Laughter is a gift. Without it marriages fail, our health deteriorates, and friendships are lost. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not at all and 5 being all the time, how much do you laugh on average during a normal week? Do you purposely schedule time to laugh? This may sound crazy, but on long car rides I connect my phone to the car Bluetooth and listen to a video of one of my favorite comedians (absolutely love Tim Hawkins ). The people who pass me may think I am a little crazy but when I am done laughing hysterically, I feel so much better.
The importance of laughter really hit home after returning from my military deployment. One of the things that my family pointed out after being home for a while was that I didn’t laugh very much anymore. I couldn’t quite answer why but going through what I did, it was bound to impact me in some way. I did finally see that by not laughing much it started to impact me personally and my close relationships.
So what about you? Could bringing more laughter into your life and home make a difference in some way? I am convinced that couples who do the best, laugh regularly together. If you want one simple way to improve your marriage, find ways to laugh more together. Don’t be so serious about everything. If you’re not convinced yet and need a few more reasons to make laughter a part of your day, here are four good reasons.
Laughter Helps us Bond If you think back to some of your fondest memories, I bet a few of them included laughter. Whether it’s with our best friend, our partner, or our kids, laughter helps us release tension and express joy. Smiling and laughing also can express that we are approachable and friendly—making it easier to connect with others. Who doesn’t love being with someone to likes to laugh.
Laughter Lifts Our Spirits Whether you’re struggling through a tough situation or just feeling down, putting on a funny movie or kidding around with someone who appreciates your humor can go a long way to lifting the spirit. While we don’t want to avoid every negative emotion or feeling, sometimes it’s OK and necessary to “get out of your head” now and then.
Laughter is Good for Your Heart—Literally The American Heart Association has studied the effects of laughter on the heart and has found that laughter can reduce inflammation in the arteries and increase the “good” cholesterol in our blood—HDL. The bible verse “Laughter is good medicine” is quite literally true.
Laughter Can Counteract Stress If you’re at all familiar with the parasympathetic nervous system (I sound smart now), you’d know that the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine increase when we are going through a time of stress. While this can be a good thing over the short term (in order to solve problems and react if necessary) it can cause problems if we let that stress stay with us. Many of us have chronic stress in our modern life, so it’s important to find ways to bring down stress levels. As I mentioned in my car example, laughter is a great way to lower the negative hormones and feel some relief.
How about you? How do you find ways to unwind and laugh? Please share your ideas in the comments below. I always love hearing from my readers. This is a great message to share with your family and friends. It’s that important. Praying for you!
Your Virtual Life Mentor,
Doug
P.S.
I am looking for your ideas on what I should call my blog. If you have some suggestions, please let me know. The person who gets the winning idea will get an Amazon gift card, so don’t delay.