A prescription for laughter therapy!
This weekend some friends and I decided that we needed to make some time for laughter therapy and went to LaughFest in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I can tell you that just laughing with others made me feel better about life. Sometimes we get so bummed about the state of the world or even the state of our house that we need a release. A good laugh helps to put things back in perspective.
We went to see a comedy show during an entire week of comedy programs in every possible venue in one city. The show was in bad taste, politically incorrect, biased and so much fun. I think what I enjoyed the most was exposing the ridiculousness in our lives. Recently, a Northwestern University professor found that “tickling” rats to the point of inducing “laughter” might help make them resilient to depression and anxiety. I get it.
Laughter has been shown to help reduce stress and pain, and to improve healing. The act of laughter can lead to immediate increases in heart rate, respiratory rate, respiratory depth, and oxygen consumption. These increases are then followed by a period of muscle relaxation, with a corresponding decrease in heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. Sweet relief.
Scott Burton, a cancer survivor and someone who has used laughter therapy said, “The other reactions; anger, depression, suppression, denial, took a little piece of me with them. Each made me feel just a little less human. Yet laughter made me more open to ideas, more inviting to others, and even a little stronger inside. It proved to me that, even as my body was devastated and my spirit challenged, I was still a vital human.”
Although I am not a physician, I do recommend that everyone get 15 to 20 minutes of laughter a day in the same way physicians recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise. Let us start to consider that, along with eating your fruits and vegetables and getting enough sleep, laughter is a great prescription to enhance health.
Start today by watching these favorite funny movies!
