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February/March 2007 |
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Laughter is Good Medicine |
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Kris Jenkins, Human Environmental
Sciences Bates County jenkinsr@missouri.edu |
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| Have you had a good laugh today? Research has shown
that laughter is essential to your well-being. As scientists have
learned more about the brain, they’ve discovered that smiles and
laughter stimulate the brain to secrete chemicals, including endorphins,
which seem to stimulate healing, increase happiness and reduce pain.
Why do you need laughter in your life? Laughter is a powerful tool for your health. It can provide muscle relaxation, release from anger and fear, stress reduction, prevention of heart disease, reduction in headaches and anxiety, as well as needed socialization. Considerable research has been conducted on the medical affects of laughter. In a series of studies at Loma Linda University in California, people exposed to regular doses of humor showed a significant increase in their immune system (the system that fights off disease and infection). While stress can weaken immune systems, humor can strengthen them. Need more humor in your life? Try these tips: n Seek out humor. Do certain friends or family make you laugh? Find reasons to spend time with them!n Surround yourself with humor. Post cartoons around the house to remind you that humor helps.n Laugh at yourself. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten your attitudes about yourself and your anxieties will become lighter, too.n Don’t worry or analyze why people laugh-just appreciate. Think humorous! Look for the funny side of an otherwise difficult situation.n Prepare a first-aid laughter kit. This could include books, cartoons, CD’s or videos, memorabilia, etc. Write down the amusing things that happen and save them for a sad day.n Be open to silly things. Humor the child within you!n Laugh with others for what they do, rather than for what they are.Humorist Bennett Cerf believed that humor is individual and exists only in the mind. He said," Humor is like bad taste in clothing—there is no accounting for it." |
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Kris Jenkins
jenkinsk@missouri.edu |
| Last revised: 01/29/09 |