Reason and Concern

By Ronquillo C. Tolentino

Laughter

Thomas Carlyle, the English essayist and philosopher, said that a man who can not laugh is not only fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils; but his whole life is already a treason and stratagem. John Paul Richter, the German humorist said that laughing and cheerfulness throw the light of day on all paths of life. Martin Luther, in a joking manner, declared that if one is not allowed to laugh in heaven, he just would not go there.

A good laugh is sunshine in a house, William Makepeace Thackeray said. Laurence J. Peter rightly observed that two things reduce prejudice - education and laughter. George Gordon, Lord Byron justified laughter when he said: "And if I laugh at any mortal thing, Tis that I may not weep." And yes, the brief lines from Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s Solitude, thus : "Laugh and the whole world laughs with you; Weep and you weep alone; For the old earth must borrow to mirth; But has trouble enough of its own." John Dryden emphasized that it is a good thing to laugh and if a straw can tickle a man, it is an instrument of happiness. Beasts can weep when they suffer, but they cannot laugh.

It was observed that more scientific studies are providing evidence that simply laughing a bit more each day gives you added energy and leads to a happier and less stressful life, according to Rodger Constandse’s "Goals to Action" contribute to greater productivity and making better use of your time. Constandse provides 17 great reasons to add more laughter to our day, especially during these turbulent times;

1. Laughter relaxes muscles - When you laugh hard, the muscles that aren’t involved in the laughing relax as a natural response of the nervous system. When you finish laughing, the diaphragm, which is the muscle that does the laughing, also relaxes.

2. Reduces stress hormones - Laughter is shown to reduce levels of epinephrine, cortisol dopac and growth hormone in the body. All these hormones are related to the fight-or-flight reaction that causes stress.

3. Boosts immune system - Laughter and feelings of joy have been shown to boost levels of immunoglobulins that are responsible for fighting illnesses and infections.

Laughter also increases the number of neuropeptides that facilitate communication between cells and the nervous system. Since viruses infect cells through the same receptor sites on cells that the nervous system uses to communicate, an increase in neuropeptides at those sites effectively increases the cell’s ability to block viruses.

4. Provides cardiac exercise - According to WebMD.com, laughing heartily 100 times provides similar benefits as exercising for 10 minutes.

5. Lowers blood pressure - A study at the University of Maryland showed that laughing dramatically improves the lining of patients’ blood vessels, improves dilation of the vessels and improves blood flow by as much as 22 percent.

6. Cleanses the lungs - The deep breathing of laughter tends to empty more air out of your lungs than is taken in. This has a cleansing effect on the lungs.

7. Improves cancer survivability - Laughing increases the number and activity of Natural Killer cells, which directly attack tumor cells. Although laughter is not considered a replacement for medical treatments, it is known to largely increase the success rates of such treatments.

8. Reduces pain - Whether laughter releases endorphins, relaxes muscles or distracts a person from his or her pain is not known yet, but it is well documented that laughter reduces pain.

9. Lowers stress - Laughing causes the body to relax from its flight-or-fight response to stressful situations.

10. Reduces anger and anxiety - How can you be angry or anxious when you’re laughing? It’s both a chemical and emotional reaction.

11. Increases joy - Just like you can train yourself to be fast or strong or to have high endurance, you can train yourself to be happy. Laughter and an optimistic outlook are the exercises that train you to be happy.

12. Boosts self-esteem - Situations in life are much easier to cope with when you can laugh at them. It isn’t just the physical effects like releasing endorphins and relaxing muscles, laughing at something changes our perspective of something. If you can laugh at a problem or challenge, you can always overcome it.

13. Sense of control - When something angers us or makes us anxious, we tend to feel like victims. But when we laugh at something, we tend to feel above it and feel as though we are in control.

14. Increases emotional intelligence - According to humor researcher Dr. Paul E. McGhee, humor is a powerful tool in managing anger and anxiety, avoiding non-clinical depression, and for replacing negative emotions with positive ones, which is one of the most advanced Emotional Intelligence Skills.

15. Strengthens team spirit - Humor and joking in a team atmosphere, whether it’s a business team, an athletic team or any other kind of team; breaks down barriers, motivates team members, creates emotional bonding, and eases communication. All these factors result in a more productive team whose members are loyal to one another.

16. Enhances com-munication skills - Laughter and humor make communicating easier by breaking down barriers, such as those related to status or rank, and making awkward moments more comfortable. Humor also softens the emotional tone of communications that are otherwise very serious.

17. Increases creativity - Humor removes you emotionally from the problem you are trying to solve and removes the pressure caused by focusing intently and seriously. People think more creatively when they are feeling relaxed and natural; humor or laughter accomplishes this quickly.

"The person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed."-Bennett Cerf /MP