Laughter is said to be the best medicine, and I have to agree. I love having a sense of humor. I love to act goofy. I love to laugh. It’s a great way to lift my spirits. I enjoy comedic plays and movies. I like watching silly videos and reading comic strips. I like to have a good chuckle.
Research has shown that laughing is good for you. When I studied Psychology, I came across many different studies on the power of both having a positive attitude and having a sense of humor. Laughing burns calories. A study done at Loma Linda University showed that adults who watched funny videos performed better than those who didn’t on a short-term memory test. Isn’t that fascinating?
It has also been proven that laughter may reduce stress hormones and boost your immune function. And did you know laughter therapy is a thing? Here’s a list of benefits of laughter therapy:
- Relaxing your muscles
- Release of endorphins
- Improving sleep
- Enhancing creativity and memory
- Easing digestion
- Enhancing oxygen intake
- Improving well-being and positive emotions
- Boosting immune function
- Improving blood pressure
(Source – mercola.com)
It’s amazing what a positive outlook will do for your health. I believe that a good sense of humor is a gift from the Lord – for laughter to be so healthy, I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be!
I’ll share one of my favorite comic strips – Pickles by Brian Crane. While they are an older couple, Earl and Opal remind me of The Nerd and I:
warrior hippie 
‘Laughter therapy’ – no, I didn’t know that existed. Sounds good though. I always feel better having had a laugh. Proverbs 17:22 – “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
That comic strip reminds me of when I used to live with my grandparents–when I was a freshman and sophomore in college. My grandma figured out that I enjoyed reading the comic so she’d set out that section from the newspaper every morning for me to read while I ate my breakfast (clearly I just needed some brain candy after all those textbooks, ha!).
That is so sweet!
I just read a post the other day about Laughter Yoga!??! I had no idea that was even a thing – but laughter therapy – yes, I have heard of that! I laugh (out loud… for real!) several times a day, every day. It is a gift, for sure and I know it makes a huge difference in my daily life!
Pingback: 31 Days – Theme for 2015 | warrior hippie
I wish they would have laughter classes for fitness, how great would that be, want to lose weight? Join up to laughter classes, that is a class I would never miss x
Love the cartoons! Pedro and I have fond memories of laughing too loudly in the hospital whilst watching funny videos. Must have worked–he’s still alive despite his dire prognosis!
I just spent a weekend laughing with friends. We laughed so hard our faces turned red and we were silent for a spell. It was a holy moment. God is in our laughter. (Catching up on my #write31days reading.)