A laugh a day keeps the doctor at bay

by Hannah Vickers

Everyone has stressful days. Whether it’s because of exams, money problems, assignments or family issues, everyone has experienced stress and the side affects it causes. 

Luckily, laughing has been shown to help fight the effects that stress causes and that's a fact.

Research at the American college of cardiology showed that laughing increases blood flow by 20 per cent.

it also strengthens your immune system, boosts your energy, increases your threshold to pain, releases endorphins that makes you happier and most importantly increases blood flow to the heart, protecting you against heart attacks.

Having a good laugh has a huge effect on your stress levels.

This is because it causes your blood vessels to expand. There are two theories as to why this happens.

The first being that the moving endorphins released cause the vessels to expand and the other suggesting that the movement of your diaphragm muscle when you laugh causes its expansion.

Frankie says relax

Laughter relaxes the whole body, relieving physical tension, leaving muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes. Also for those of us who aren’t fans of sit-ups but want that washboard stomach, it’s been shown that having a regular giggle can tone your stomach, in conjunction with a healthy diet and regular exercise of course.

For the few of us that love our food, scientists are working on proving that laughing can curb food cravings.

With the rise of mental illnesses such as depression over the last ten years, they have now introduced humour therapy. This is an experimental new form of therapy to help people’s state of mind and better deal with mental stress.

Other mental benefits of laughing include easing anxiety, mood improvement and enhanced resilience. These qualities are priceless when revising for that end of term exam or spending evenings finishing your assignments.

There are also social befits to laughing. For those uncomfortable situations like the first day of university or a new job, it helps when it comes to attracting new friends and appearing more approachable to others around you.

This enhances team work, helps with bonding, defusing conflict and also the strengthening of relationships.

Child's play

Laughing, unlike other feel good activities, is completely free and can be done anywhere anytime. What makes people laugh differs from person to person so, to find out what really tickles your funny bone here’s some suggestions.

All children are spontaneous and innocent and great sources of comedy. Next time you’re out and about look at the children around you playing, even their disagreements are a source for a good laugh when you remember how you were as a child.

Other ways you can find a good laugh are funny films, cartoons (even the little ones in the newspaper) and playing a game with friends.All of these will allow you to find a funny side, so look for the silver lining and feel the benefits.

 

See also: Your views- What you makes you laugh?