Laughing can enhance your life in a positive way by improving the overall health of your mind and body, altering your perspective of daily activities, and strengthening relationships.

Have you ever thought about the benefits of laughter?

Just try laughing along

What do you feel? Muscle relaxation Mood improvement Decreased stress Decreased fear “Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh” (Smith, Kemp & Segal, 2010)

Laughing is good for the health of your body Boosts your immune system Relieves stress Helps prevent cardiovascular problems (Smith, M., Kemp, G., & Segal, J. 2010)

Laughing can boost your immune system! During a 12 week long study, questionnaires were completed and saliva samples were taken from patients on a daily basis. Salivary immunoglobulin A (S-IgA) is an antibody that fights upper respiratory infections. “high saliva antibody levels were associated with positive leisure and domestic events” (Povine, 2000)

Relieve stress Studies done at Loma Linda University in California show a decrease in stress the hormones just by anticipating watching a funny video: cortisol by 39% Epinephrine by 70% Dopac by 38% (American Physiological Society,2008)

Laughing can alter your perspective by… …allowing your mind to be optimistic …Releasing chemicals called endorphins …helping manage pain better with the release of endorphins (American Physiological Society 2008, April 10)

What are endorphins? “The body’s own natural painkillers, which block pain and produce the feeling of well-being.” (Wood, Wood & Boyd, 2008) Endorphins are brain chemicals called neurotransmitters There are about 20 different kinds of endorphins They act similarly to the drugs morphine and codeine but are non addictive Stress and pain are the most common factors which trigger the release of these chemicals Chocolate and chili peppers are two foods that release more endorphins (Stoppler, 2007)

Increase your pain threshold? A study by the international research team led by Oxford University showed that a good hearty “proper” laugh with others increased pain tolerance by an average of 10%

Neutral Positive Comedy affect Male and female subjects’ pain tolerance was tested prior to experiments (pre-test) Three groups were formed and watched either a documentary (neutral) video, “positive affect” video, or a comedy. Pain tolerance was tested again (post-test) Chart shows pain tolerance, post- test minus pre-test Their research…. Pain tolerance (Dunbar, 2011)

Strengthen relationships “Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting” (Smith, Kemp & Segal, 2010)

Laugh together Laughing together creates a positive bond It helps reduce defensiveness (Nicastro, R. n.d.) Laughter can bring people together during difficult times (Smith, M., Kemp, G., & Segal, J. 2010)

Tips to laughing just a little bit more “laughter is 30 times more likely to occur in social contexts than when alone ” (Dunbar, 2011) Spend time with fun and humorous people Make a list of things your thankful for Read the funnies in the paper Crack a few jokes Smith, M., Kemp, G., & Segal, J. (2010)

So next time you laugh remember all the good things it can do for your body! Laugh your stress away, make all your “big” problems seem like manageable tasks and reinforce the bonds you have with your loved ones! Smile!

Citation Page American Physiological Society (2008, April 10). Anticipating A Laugh Reduces Our Stress Hormones, Study Shows. ScienceDaily. Dunbar, R. I. M. (2011). Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. Retrieved from laughter-is-correlated-with-an-elevated-pain-threshold.pdf Nicastro, R. (n.d.). Love and laughter: how laughter can strengthen your marriage/relationship. Retrieved from strengthen-your-marriagerelationship/ strengthen-your-marriagerelationship/ Provine, R. R. (2000). Laughter: a scientific investigation. (p. 197). New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Inc.

Citation Page cont. Smith, M., Kemp, G., & Segal, J. (2010). The health benefits of humor and laughter. Retrieved from Stoppler, M. C. (2007, March 15). Endorphins: natural pain and stress fighters. Retrieved from Wood, S. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2008). Mastering the world of psychology. (fourth ed., p. 87). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.