Thomas Carlyle, the English essayist and philosopher, said that a man who can not laugh is not only fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils; but his whole life is already a treason and stratagem. John Paul Richter, the German humorist said that laughing cheerfulness throws the light of day on all paths of life. Martin Luther, in a joking manner, declared that if one is not allowed to laugh in heaven, he just would not go there. A good laugh is sunshine in a house, William Makepeace Thackeray said. Laurence J. Peter rightly observed that two things reduce prejudice - education and laughter. George Gordon, Lord Byron justified laughter when he said: “And if I laugh at any mortal thing, Tis that I may not weep.” And yes, the brief lines from Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s Solitude, thus : “Laugh and the whole world laughs with you; Weep and you weep alone; For the old earth must borrow to mirth; But has trouble enough of its own.” John Dryden emphasized that it is a good thing to laugh and if a straw can tickle a man, it is an instrument of happiness. Beasts can weep when they suffer, but they cannot laugh.
The saying albeit old that “laughter is the best medicine” has not become hackneyed.
It has been observed that more and more scientific studies are providing evidence that simply laughing a bit more each day can give you added energy and lead to a happier and less stressful life, all of which, according to Rodger Constandse’s “Goals to Action” contribute to greater productivity and making better use of you time. Constandse provides 17 great reasons to add more laughter to our day, especially during these turbulent times;
1. Laughter relaxes muscles - When you laugh hard, themuscles that aren't involved in the laughing relax as anatural response of the nervous system. When you finishlaughing, the diaphragm, which is the muscle that doesthe laughing, also relaxes.
2. Reduces stress hormones - Laughter is shown toreduce levels of epinephrine (or adrenaline), cortisoldopac and growth hormone in the body. All thesehormones are related to the fight-or-flight reactionthat causes stress.3. Boosts immune system - Laughter and feelings of joyhave been shown to boost levels of immunoglobulins thatare responsible for fighting illnesses and infections.
Laughter also increases the number of neuropeptidesthat facilitate communication between cells and thenervous system. Since viruses infect cells through thesame receptor sites on cells that the nervous systemuses to communicate, an increase in neuropeptides atthose sites effectively increases the cell's ability toblock viruses.4. Provides cardiac exercise - According to WebMD.com,laughing heartily 100 times provides similar benefitsas exercising for 10 minutes.5. Lowers blood pressure - A study at the University ofMaryland showed that laughing dramatically improved thelining of patients' blood vessels, improved dilation ofthe vessels and improved blood flow by as much as 22percent.6. Cleanses the lungs - The deep breathing of laughtertends to empty more air out of your lungs than is takenin. This has a cleansing effect on the lungs.7. Improves cancer survivability - Laughing increasesthe number and activity of Natural Killer cells, whichdirectly attack tumor cells. Although laughter is not considered a replacement for medical treatments, it is known to largely increase the success rates of such treatments.8. Reduces pain - Whether it is because laughterreleases endorphins, relaxes muscles or distracts aperson from his or her pain is not known yet, but it iswell documented that laughter reduces pain. 9. Lowers stress - Laughing causes the body to relaxfrom its flight-or-fight response to stressfulsituations.10. Reduced anger and anxiety - How can you be angry oranxious when you're laughing? It's both a chemical andemotional reaction.11. Increased joy - Just like you can train yourself tobe fast or strong or to have high endurance, you cantrain yourself to be happy. Laughter and an optimisticoutlook are the exercises that train you to be happy.12. Boosts self-esteem - Situations in life are mucheasier to cope with when you can laugh at them. Itisn't just the physical effects like releasingendorphins and relaxing muscles, laughing at somethingchanges our perspective of something. If you can laughat a problem or challenge, you can always overcome it.13. Sense of control - When something angers us ormakes us anxious, we tend to feel like victims. Butwhen we laugh at something, we tend to feel above itand feel as though we are in control.14. Increased emotional intelligence - According tohumor researcher Dr. Paul E. McGhee, humor is apowerful tool in managing anger and anxiety, avoidingnon-clinical depression, and for replacing negativeemotions with positive ones, which is one of the mostadvanced Emotional Intelligence Skills.
15. Strengthens team spirit - Humor and joking in ateam atmosphere, whether it's a business team, anathletic team or any other kind of team; breaks downbarriers, motivates team members, creates emotionalbonding, and eases communication. All these factorsresult in a more productive team whose members areloyal to one another. 16. Enhances communication skills - Laughter and humormake communicating easier by breaking down barriers,such as those related to status or rank, and makingawkward moments more comfortable. Humor also softensthe emotional tone of communications that are otherwisevery serious.
