Immune System Booster: Laughter

“Ah, funny!” says almost-two-year-old Penny with an adorable, deep laugh. 

Penny finds amusement in both the ordinary and the extraordinary and we laugh along with her.  It’s impossible not to.

Laughter is good.  Medicinal, we’re told.  And science backs up that claim.  An article, “Laughing Your Way to a Strong Immune System” by Anne Belcher, appeared in a health bulletin that crossed my desk at work recently.  A version of the article is available here:  http://www.igrc.org/blogpostsdetail/4421954   Evidently, more T cells are released from the spleens of “laughers” than “non-laughers”.  Those T cells, now present in the bloodstream, fight illness. 

A good belly laugh can increase your pulse from 60 to 120 in just a few seconds, according to the article.  Yes, laughter is good exercise!  Laughter-exercise releases endorphins which we know act as pain relievers and mood boosters.  Oh, the health benefits enjoyed by laughers!  I hope you are one!

Can we hone our laughing skills as part of a personal wellness program?  If we want to stress less and laugh more, the article suggests keeping a jar of jokes at hand, laughing at your own mistakes, letting others see you being silly, and keeping a list of things that made you laugh during a five-day period and then collect that type of humor.  I particularly like the idea of becoming a humor collector.  It reminds me of my father’s incredible ability to remember jokes – and his skill in delivering them.

When I think of someone who makes me laugh, I think of their laugh or smile.  The memory – which is linked to the reasons I love that person - makes me happy.  I might add this to the list of suggestions:  Make a list of people who make you laugh and spend lots of time with them.

Daughter Kim takes humor so seriously (ha!) that she takes comedy improv classes.  We like to see her shows because, well, we laugh a lot.  She and the other players get silly – speaking gibberish, miming action, telling stories one word at a time - and we are delighted to watch! 

A co-worker mentioned he was volunteering at the library book sale and it brought to mind an embarrassing moment of some 18 years ago when I was volunteering at the library sale with then 12-year-old Daughter Kim and her friend.  I began laughing at the memory, and then tears came with the laughter.  My coworkers laughed with me - and I hadn’t even told the story yet!  Here it is:

I inadvertently propositioned a man at the library book sale.  He was walking toward a table where the girls and I were beginning to box up the unsold books.  Really, I was only trying to be helpful when I asked him, “Are you looking for romance?”  The man’s eyes got very, very wide and he backed up to the door, then turned and left.  No sale.

It seems odd not to mention the subject of this blog, my humorous honey.  So, some good news: Jeff’s city docs have stretched out his visits – hematology/oncology from every three months to every four months and dermatology from six months to one year unless something crops up.  Not funny.  Just something to smile about.

         

What a gift, to be a laugher and to be surrounded by laughers!