4 Reasons to Laugh More

Laughter is a common part of daily life. When you watch comedies, hear a funny joke, and are having a good time, you laugh. L.M. Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables series, once said, "Life is worth living as long as there's a laugh in it." Laughing does even more than make life worth living. You've heard it said that laughter is the best medicine; this proves to be true. Laughing is not only enjoyable, but it also has far-reaching health benefits.

Here are a few reasons why you should laugh more every day:

1. Laughter may reduce your risk of cancer. Because laughing causes the release of NK (natural killer) cells that boost the immune system, belting out a hearty chorus of laughter can defend your body against many illnesses. According to Indiana State University School of Nursing, "Laughter may reduce stress and improve NK cell activity. As low NK cell activity is linked to decreased disease resistance and increased morbidity in persons with cancer and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) disease, laughter may be a useful cognitive-behavioral intervention."
2. Laughter helps you to lose weight. When you laugh so hard that you can barely move because you have exhausted your abdominal muscles, you have just achieved the equivalent of a 15-minute workout. Laughter also boosts your metabolism and makes your heart beat faster, adding to that much-wanted calorie burn even after the workout — in this case, the laughter — has long since ended. Laughing is perhaps the most affordable, least dangerous, and most enjoyable exercise there is.
3. Laughter makes you feel good. That post-laugh feeling of elation is not merely a state of mind, but a scientific reality. Laughing causes your body to release pain-reducing "feel-good" chemicals called endorphins. It also helps ease stress by regulating the amount of stress hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine, in your body; reducing those stress chemicals over the long term may increase your lifespan, improve your health, and contribute to an overall feeling of calm and well-being.
4. Laughter is good for your heart. According to Dr. Michael Miller, director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, "We don't know yet why laughing protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels." The result is inflammation that causes a gradual build-up of excess fat and cholesterol in the arteries; such build-up is commonly accepted as a major culprit in heart attacks. Dr. Miller continues, "The ability to laugh — either naturally or as learned behavior — may have important implications in societies such as the U.S. where heart disease remains the number one killer."

Whether out of medical necessity or for general happiness, laughter is an important part of your daily life. Whenever you laugh, you're doing yourself a favor by making yourself healthier and happier. Let yourself go — enjoy a health-boosting, endorphin-releasing, hearty laugh. As Mark Twain once said, "Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand."