Laughter is the Best Medicine

In order to fight stress we have to devote our time to joy and laughter. However for many stressed out women leaders ability to laugh doesn’t come naturally anymore. You need a desire to bring a bit of humour into your life and a willingness to change if you're being overly serious now.

You've probably heard the old saying that "laughter is the best medicine." So it is indeed. More and more scientific studies are providing evidence that simply laughing a bit more each day CAN give you added energy and lead to a happier and less stressful life, all of which contribute to greater productivity and making better use of your time.

With that in mind, here are 9 great reasons to add more laughter to your day, especially during stressful times, change and uncertainty:

1. Laughter relaxes muscles - When you laugh hard, the muscles that aren't involved in the laughing relax as a natural response of the nervous system. When you finish laughing, the diaphragm, which is the muscle that does the laughing, also relaxes.

2. Reduces stress hormones - Laughter is shown to reduce levels of adrenaline and cortisol levels in the body. These hormones are related to the fight-or-flight reaction that causes stress.

3. Boosts immune system - Laughter and feelings of joy have been shown to boost immune system and levels of immunoglobulins that are responsible for fighting illnesses and infections.

Laughter also increases the number of neuropeptides that facilitate communication between cells and the nervous system. Since viruses infect cells through the same receptor sites on cells that the nervous system uses to communicate, an increase in neuropeptides at those sites effectively increases the cell's ability to block viruses.

4. Lowers blood pressure - A study at the University of Maryland showed that laughing dramatically improved the lining of patients' blood vessels, improved dilation of the vessels and improved blood flow by as much as 22 percent.

5. Cleanses the lungs - The deep breathing of laughter tends to empty more air out of your lungs than is taken in. This has a cleansing effect on the lungs.

6. Improves cancer survivability - Laughing increases the number and activity of Natural Killer cells, which directly attack tumor cells. Although laughter is not considered a replacement for medical treatments, it is known to largely increase the success rates of such treatments.

7. Reduces pain - Whether it is because laughter releases endorphins, relaxes muscles or distracts a person from his or her pain is not known yet, but it is well documented that laughter reduces pain. (more info about pain management).

8. Lowers stress - Laughing causes the body to relax from its flight-or-fight response to stressful situations.

9. Reduced anger and anxiety - How can you be angry or anxious when you're laughing? It's both a chemical and emotional reaction.

Take Action:

• Take a holiday, and relax. Have you noticed that you laugh more after a few days on holiday? Your stress hormone cortisol levels drop as you begin to feel less stressed so laughter comes more easily.
• Hang out with positive people. Laughter comes more readily when we're around lighthearted people.
• Fake it until you make it. Force yourself to smile each day, especially when you are not up to. This will relax your muscles, decrease stress hormone levels and reduce stress and anxiety. People will smile back and eventually you will reconnect with your sense of lightness.

Life is too precious to waste it in being too serious and stressed out.