Instinctively, we know that laughter and humor is a remedy for curing anxiety, stress, and depression. There’s even a new science, Gelotology, the study of laughter, which seeks scientific answers to the health benefits of laughing.
Laughter has a lot of actual physical responses: When we laugh, we release endorphins which contribute to our happiness, help boost our immune system and reduce pain. We also reduce mental tension and increase energy, allowing us to stay focused and achieve even more.
When we laugh, both sides of the brain are stimulated which encourages clarity, creativity, and better problem-solving ability, so let’s laugh more often.
However, if we have difficulty finding humor or something to laugh at, we can cultivate this and achieve the same benefits from Laughter Yoga: The International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (IJGP) published a study that found that laughter yoga proved more effective in mitigating the effects of depression, especially in older women than normal exercise or yoga. So, here are a few videos on Laughter Yoga:
This is definitely something for the Grapevine! Ha ha ha!
Grapevine Center 