Have you ever had one of those days where you’re just feeling down? You think nothing in the world can possibly pick you up….until….. someone makes you laugh. That’s right, laughter is sometimes the best medicine. I recently finished Tina Fey’s book, Bossypants. I would like to apologize to Ms. Fey, for I should have read your book much MUCH sooner! I’ve always known she was hilarious, but I guess I didn’t realize exactly how much her personality could shine through her writing. Her book made me LAUGH. There were several moments where she interjected her humor, without which would have still been a good book, but including those moments made it hers, and brought her writing to a level beyond my expectations. It truly was an enjoyable read and it got me thinking, it’s great to just laugh. So in honor of laughter, I’d like to share a few of the best laugh facts I’ve come across in my laughter research:
1. You can burn up to 40 calories laughing for 10 to 15 minutes
2. Animals that can laugh include rats, dogs, and chimps (and many more!)….although their laughter tends to be associated more with the act of play than humor
3. There is some evidence that laughter improves natural killer cell activity, which is important to the immune system and may be suppressed in cancer and HIV patients
4. Laughter Yoga is a thing- my yoga teacher actually introduced us to self-induced laughter- it feels quite silly at first, but is catching and if you “fake” laugh for long enough…eventually you’ll just be laughing at the fact that you’re laughing…and well, you get the point
5. Laughing after crawling out of bed in the morning may have a similar effect to that cup of coffee you haven’t quite gotten to yet
6. “Gelotology” is the term given to the study of laughter
7. You are 30 times more likely to laugh in the presence of others than you are alone- laughter is definitely contagious
8. For my science-oriented friends: laughter induces neurochemical changes in the brain that in addition to releasing feel-good neurotransmitters, increases gamma wave frequency which involves the entire brain and may help with memory
9. A six year old laughs about 3 times more than the typical adult
10. Like a smile, laughter crosses all ages, cultures, and language barriers and is universally recognized as a positive form of communication all over the world
In light of recent llama drama, I leave you with this….
A life beyond meaning 