You've probably heard the saying that laughter prolongs life, but is it true? Norwegian scientists were also puzzled by this issue and conducted a study to study the effect of laughter on people under 70 years of age.
You will laugh, but laughter, or rather, one of its reasons - humor - really has a healing effect and increases life expectancy. How does this happen and why?
Humor allows you to look at a situation from a different perspective, which prevents you from being plunged into despair or obsessing over the problem. A person who uses humor is like a flexible boxer deftly dodging the heavy blows of a bruiser with biceps of steel. It would seem that the strength is on the side of the stronger, but the nimble and nimble dodger still has the advantage!
Humor and its younger sister Irony help you not to lose heart and see alternative paths solving the problem.
It turns out that there are 4 types of humor:
SELF-DEPRESSING IRONY - it’s just that you joke about yourself and allow them to joke about you. You like it when people around you laugh at you. Sounds scary and offensive? This is the type you need to work on. Self-irony helps to get rid of vanity, hypersensitivity and resentment and, therefore, makes you invulnerable! Self-irony the best remedy learn not to take anything too seriously, even your loved one 😉
AFFILIATE HUMOR - terrible in name, but very effective and beneficial in its effect. This form of humor is characteristic of those who like to joke with friends and like to tell funny stories. In this humor, the main role is played by the wit and talent of the storyteller.
AGGRESSIVE HUMOR - this type is especially common among men, since it represents the same competition and struggle for power supremacy, but not on the muscular level, but on another, more sophisticated level - on the verbal-intellectual level. Aggressive humor does not always sound aggressive; sometimes it is even disguised as affectionate teasing or even an expression of regret.
SELF-AFFIRMATING HUMOR - in this state of mind, you can remain optimistic and notice something pleasant or funny, even in not the most fun situation. Actually, you need to joke about the situation itself. This type of humor is good because it can lift your spirits even when you yourself are the cause of your failure or there was simply a misunderstanding - and the main thing is to achieve your goals. Typical situations- when, at the most crucial moment, the Internet suddenly dies, without even saying two words goodbye; or when you've lost your keys, got stuck in traffic, or are faced with a bill that's too high...
It’s interesting that sarcasm (the second name for aggressive humor), as well as self-irony, are well received from a man’s lips, but if a woman jokes like that, it can cause not the most pleasant feelings. So go ahead and sing! Truly a panacea for all ills is self-sustaining humor, but only for ills! If your whole life looks like an endless cruel joke, and you are not the author, it’s time to think about it. For example, write a damn funny story about it and make a group of funny friends laugh with it!
Open heart - best medicine.
You have repeatedly heard the expression - laughter is the best medicine, in fact, even in greatest book of all times - the Bible encourages laughter. There is no better medicine. There are times when it becomes difficult to laugh and maintain a good mood. Current state economics, difficulties with money, hard times do not contribute to a good mood. However, instead of letting difficulties get the better of you, you can turn your gaze to the funny sides of life. Great idea, especially since laughter is contagious. He not only gives us a boost positive emotions and joy. But it can also become a trigger for the beginning of positive changes in the body. It's totally free, so start adding a daily dose of laughter into your life.
Benefit for health.
There is a fair amount of truth to the idea that laughter can actually be a medicine. Laughter has a powerful effect on the body, promotes relaxation, relieves stress and muscle tension, even the immune system gets a boost when a person laughs. Endorphins are released, which contribute not only to a feeling of happiness, but also to temporary pain relief. Laughter increases blood circulation, this has a positive effect on the condition of blood vessels, which will help you protect yourself from problems with the cardiovascular system. So remember to laugh every single day.
Mental benefits.
Naturally, laughter is very beneficial for your emotional and mental health. Dissolve negative emotions such as sadness, anxiety, irritability. When you laugh, your stress levels decrease, which frees up your energy and helps you refocus. The whole perception of life changes, which helps to perceive life situations not in a threatening way, but more realistically. The feeling of depression dissolves just with a few laughs.
