We all know the phrase: laughter is the best medicine. It actually dates back to the 1300s, when Henri de Mondeville began using laughter as therapy for patients after operations.
Doctors agree that particularly in times of crisis, laughter is one of the most valuable ways to elevate your mood.
“Laughter is a symbol of hope, and it becomes one of our greatest needs of life, right up there with toilet paper,” Los Angeles comedian Eric Rhodes joked recently with TIME Magazine. “It’s a physical need people have...we can’t underestimate how it heals people and gives them hope.”
To sum it up, when you laugh you reduce stress hormones in your body, which enables your immunity-boosting cells to get to work. Laughter also releases Endorphins, known by many as “happy hormones”The result is less stress and anxiety in your system, and in some cases, legitimate pain relief.
Less stress equates to a more relaxed body, which leads to better overall rest –– and rest allows your body the time it needs to heal and recharge. A recharged you isn’t only a happier you, but a healthier one as well.
If you’re relaxed, your immune system is at its A game, which is particularly important in, say, a global pandemic that has wiped out hundreds of thousands of people.
So we say go ahead. The next time you find yourself holding back a laugh, feel it. Let it out. And then move on and find something else to laugh about some more.
Get some jokes books, and sit down with your family & have some fun!
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