Is there too much stress in your life? Is everything piling up and weighing you down? Perhaps you’ve tried pharmaceutical and herbal remedies, but nothing seems to work. You should try a proven natural therapy that has been used for generations to relive stress and make you feel better. So what is this miracle cure that makes us feel so great? It’s laughter. Laughter is nature’s way of easing tension and helping us relax. So take some time to laugh every day and you’ll be feeling better in no time.
So how does laughter work exactly? Well, laughter works on several levels to make us feel better and less stressed. First, laughter works to relieve stress physically. When we laugh, stress hormones in our blood, like cortisol, are actually reduced. Laughter also gives us a mini workout, which improves out health and releases hormones that make us feel happier. Lastly, when we laugh, it helps boost our immune system. The stronger our immune system is, the better we feel and the more prepared we are to combat stress.
Laughter helps us emotionally release stress as well. Our bodies are designed to release excess emotions physically through acts such as laughing and crying. When we laugh, it releases some of our negative emotions as well. It can also change the thoughts that promote our emotions. Laughter helps us think more positively, worry less, and be less stressed. Even if laughter doesn’t promote positive thinking, it can make us forget about our negative thoughts and feel better.
If you’re laughing with friends or loved ones, you are also promoting social bonding. When we are bonded with people, it promotes supportive relationships that can make us feel more supported and less burdened, so we feel less stressed out about our situation.
So what do you do if life just isn’t that funny? What if you just can’t find anything to laugh at? You fake it. That’s right, fake laughing. Consider one study done on forced laughter. Participants were asked to watch a movie and either not laugh at anything or laugh at the jokes whether they thought they were funny or not. After the movie, participants filled out a survey on how much they liked the movie. Believe it or not the people who laughed rated the movie as significantly better and funnier. Laughing, forced or not, improves the way you view the world and helps to fight stress from your everyday life.
In addition to stress relief, laughing has also been show to help you eat less, boost your immune system, increase your pain threshold, and even help you heal faster. So don’t delay. Whether it means going to a funny movie or laughing for no good reason at all, start laughing your way to a less stressful life today.