17. Increases creativity - Humor removes youemotionally from the problem you are trying to solveand removes the pressure caused by focusing intentlyand seriously. People think more creatively when theyare feeling relaxed and natural; humor or laughteraccomplishes this quickly. "The person who can bring the spirit of laughterinto a room is indeed blessed." - Bennett Cerf
Research shows that even fake laugher (laughing whenyou don't feel like laughing) has positive benefits.
The saying albeit old that “laughter is the best medicine” has not become hackneyed.
It has been observed that more and more scientific studies are providing evidence that simply laughing a bit more each day can give you added energy and lead to a happier and less stressful life, all of which, according to Rodger Constandse’s “Goals to Action” contribute to greater productivity and making better use of you time. Constandse provides 17 great reasons to add more laughter to our day, especially during these turbulent times;
1. Laughter relaxes muscles - When you laugh hard, themuscles that aren't involved in the laughing relax as anatural response of the nervous system. When you finishlaughing, the diaphragm, which is the muscle that doesthe laughing, also relaxes.
2. Reduces stress hormones - Laughter is shown toreduce levels of epinephrine (or adrenaline), cortisoldopac and growth hormone in the body. All thesehormones are related to the fight-or-flight reactionthat causes stress.3. Boosts immune system - Laughter and feelings of joyhave been shown to boost levels of immunoglobulins thatare responsible for fighting illnesses and infections.
Laughter also increases the number of neuropeptidesthat facilitate communication between cells and thenervous system. Since viruses infect cells through thesame receptor sites on cells that the nervous systemuses to communicate, an increase in neuropeptides atthose sites effectively increases the cell's ability toblock viruses.4. Provides cardiac exercise - According to WebMD.com,laughing heartily 100 times provides similar benefitsas exercising for 10 minutes.5. Lowers blood pressure - A study at the University ofMaryland showed that laughing dramatically improved thelining of patients' blood vessels, improved dilation ofthe vessels and improved blood flow by as much as 22percent.6. Cleanses the lungs - The deep breathing of laughtertends to empty more air out of your lungs than is takenin. This has a cleansing effect on the lungs.7. Improves cancer survivability - Laughing increasesthe number and activity of Natural Killer cells, whichdirectly attack tumor cells. Although laughter is not considered a replacement for medical treatments, it is known to largely increase the success rates of such treatments.8. Reduces pain - Whether it is because laughterreleases endorphins, relaxes muscles or distracts aperson from his or her pain is not known yet, but it iswell documented that laughter reduces pain. 9. Lowers stress - Laughing causes the body to relaxfrom its flight-or-fight response to stressfulsituations.10. Reduced anger and anxiety - How can you be angry oranxious when you're laughing? It's both a chemical andemotional reaction.11. Increased joy - Just like you can train yourself tobe fast or strong or to have high endurance, you cantrain yourself to be happy. Laughter and an optimisticoutlook are the exercises that train you to be happy.12. Boosts self-esteem - Situations in life are mucheasier to cope with when you can laugh at them. Itisn't just the physical effects like releasingendorphins and relaxing muscles, laughing at somethingchanges our perspective of something. If you can laughat a problem or challenge, you can always overcome it.13. Sense of control - When something angers us ormakes us anxious, we tend to feel like victims. Butwhen we laugh at something, we tend to feel above itand feel as though we are in control.14. Increased emotional intelligence - According tohumor researcher Dr. Paul E. McGhee, humor is apowerful tool in managing anger and anxiety, avoidingnon-clinical depression, and for replacing negativeemotions with positive ones, which is one of the mostadvanced Emotional Intelligence Skills.
15. Strengthens team spirit - Humor and joking in ateam atmosphere, whether it's a business team, anathletic team or any other kind of team; breaks downbarriers, motivates team members, creates emotionalbonding, and eases communication. All these factorsresult in a more productive team whose members areloyal to one another. 16. Enhances communication skills - Laughter and humormake communicating easier by breaking down barriers,such as those related to status or rank, and makingawkward moments more comfortable. Humor also softensthe emotional tone of communications that are otherwisevery serious.
17. Increases creativity - Humor removes youemotionally from the problem you are trying to solveand removes the pressure caused by focusing intentlyand seriously. People think more creatively when theyare feeling relaxed and natural; humor or laughteraccomplishes this quickly. "The person who can bring the spirit of laughterinto a room is indeed blessed." - Bennett Cerf
Research shows that even fake laugher (laughing whenyou don't feel like laughing) has positive benefits.
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