agree that a day without laughter is a day wasted. There’s no reason not to laugh at least once a day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zVCYdrw-1o
Thanks for informing me of all of these benefits. It always feels good to laugh after a long and stressful day. I hate being around miserable people who are so cynically about things. I would much rather be around people who enjoy life. People who laugh a lot tend to be happier people in my opinion. Here is one important study that found laughter lowers blood pressure http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/151941.php
I completely agree. I know from personal experience, I always feel better after I laugh, especially if it’s with friends, and I always try to make friends with funny people. Laughter can diffuse even the most uncomfortable of situations. Here are some jokes to brighten your day and make you healthier!
http://www.jokes.com
I could not agree more. Sometimes there isn’t anything better than a good laugh to remind you not to take life too seriously. Speaking from personal experience and from someone who can take life too seriously, I constantly try to surround myself with people who I know will make me laugh; they instantly lighten up my mood and remind me it’s okay to sometimes just laugh it out. According to an article on Mayo Clinic, laughter is a good form of stress relief with actual health benefits. It talked about short-term effects such as relieving stress tension and stimulating organs and then long-term effects like improving your immune system and relieving pain. For someone who can be a high stress person, I found this fascinating and am making sure to include laughing on my daily to-do list. It’s the healthy thing to do, right? You can read the rest of the article here, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-relief/SR00034
I knew I wasn’t crazy! I also laugh at everything. I’m one of those people that tend to not take things very seriously unless it is absolutely necessary or if it is actually something very important. When I get angry at someone, it never lasts for very long because usually I’ll just laugh it off almost immediately. I also don’t stay stressed for long because of the same reason, I’ll just find humor in something and then the stress is gone. I never realized that there were that many benefits to laughing though. I’m glad that my immune system gets a boost and that my heart gets protected because of it. This website builds off of some of the benefits that you listed and it gives several more benefits to laughing. http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-reasons-why-laughing-good-for-you.htm
I love laughing! It is so fun to be around joyful people and have a good time. I was reading this article- http://www.deliveringhappiness.com/10-fun-facts-about-laughter/ and it has a lot of fun facts about laughing on it. One that I liked was that laughter is contagious. My favorite thing is when you are laughing and can’t stop.