Laughing Really Does Help

I'm the kind of person who laughs easily when I hear other people laughing. In fact, I've always laughed easily. But the older I get, it seems like the gasping, gut-wobbling belly laugh that prompts wheezing seems harder to come by. Mostly it happens when I'm with friends at my writer's group or playing Mah Jong, and we've managed to get each other going. Afterwards when we're wiping our tears, we all feel a lot better, so it must be good for you.


I got this from WebMD:
"Research shows laughter can improve your health: It helps reduce stress hormones, like cortisol and adrenalin, and pumps up immune system activity by increasing interferon, T cells and white blood cells. A hearty guffaw or belly laugh can also boost heart rate, improves blood flow, and stabilizes blood pressure."

Here are a couple more resources to support my claims:
The Nutrition Research Center: Can Laughing Your Ass Off Heal You?
Planet Matters and More: Laughter Therapy Resource Page

I'd like to start one of those "Laughter Clubs" around here. Anyone in?

In the meantime, hearing other people laugh usually gets me going, so I've compiled a few links to people laughing on the Internet which I will share with you. I hope they are contagious enough to get you going, too. Go ahead. Yuck it up!

• Laughing Man
• Anderson Cooper laughing at Dingus Day
• News guy burps
  
• Laughing Baby

And, if like me, you appreciate the infantile simplicity of a good fart joke, you'll be on the road to good health in minutes with these!

• Farting in the Library
• Farting in the ladies room
• Blazing Saddles farting cowboys

---

Have a great day and don't forget to laugh!