Laughter is behind the door of the Build a Better You Advent Calendar today.
Life can get so serious, so busy, we can find we went through a whole day without laughing.
Maybe you smiled, but you didn’t really laugh.
Laughter brings so many benefits it’s simply not something you can skip. Unless you aren’t interested in:
Boosting your immunity- Lowering stress hormones
- Relaxing your muscles
- Easing anxiety and fear
- Improving your mood
- Strengthening relationships
The positive effects of laughter are immediate.
- Laughter evaporates feelings of distress
- Laughter gives you a distancing perspective, so you don’t get overwhelmed
- Laughter helps you recharge and be more effective
What if laughing was like drinking water, something you have to do every day just to stay alive? How would you set up your life differently to make sure you got your laughter in?
7 Ways to Laugh More
These methods are tried and true by yours truly, Beth Rogerson.
- Work with the fun experts: children. I live with a 12-year-old so I get to do ridiculous things like laser tag and ziplining. Nothing like flying through trees at top speed to scare you and make you laugh.
- Share a funny story. I can’t believe how hard I laughed when one of my colleagues shared the story of the Catalan tradition of Tió de Nadal. It’s a funny tradition, but the story caught me by surprise and I laughed so hard I had to take deep breaths to slow myself down.
- Play charades. Imagine a room full of your friends trying to communicate only through exaggerated body movements…this can be quite entertaining indeed.
- Play with your pets. Also a great way to get some physical activity into your day. They can look so funny when they play, or you end up laughing because you’re enjoying how much fun you’re having.
- Watch a funny movie with family or friends. Senses of humor can really run the gamut, so I don’t have any recommendations here. Stand-up comedy routines can also be a lot of fun, either live or in front of your TV screen.
- Do some laughter yoga. This is really something you can do! You get all the benefits of yoga and you get the benefits of laughing. I doubt it’s possible to have a bad day after doing some laughter yoga.
- Seek out humor on the internet and share the laughter. Maybe after dinner, each family member has to share a funny video they came across that day. Another colleague of mine saves up funny animal videos for her young nephew, and after they laugh they try to act out the video.
Don’t Wait to Start Laughing Your Way to Happiness
Image Credit
“Remember a Day” by Flickr user Jeffrey Zeldman is licensed under CC BY 2.0.