Laughter unites.
Laughter is not only beneficial as medicine for the body and soul, but also has great health benefits. social sphere. Laughter brings people together. It helps strengthen relationships and establish emotional connections between people. Humor helps break through detachment and closedness, and express your feelings without problems. It is very important that even in difficult times, laughter can unite people.
Happiness and laughter are matters of your choice.
Laughing and being happy is not so easy. However, you may find that your choices determine whether you are happy and whether you laugh. Abraham Lincoln once said the following phrase: “Many of us are as happy as our consciousness allows.” It is you who determine whether you will laugh and live happily or allow life to destroy your existence and drag you through difficult circumstances. With which life circumstances you would not encounter in your power will always choose happiness.
Ways to add some laughter into your life.
So what can you do to add more laughter into your life? How do you choose laughter? Here are some tips to get you started:
Start smiling, this is a harbinger of laughter, and it is also contagious.
Start focusing on the good things you have. Make a list of the good things in life. This will help you refocus on the negative aspects that are preventing you from laughing.
If you hear people laughing nearby, go in that direction. Spend more time with fun people. Actively seek out laughter.
Try to bring a little humor into your conversations. You don't have to make jokes below the belt. It could be simple funny story, or encouraging your interlocutors to tell funny stories.
How to see the bright and funny sides of our lives
From time to time, life throws us difficult situations, but it is important to learn to find a lighter and more fun side in them. In fact this is the only way survive the crisis. Below are some tips to help you look at surrounding life more fun:
1. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. Learn to take yourself not so seriously. Even if you suddenly find yourself in awkward situation, learn to come out of it laughing.
2. Laugh instead of cry. This is very good idea to overcome difficult situations, learn to find funny even in bad situations. This will create a mood, and it will be easier for you to overcome such situations.
3. Post reminders for yourself everywhere so that you don’t forget to pay attention to the light, and happy side life. These could be family photos or photos of your friends having fun. Choose a funny poster for your home and office, a funny screensaver or wallpaper for your desktop.
4. Learn to cope with stress. Stress is a serious hindrance to laughter and good mood. You should choose for yourself effective method combat stress.
Life throws us challenges, and there is no escape from it. And even if you do not have the opportunity to choose what life will bring you tomorrow, you can choose the way to respond to these events. Why not use laughter to overcome life's challenges, to make a choice in favor of happiness.
Laughter- this is the best cure for all diseases! Every person has many reasons to be sad. Our problems may arise for a long time to annoy, which affects well-being, while taking over the psyche. As a result, stress mental disorders, complexes, fears.
You can and should help yourself. People who often go to the bathhouse or have a massage say that after the session it is as if they were born again, having received a dose of relaxation therapy. But the state of relaxation lasts a couple of days, since such procedures, as a rule, are aimed at relaxing the muscles, but not the psyche or emotions. That is, you can help yourself temporarily, but you also need to take care of the more capacious process of “removing the dirt” from yourself. And this is a change in attitude both towards life and towards yourself.
Scientists have found that in our brain there are areas responsible for physical health And positive perception life. If these areas are stimulated, they can be healed whole line diseases. There are no medications to affect the influence of these zones, but there is one remedy that is easily accessible, not bitter, like tablets, and generally has a lot of pleasant moments- this is laughter.
Laughter is like a key
It is known that laughter and good mood carry and can even influence a person’s well-being. It also has a number of advantages over medications. For example, it will not harm either the liver or the stomach, that is, it is harmless - it has no side effects. If a person has certain doors between life and himself, then laughter can be the key that opens these doors. Various fears, complexes, stereotypes, even cynicism - we ourselves may not realize how many of these doors we have created in us. All these doors are sometimes created in order to protect ourselves from the pressure of life's troubles. The problem is that then these doors begin to put pressure on us. Our task is to learn how to use the key to first open the door slightly, and then swing it open towards positive life. At first it won't global changes, but a breath of something new will still happen.
