One of the most powerful antidotes to stress is laughter.
“It brings perspective into your life, helps surmount problems, adds sizzle to
your relationships, and makes you feel good!” (see Dr. Caroline Leaf, Who switched off my brain? Drleaf.com)
We call an evening out “fun,” but we can hardly realize how
good it is for us. The other night we had a game night at my son’s house. We
laughed and laughed. Did anyone tell us that that caused the cortisol to
decrease by 39%, the adrenaline to drop by 70%, and the serotonin to increase by
29%? Did we realize that it causes the two hemispheres of the brain to work
together, making it as useful as aerobic exercise in boosting mind-body health?
No! But we certainly enjoyed it!
Fun protects our heart because when we laugh and enjoy
ourselves, the body releases chemicals that improve the function of blood
vessels. This increases blood flow, protecting against heart attack. Fun
reduces damaging stress chemicals quickly, which if they hang around in your
body for too long will make you mentally and physically sick.
Wow, who can afford
not to laugh?
My son is a comedian, because he wants to make the world a
better place. Hmmmm… do we really believe that comedians make the world a
better place? We should honor them! And tune in to them often!
But it’s not as simple as all that. “Even in laughter, the
heart maybe in pain…” (Prov. 14:13) There is a human tendency to cover up our
pain with laughter. We need to be honest with ourselves, and grieve at times.
The popular movie Inside Out taught
us this: sadness is necessary sometimes.
So, when we are disappointed, hurt, or struggling with anger, let’s not
cover it up with laughter.
But you don’t want to let you feelings get the best of you
either. Grieve, be sad, then move on. People who live by their feelings end up
in chaos. Our feelings are not intended to be in the driver’s seat of our life.
So, let your feelings connect you with other people. They do
that well.
And laugh, for that connects us with others effortlessly!
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