Laughter is . . .

You already know the end of that sentence, right? Yes, “. . . the best medicine.”

While scientific research is not yet extensive in the area of humour and wellness, there’s a growing awareness of the connection between the health of our mind and our physical body. On this note, here’s a few quotes about humour and laughter that are worth some thought.

Laughter helps relieve the symptoms of stress because a good session of hearty laughter activates the release of endorphins from the brain—giving a nice boost to your mood.

Adults laugh on average only 15 times per day while kids enjoy a giggle up to 400 times per day!
—de-stress, J Campsie (2000), Murdoch Books, Sydney.

A professor who worked at UCLA School of Medicine, Norman Cousins, calls laughter inner jogging. “That is because when we are engaged in a good, hearty laugh, every system in our body gets a workout.”
“Think of the last time you had a good belly laugh, the kind where your sides hurt when you were finished. You may have bounced up and down, rocked back and forth, or doubled over from time to time. Your mouth was probably wide open in an effort to take in more air. Tears may have been streaming down your face. That is what was happening outside your body. Inside, you were getting a workout too.”

“None of us is perfect. Most of our situations are far from ideal. One of the most compassionate things we can do for ourselves is not to take those imperfections too seriously. When we can find some humour in our losses, in those things that we push away, and in those bent nails and splintered pieces, then we are, as clinical psychologist Walter O’Connell points out, “honouring our imperfections and chipped edges.” When we can laugh through our tears, we are being given a powerful message. Things may be bad, but they cannot be all that bad.” —The Healing Power of Humour, A Klein (1989), J P Tarcher.

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” —Victor Borge.