Laughter therapy
It is common knowledge that there is laughter therapy, which itself is a potent antidepressant. Laughter can relieve tension, which helps you feel physically better, and if used wisely, you can achieve action that will generally help you think differently about problems. Laughter releases a lot of wasted energy. Then the body itself will learn to direct this released energy in the direction where it is needed - restoration or rejuvenation.
Help yourself laugh
Laughter therapy practice used all over the world. There is a problem that everyone faces" laughter therapists" - how to make a person laugh. Any means can help - audio recordings and video jokes, tickling, but it happens that people don’t like one of the comedians, or are not in the mood, then these recordings are simply annoying. There is no one method for everyone. But you can find a way out - every person knows how to laugh. Experts have concluded that we train laughter. You don't need anything to laugh external stimulus, you just need to trust your laughter as you would a friend, and, as a rule, this will not be much of a problem. When you have already learned to “turn on” laughter, experts will help you engage in laughter therapy more deeply.
There is also a small difficulty - after you have already learned to “turn on” laughter, but have not yet learned to “turn it off”. Your instructor will tell you how to learn how to stop laughing - nothing is impossible for a person who wants and can help himself.
Gradually everything that accumulates in a person will be swept away - nervous system , psyche, physiology and even intellect will be cleared, your condition will become stable, you will learn to relate to life more simply, life will become easier, happier. The people who surround you will notice this and will be drawn to you, because you want to communicate with an easy-going person who laughs at difficulties.
Everyone has probably heard that laughter is the best medicine, and humor prolongs life. Is it really? They have been searching for an answer for a long time serious people, But consensus still no.
Even the dictionary definition of the word “humor” does not seem accurate enough: “good-natured laughter, gentle ridicule. An attitude towards something imbued with such a mood. A technique in works of literature and art based on depicting something in a comic, funny form. The totality works of art imbued with such an attitude to reality."
On this moment Currently, in the United States, there are two official organizations engaged in research on the influence of humor on human health. These are the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH) and the International Society for Humor Studies (ISHS). In the summer of 2003, when the 15th annual conference took place in Italy. According to a USA Today report, at their conferences, those who call themselves "humour researchers" wear clown noses and tell jokes.
Moreover, people from AATH often talk about humor as a panacea, and there is a lot of sober rationalism in the assessments of ISHS representatives. The latter organization belongs to one of the most famous researchers humor - Rod Martin from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.
He is the editor of HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research and the author of the book Humor and Life Stress: Antidote to Adversity and more than 20 articles on the topic. Of course, Professor Martin has been studying laughter since 1979: “People don’t laugh at me anymore when I tell them I’m researching humor.”
Martin is convinced that the beneficial properties of laughter are, rather, psychology, but not medicine. He calls on his colleagues to engage in serious academic study of humor and finally expose folk wisdom that laughter is a panacea:
"In humor research, we need to become more focused. We need to understand that therapeutic humor is not all humor. People are told that laughter is good for you, and they think that staying up all night watching comedies will make them healthier. I believe this is what - not the least bit useful."
According to Martin, humor has Everyday life two main functions: improving relationships between people, for example, with the help of a joke you can resolve a conflict, and also stress relief, that is, the ability to laugh at threatening things.
In both cases, humor can be used in healthy or unhealthy ways. Moreover, Martin notes, laughter and humor mean different things to men and women.
For example, among men there is a tendency to joke about power and aggression, while among women humor is more often used to form close relationships with others.
In addition, he calculated four main “styles” of humor, by which one can judge the state of a person’s psyche:
1. Affiliative (Affiliative from “to affiliate” - to join, to join - a person’s desire to be in the company of other people): the softest style, which is characterized by ironic jokes and absurdities.
2. Self-enhancing: a style that does not harm anyone, is based mainly on boasting, a way of protecting and “improving” self-esteem.
