It’s no joke, laughter helps alleviate feelings of stress. Laughing allows your mental load to be lightened and can contribute to alleviating certain physical symptoms as well, contributing to overall feelings of wellness. We all experience various amounts of stress in our field and taking care of ourselves is no laughing matter! Beyond stimulating your internal organs and increasing endorphins being released, a good laugh will help your circulation improve, aid in muscle relaxation, improve your immune system, increase feelings of satisfaction, and can help improve mood.
Laughter is strong medicine. With so much power in healing, this resource should be more actively used by us all. This effective, helpful, and priceless medicine is free to use. Supporting both physical and emotional health, using laughter also promotes wellness. Laughter can allow us to find courage to make new meanings and develop hope. It can also be contagious and positively influence those around you!
Incorporating more humor into your life is not as hard as you think it is. Challenge yourself to use some of these tips to help improve your wellness through laughter.
5 Tips to Bring More Laughter Into Your Life
Don’t worry about trying to be funny. You can also practice seeing the humor in situations that you experience. Laugh out loud, let yourself experience the moment for what it is. This can help with making difficult situations less tense.
Curate Your Own Personal Comedy Collection. Be mindful about what you are exposing yourself to, ‘Doomscrolling’ to consume never-ending negative news is not helpful for experiencing humor. Set yourself up for success, follow humorous or funny pages/websites/blogs/etc. to encourage more fun in your social media use.
Take a Laugh Break. Take a ‘fun break’ and have fun! Watch a funny video, color, play a game, or tell someone a funny story. Experience funny moments in your day, plan for them. Literally, put it on your schedule- you can find 5 minutes.
Try ‘3 Funny Things’ Activity. Did you know writing down 3 humorous things you experienced in the day for one week can contribute to decreased symptoms of depression and increased happiness for up to 6 months!
Don’t Be Afraid to Lighten Up. Learn to laugh at yourself. In your personal reflections ask yourself ‘What Could I Have Said Differently’ to explore how to laugh at yourself. This helps train your brain to see humor in difficult situations.
