World Laughter Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday of May to raise awareness about the many benefits of laughing and how it can promote your overall well-being. Do you know how a seemingly silly activity like laughing can also help your health?
What you need to know:
The anatomy of laughter
The anatomy of laughter included the zygomaticus major and minor muscles that anchor at the cheekbones. They stretch down towards the jaw to pull the facial expression upwards and pull your upper lips upwards and outwards. These muscles are responsible for making you smile and laugh.
Benefits of laughing
Laughter is contagious. Take a look at how laughing can have many advantages:
- When you laugh wholeheartedly, it releases endorphins or happy hormones, relieving your body of cortisol, the stress hormone, and tension. Laughing can boost your mood and lessen the chances of chronic depression and anxiety. Try imbibing laughter into your everyday behavior to defuse stressful situations.
- Laughter increases blood flow, improves the function of blood vessels, and kicks up your heart rate, keeping your heart healthy. It also decreases arterial wall stiffness, which protects you from cardiovascular complications. So, laugh your heart out.
- Negative thoughts can adversely impact your immune system. Positive thoughts release neuropeptides that can help you cope with serious illnesses. Laughing also releases anti-infection antibodies that protect your body from infections.
- Laughter can also reduce your blood pressure, thus, reducing the risk of heart attacks or strokes.
- It is no joke that laughing can be a great form of workout. When you laugh, the muscles in your stomach expand and contract, which exercises your abs. Laughing can be an effective calorie burner as well.
- When you laugh, you activate many organs in your body. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air and stimulates your heart, lungs, and muscles.
- A good chuckle every now and then can help you rebalance your mind and body.
- When you laugh, it releases a sense of positivity that is infectious and spreads to other people as well. Seize the opportunity of being someone’s reason to smile or laugh today.
- Every time you find humor in difficult situations, you win. So, instead of taking yourself too seriously, try laughing at yourself. This would enable you to be vulnerable.
Ways to get a good laugh
The fact that laughter is the best medicine cannot be emphasized enough. Due to the healing effects of laughing, laughter clubs and laughter yoga is promoted to foster wellness. Laughter clubs are where people gather to spread joy, cheer and laugh together. There are many outlets through which you can get a good laugh. As children, we used to laugh hundreds of times a day, but as adults, life tends to be more serious and laughter more infrequent. But by seeking out more opportunities for laughter, you can improve your emotional health, strengthen your relationships, find greater happiness and even add years to your life. With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource to overcome problems, enhance your relationships, and support both physical and emotional health. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use. Laughter is a universal language that brings us closer. This World Laughter Day, have an ear-to-ear grin on your face.
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You may also be interested in the following blogs:
- Why laughter is the best medicine to relieve stress
- 7 Reasons Why Laughter Is The Best Medicine- By Dr. Aditi Govitrikar
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