3. Aggressive: sarcasm, teasing remarks, ridicule. May be dangerous to others.
4. Self-defeating: The comedian tries to hit the mark with every joke. Can damage self-esteem and others' self-esteem and lead to depression.
Laughter calms you down
Laughter releases endorphins - happiness hormones that help get rid of irritation and sadness. Even if you just remember for a moment how you laughed recently, your mood will improve. Research by British psychologists has shown that after watching a funny film, a person’s level of irritation decreases several times. Moreover, the subjects' mood was lifted by the mere thought that they would soon laugh - two days before the planned viewing of the comedy, they were angry half as often as usual.
Laughter improves skin
If you laugh often, you can forget about expensive cosmetic procedures to improve your skin, because laughter tones your facial muscles and improves blood circulation, resulting in a natural glow.
Laughter strengthens relationships
The ability to laugh together is extremely important for establishing good and good relations. Connection between people and them general idea about what can be funny allows them to be more open with each other. If you joke, you are not afraid to seem funny. Which means you trust.
Laughter boosts immunity
Laughter helps fight infections. After a minute of sincere laughter, the body expels a large number of antibodies that protect against bacteria and viruses. Laughter also increases the production of white blood cells, which fight various diseases, including cancer.
Laughter heals the heart
Thanks to laughter, blood vessels dilate and blood circulates better. Ten minutes of laughter can significantly reduce blood pressure and reduce the risk of cholesterol plaques. Laughter even helps those who have had a heart attack - doctors believe that a good mood reduces the likelihood of a second attack.
Laughter relieves pain
Happiness hormones, endorphins, which are produced when a person laughs, are our body’s natural painkillers. In addition, when you laugh, you take your mind off how bad you feel and forget about the pain for at least a few minutes. Doctors have long noticed that patients who are positive and find the strength to laugh endure pain much easier than those who are sad.
Laughter develops the lungs
Laughter is one of the best exercises for people suffering from asthma and bronchitis. During laughter, the activity of the lungs is activated, and thus the supply of oxygen to the blood increases, which allows clearing stagnation of phlegm. Some doctors compare the effects of laughter to physical therapy chest, which eliminates mucus from the respiratory tract, but laughter has an even better effect on the respiratory tract.
Laughter conquers stress
British scientists have studied the effect of laughter on people's health. Two groups of volunteers were created. One group was shown recordings of comedy concerts for an hour, while the second group was asked to simply sit quietly. After this, the experiment participants took a blood test. And it was discovered that those who watched the humorous concert had lower levels of the “stress” hormones cortisol, dopamine and adrenaline than the second group. The fact is that when we laugh, it intensifies exercise stress to all parts of the body. When we stop laughing, our body relaxes and calms down. This means that laughter helps us get rid of physical and emotional stress. Scientists say that a minute of sincere laughter is equivalent to 45 minutes of deep relaxation.
Laughter helps you stay fit
In fact, laughter is a type of aerobic exercise because laughing allows you to breathe in more oxygen, which stimulates your heart and blood circulation. It is even considered “internal” aerobics, since everyone is massaged while laughing. internal organs, allowing them to work more efficiently. Laughter is also good for strengthening the abdominal, back and leg muscles. One minute of laughter is equivalent to ten minutes on a rowing machine or fifteen minutes on a bicycle. And if you laugh your heart out for one hour, you will burn up to 500 calories, the same amount you can burn by running fast for an hour.
Lack of a sense of humor can not only affect your sociability, but also harm your cardiovascular system. A recent study shows that laughter increases blood flow. This once again proves the old adage that “laughter is the best medicine” is right, at least when it comes to the heart.
Cardiologist Michael Miller and his colleagues at the University of Maryland tested the blood flow of 20 healthy men and women while they watched 15 to 30 minutes of the comedies Big Shot and There's Something About Mary. ", followed by the intense film "Saving Private Ryan." Doctors measured blood flow before the viewing began and one minute after the end. “We expected to find a blood vessel response to laughter,” explains Miller.
