Humour is an effective coping strategy and can be used for self care, staff care or patient care. By developing strategies to bring more laughter into your life, you help reduce stress, improve your focus and effectiveness, enhance your communication and creative problem solving, build morale and strengthen your relationships and overall health.
The best evidence that humour boosts the immune system comes from studies where immune system measures are taken before and after a particular humorous event – usually a comedy video.
Laughter allows the brain to secrete cerebral endorphins (a pleasure hormone that has a relaxing effect). Several biochemical reactions are set in motion when we laugh. The lungs take in two to three times as much air and approximately 400 million pulmonary vesicles become dilated. Laughing before eating makes the digestive system secrete enzymes that make it easier to digest food. When we laugh, the spleen sends a flow of red blood through the body to strengthen it. The pancreas also increases the secretion of insulin. Laughing even has an impact on the immune system. After someone has laughed, the white blood cell level increases.
How much time do you set aside for laughter in an average day? (By this I mean laughing so hard it hurts!) You may be surprised to learn that only a tiny part of the day (an average of two minutes) is spent laughing, even though laughter is the best antidote for stress!
Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humour lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.
