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Laughter is the Best Medicine

Yesterday my hubby and I took in a Jays game at the Rogers Centre. It was, by far, the worst baseball game I’ve ever been to! The Toronto Blue Jays lost 13-0 to the Boston Red Sox, but this game was the most entertaining one I’ve ever been to.

What made it entertaining was the dare-devil fan who, in the 8th inning, sprinted from the stands, across the field and slid into second base. After sliding into second base he jumped up so proud of his performance and threw his hands in the air. The whole stadium was cheering and laughing which, of course, made this fan feel that he had just done a great thing. Then when he saw security running out on to the field towards him his few seconds of glory ended and he continued his sprint across the outfield towards the 10 foot walls that surround the field.

This guy could run! Security had to be a good fifty metres behind the Olympic sprinter, they had nothing on him! If that wall had not have been there, he would have successfully escaped. Well, no such luck. The dare-devil ran up the wall and caught the top of it. Unfortunately for him, it was too high to scale and he was finally captured by security.

The whole point to this story, besides sharing something hilarious, is that we can always find the humour in most situations. The energy of the stadium started out pretty high but gradually declined with each passing inning and a score of zero on the board for the Jays. There was a lot of whining, complaining and grumbling about our team’s performance. When this fan decided to take matters into his own hands by providing a little entertainment, it brought the level of energy back up a little with laughter and cheers.

We can always find a little something to laugh or smile about no matter how bad a situation may seem or how much of a bad day we’re having. We should laugh and smile no matter how much we feel that things are not going our way. I’ve always believed that laughter is the best medicine. It boosts our spirits as well as our immune system and energy levels. It releases endorphins, our body’s feel good chemicals which can temporarily relieve pain. Have you ever had a good laugh while you’ve been hurt, physically or emotionally? I have, and thinking back, laughing did relieve the pain for a short while. Laughing is also very contagious and can bring a group of strangers together like it did yesterday at the stadium. The energy was high, everyone was cheering and having a great time even though we were losing.

With the hustle and bustle of everyday life it’s important that we take some time to de-stress. Stress can be so damaging to our health and laughter is the one bit of medicine that is free, easy to use and can bring our mind and body back into a state of balance. Laughter lightens our burdens and enables us to feel more inspired, grounded and focused.

Here are a few more good reasons to laugh:

Laughter will lower your resting blood pressure but,
Will act as a light workout when you’re really laughing hard because it increases your pulse and blood pressure which sends more oxygen to your muscles.
Laughter gives your diaphragm, abs, back, facial muscles and respiratory system a great workout.
Laughter reduces cortisol and adrenaline.
If you find that you get colds often, laughter will help to reduce their frequency because it raises the level of infection-fighting antibodies in the body and boosts the immune system
Laughter increases memory, alertness, creativity and the ability to learn
As little as ten minutes of laughter can burn about fifty calories!
Laughter can reduce blood sugar levels.
Laughter can also help with relaxation and sleep.
Not only does laughter bring a group of strangers together but it also connects us with those we hold near and dear to our heart.

I will leave you with this one lesson from Regina Brett’s, “45 life lessons and 5 to grow on“:

Lesson #4: Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

I encourage you to laugh, laugh out loud, laugh your a** off or however you choose to express yourself.

Have a great day 🙂