Laugh laugh laugh: be healthy, live longer!

My joke of the day: 

My bf is hugging me and slowly starts checking out my bottom. I ask “Anything you like?” (cheeky!) Well he really surprises me then when he says “Mmmm yeah. Before I had to look for your ass, now it is right out there”.

Hmmm if you think I was pleased, you don’t know me :) I was furious… And then he had to explain for about half an hour with the puppy eyes of his that it was meant to be a compliment – of my workouts… You can’t imagine how hard I laughed after that. :)

So, I don't know if you heard, but laughter is good for you! GOOD GOOD GOOD! There is a lot of research on it too - and I mean, being a PhD student, scientific research!

R. Morgan Griffith writes:

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. 

People who believe in the benefits of laughter say it can be like a mild workout -- and may offer some of the same advantages as a workout.

"The effects of laughter and exercise are very similar," says [Steve] Wilson. "Combining laughter and movement, like waving your arms, is a great way to boost your heart rate." 

One pioneer in laughter research, William Fry, claimed it took ten minutes on a rowing machine for his heart rate to reach the level it would after just one minute of hearty laughter. 

And laughter appears to burn calories, too. Maciej Buchowski, a researcher from Vanderbilt University, conducted a small study in which he measured the amount of calories expended in laughing. It turned out that 10-15 minutes of laughter burned 50 calories. 

While the results are intriguing, don't be too hasty in ditching that treadmill. One piece of chocolate has about 50 calories; at the rate of 50 calories per hour, losing one pound would require about 12 hours of concentrated laughter!

Source: Give Your Body a Boost - With Laughter. Why, for some, laughter is the bestmedicine.

But then again, it is not exactly certain whether it is just laughter, or also the general optimism and active social life which usually come along with laughter, which are more important.

Laughter, [Robert R.] Provine believes, is part of a larger picture. "Laughter is social, so any health benefits might really come from being close with friends and family, and not the laughter itself." 

In his own research, Provine has found that we're thirty times more likely to laugh when we're with other people than when we're alone. People who laugh a lot may just have a strong connection to the people around them. That in itself might have health benefits. 

Wilson agrees there are limits to what we know about laughter's benefits. 

"Laughing more could make you healthier, but we don't know," he tells WebMD. "I certainly wouldn't want people to start laughing more just to avoid dying -- because sooner or later, they'll be disappointed." 

But we all know that laughing, being with friends and family, and being happy can make us feel better and give us a boost -- even though studies may not show why.

Source: Ibid, page 2.

All in all, laughter won’t reverse the death and make us live forever. It is NOT a bad habit though, it might give some positive effects both on our physical and social health – so why not go for it?!

Some links:

• I loved this site on laughter and benefits of it: Laughter is the Best Medicine (you can also see where to start there). And one of the things that anyone can do – is smile. Smile when you workout, smile when you work, smile when you rest. It can NOT be bad for you. :)
• 8 benefits of laughter