Laughter is The Best Medicine: The Benefits of Joy 😊

Let’s explore the importance of finding laughter and joy in your life, which is vital to your overall well-being. 

Being joyful and spreading joy is one of the best ways to live a healthy, fulfilled life. Besides making people feel good, laughter offers many other benefits that can impact physical, mental, and emotional health. Here are just a few reasons why joy and laughter are often considered the best medicine. 

Boosts immune system 

Having a good laugh helps to lower cortisol and increase your immune cells. Giving your body a higher resistance to sickness. 

Increases Relaxation

Engaging in a good laugh helps your body relax by releasing tension and stress, which will leave your muscles relaxed for 30 minutes after you finish laughing. 

Releases endorphins

Endorphins are your body's feel-good hormones, and laughter releases them. That's why after laughing, you feel an overall boost to your well-being and may even have a decrease in pain. 

Burns calories

We are not saying you can laugh the weight off, but it certainly helps. Studies have found that laughing for 15 minutes a day can burn up to 40 calories. 

Heart health

Laughing increases blood flow and blood vessels' function, which can help safeguard you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems that tend to show in your senior years. 

Increased pain tolerance

This goes back to the endorphins released while laughing. Those endorphins can help to improve your pain tolerance. 

Creates strong bonds with others 

Finding yourself in the middle of a laughing fit with a friend is an invaluable way to bond and form connections with others. 

Laughter and your mental health

It is no secret by now that as we age, we can become prone to depression due to loss of mobility, independence, social engagement, and new or progressing illness. 

Doing whatever you can to maintain or restore your mental health could significantly impact your quality of life. 

Laughing and engaging in things that bring you joy are easy, fast, and fun ways to help with your mental health. It is so easy to get caught up doing something we enjoy or laughing with a friend that before you know it, an hour has passed, and our overall feeling of well-being is high. 

Laughter can help you deal with harder emotions like anger, sadness, and anxiety. It is also a great way to recharge when you're feeling down and helps you to find a more positive perspective. 

Getting caught up in a good belly laugh with a friend, family, or caregiver can help to strengthen your bond, create a connection, and make you feel like you belong. These are all important for your mental health to flourish and not get pulled into a depression if things get tough. 

How to invite more laughter and joy into your life

Seeking laughter and joy is important at any stage of life, but it's time to get proactive if you are entering your senior years and haven't laughed in a while. 

Finding ways to bring laughter and joy into your daily life may feel a bit unconventional in the beginning, but like anything, the more you do it, the more natural it will start to feel. Before you know it, you will laugh and find joy without thinking about it. 

Here are a few suggestions to get you started on your journey of cultivating joy.

Find a reason to laugh every day

Finding something to give you a good chuckle every day is important, and if you can't find something to laugh at, don't be afraid to make yourself laugh. You could break out into a silly dance, watch a funny video, read jokes online, or watch a stand-up comedy show; anything that gets you laughing will do. 

Smile

This may seem simple, but smiling can trick your brain into thinking it is happy. Make eye contact with a stranger while you are out running errands and smile at them. It feels good and can make your day a little brighter. 

Practice gratitude

Think about all the things that you are grateful for and write it down. It can be tough to think of all the wonderful things we have in our lives when our minds are in a dark place. Make a list and read it as often as you need to. 

Find fun people

If you are surrounded by unhappy and negative people, it might be difficult to find joy or laughter with them. Find people who make you laugh and have a more positive outlook. It can rub off on you and make for a much more joyful life. 

Seek out opportunities to laugh

You can do many things to seek out laughter and joy. 

A few ways to consider are:

• Playing with your pet
• Playing cards, board games or other games with friends or family
• Watch a funny movie, comedy special, or funny video online
• Make time for activities you liked as a child, like crafting, singing, and painting.
• Enjoying the day with a companion or caregiver.

Making laughter and joy a regular part of your life has so many benefits. You will notice a lot of areas in your life improving, especially your mental health. Taking care of ourselves, especially as we age, is crucial, and it doesn't always have to be serious. Taking time for some light-hearted fun can make your day brighter. 

At Comfort Keepers of the Twin Cities, we take pride in providing companionship services that make seniors happy and increase joy. To learn more about our in-home care services, give us a call at (651) 796-2540