Scientists were prompted to conduct this experiment by previous research. Row questionnaires conducted among patients with coronary heart disease, showed that patients who suffered a heart attack lost more than 40% of their sense of humor. “We didn’t know whether it was a cause or a consequence of the attack. Also, a deterioration in the sense of humor may be integral part(a symptom of) illness,” Miller says.
Therefore, doctors decided to investigate possible effects the health effects of laughter by measuring the degree to which blood vessels dilate after volunteers laugh at funny moments or react to tense situations. IN total The researchers obtained 160 results regarding blood flow in the brachial artery in the arm above the elbow in 10 men and 10 women. During funny scenes, blood flow in 19 volunteers increased by an average of 22%. Compared to blood flow during surprise or intense scenes, the difference was more than 50%. This was reported in the latest issue of Heart magazine.
It can be argued that a carefree state increases blood flow by approximately the same amount percentage, as light exercises or reception medicines to reduce cholesterol levels. But stress caused by intense dramatic development of the plot reduces blood flow almost as much as unpleasant memories or mental calculations.
confirmed the importance of humor with his statement that “only the animal that suffers the most on earth could invent laughter.”
Did you think the phrase “Laughter is the best medicine” was just a phrase?
But that's not true.
Probably not many of you know that there is scientific proof the truth of this phrase. Science has proven that good feeling humor and the ability to laugh can be good for you physically, emotionally and socially.
You will agree that laughter is much more convenient than a trip to the doctor and works much better than any medicine the doctor can prescribe. So why not have a good laugh?
#1: Laughter is associated with normal blood vessel function
In people who laugh frequently, blood flow works well because laughter causes the tissue that forms the lining of blood vessels to expand. Principal investigator Michael Miller says: "It is possible that laughter may have important to maintain healthy endothelium, and may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease."
#2: Laughter improves emotional health
Laughter and humor trigger emotional rewards in the brain's centers, releasing dopamine, which helps the brain process emotional reactions and enhances the level of pleasure; releasing serotonin and endorphins, which regulate pain and stress and cause euphoria.
#3: Laughter plays important role in social interaction
Laughter plays an important role in regulating people's conversations, and also greatly facilitates the establishment social connections between groups of people. A sense of humor plays an important role in interpersonal interaction and mutual attraction, and is an important component social competence. Healthy feeling The humor of friends and family strengthens group identity. It can also contribute to a happier marriage.
It has been suggested that laughter existed long before humans began using speech. Thus, there are already instinctive social cues that people know in a given social situation.
#4: People who laugh look more attractive to other people
Men with a good sense of humor seem more attractive to women. Women are more attracted to men with the same sense of humor. This creates the conditions to feel comfortable in social situations, such as parties, allowing you to expand your social circles. He also argued that having a good sense of humor in an interview makes you appear friendly and increases your chances of getting the job.
#5: Laughter reduces stress and anxiety
Humor has been described as an "element of resilience" and can therefore allow you to set aside everyday problems in the long term, increasing your chances of survival in difficult situations. "It softens Negative consequences stress on health and contributes positive mood, suppressing negative emotions. It helps to see the funny side in adverse situations. A simple laugh is also contagious, so why not improve someone's mood by sharing laughter with them?
#6: Laughter strengthens immune system
Stressful events in our daily lives suppress the immune system, especially upsetting situations such as “the car won’t start” and the like. They increase the risk of infectious diseases and heart disease. Laughter prevents the effects of stress on the immune system, protecting you from disease.
#7: Laughter is good for the respiratory system
Laughter provides the fastest and easiest way to regulate breathing and flush out the lungs. This results in an immediate increase in heart rate, breathing rate and oxygen consumption. Excited, prolonged laughter rids the lungs of residual air and replaces it with fresh, oxygen-rich air. Simply put, it allows you to breathe deeper, improving respiratory function, especially for those with respiratory conditions such as asthma.
So, always look on the bright side of life and laugh as often as you can!