Editor
Oct 1, 20131 min
If you are feeling down, there are a million different things that you can do to make yourself feel better – and we are not going to get into that here. What we will focus on however is the best thing you can do… and that our friends is to LAUGH.
Laugh your pants off!
Some researchers think laughter just might be the best medicine, helping you feel better and putting that spring back in your step.
“I believe that if people can get more laughter in their lives, they are a lot better off,” says Steve Wilson, MA, CSP, a psychologist and laugh therapist. “They might be healthier too.”
So let’s take a look under the bonnet to see what actually happens when you laugh..
According to the folks at WebMD, “We change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to our tissues”.
Just like yoga and meditation, laughter has been described as a mental workout. When combined with regular exercise, it does wonders for your heart rate and blood flow. The best part is, according to Maciej Buchowski, a researcher from Vanderbilt University – laughter appears to burn calories. It turns out that 10-15 minutes of laughter can burn up to 50 calaries. So what are you waiting for?
Below we have compiled a visual smorgasbord of laughter to remind you to not take yourself too serious and just ‘have a laugh’ – after all, it’s good for your health!
Enjoy xx