The health benefits of laughter. Laughter conquers stress

Recently, on a bus, I overheard an argument between two schoolgirls: one argued that laughing is good for you and laughter prolongs life, and the second disagreed with her, saying that laughter is simply an expression of emotions. “The benefits of laughter? Is it really true?— I was surprised and decided to study this issue in more detail.

As it turned out benefits of laughter really exists! And what a one! It has been proven that laughter is beneficial for both spiritual and physical condition person. When a person laughs, blood flow to the brain and cells increase gray matter get more oxygen. As a result, fatigue is reduced, the upper respiratory tract, blood circulation in the vascular system improves.

Incredible, but laughter therapy popular in many countries around the world. So in Germany, clown doctors come to seriously ill children, and Indian doctors have come up with a special laughter yoga to improve their emotional and physical condition. It consists of stretches and exercises that simulate laughter. Staying in funny poses, and especially watching other participants frozen in exactly the same clothes quickly causes real laughter.

Laughter relaxes muscles, and also promotes the release of endorphins - substances that have an analgesic effect. Laughter makes it easier chronic pain for arthritis, spinal injuries, neurological diseases. It has also been proven that Laughter is very, very beneficial for the cardiovascular system, because it strengthens endothelium- cells that line inner surface blood vessels and cardiac cavities.

But for the respiratory tract, the benefits of laughter are absolutely invaluable. The secret is in a special “laughing” breathing, in which the inhalation becomes long and deep, and the exhalation becomes short and intense, as a result of which the lungs are completely emptied of air, and gas exchange in them is accelerated three times. The release of sputum during laughter is the same as during special physiotherapy procedures.

One minute of laughter can replace a fifteen-minute bike ride, and laughing for ten to fifteen minutes can burn the calories contained in a chocolate bar.

And when you laugh so hard that it seems “your stomach will burst from laughter”, then know that in addition to a good mood, you are training your abs, and not only: in total, 80 muscle groups are involved when laughing. For them, this benefit is expressed in constant “charging” and shaking.

Can't resist laughing and depression, tense relationships with someone around you. Even if you are not happy at all, just go to the mirror and smile at yourself. The benefits of even a simple smile for yourself are simply unique in this situation!

Laughter is good for you and for those who care about their appearance. Many women, feeling the signs of aging, try to smile less. And they make a terrible mistake! When we laugh, we train our muscles, and the blood rushes to our face. As a result, you are guaranteed glow and elasticity of the skin.

When we see before us a person who constantly smiles or a person from whom it is impossible to extract a strangled laugh, but only a mean grin, then we try to understand what caused this and draw a conclusion about his character. And we do it right! Dostoevsky also wrote that A person's true nature is revealed by laughter.

The famous German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer argued that nine-tenths of our happiness depends on health. Without health there is no happiness! Only complete physical and mental well-being determine human health, help us successfully cope with illnesses, adversities, and be active. social life, reproduce offspring, achieve your goals. Human health is the key to a happy full life. Only a person who is healthy in all respects can be truly happy and capable ofto fully experience the fullness and diversity of life, to experience the joy of communicating with the world.

They talk about cholesterol so unflatteringly that they are just right to scare children. Do not think that this is a poison that only does what destroys the body. Of course, it can be harmful and even dangerous to health. However, in some cases, cholesterol turns out to be extremely necessary for our body.

The legendary balm “star” appeared in Soviet pharmacies in the 70s of the last century. It was in many ways an irreplaceable, effective and affordable drug. “Star” tried to treat everything in the world: acute respiratory infections, insect bites, and pain of various origins.

The tongue is an important organ of a person, which not only can chat incessantly, but without saying anything, it can tell a lot. And I have something to tell him, especially about health.Despite its small size, the tongue performs a number of vital functions.

Over the past few decades, the prevalence of allergic diseases (ADs) has reached epidemic status. According to recent data, more than 600 million people worldwide suffer from allergic rhinitis (AR), approximately 25% of them in Europe.

For many people, there is an equal sign between a bathhouse and a sauna. And very few of those who realize that the difference exists can clearly explain what this difference is. Having examined this issue in more detail, we can say that there is a significant difference between these pairs.

Late autumn early spring, thaw periods in winter are a period of frequent colds, both adults and children. From year to year, the situation repeats itself: one family member gets sick, and then, like a chain, everyone suffers a respiratory viral infection.

In some popular medical weeklies you can read odes to lard. It turns out that it has the same properties as olive oil, and therefore can be consumed without any reservations. At the same time, many argue that you can help the body “cleanse” only by fasting.

In the 21st century, thanks to vaccination, the prevalence infectious diseases. According to WHO, vaccination prevents two to three million deaths per year! But, despite the obvious benefits, immunization is shrouded in many myths, which are actively discussed in the media and in society in general.

Laugh for your health, because... Laughter reduces stress, burns calories, strengthens immune system, and also serves as an excellent pain reliever. Why do people laugh? The reason for laughter can be, for example, communication with funny people, comedy, anecdote, or tickling. Some people laugh often, while others hardly ever. However, they all rarely laugh at themselves. During communication, laughter synchronizes the minds of the speaker and the listener and brings people closer together.

Also, laughter often appears during tickling, but we cannot tickle ourselves in order to be ticklish. Tickling someone is much more pleasant, and at this moment we see a reaction - the appearance of laughter. In adults this sometimes causes sexual interest, and overall mood improves. Tickle response declines significantly after middle age.

Laughing is good for you

People usually laugh at a certain joke, or during a conversation. Scientists do not smear laughter with a sense of humor.

Smile and also laughter play important role when choosing a partner. Men most often prefer women who laugh loudly.

Various studies show that people are more likely to laugh at social conditions, and thus enjoy social benefits. It is also believed that women laugh more often than men. However, laughter is considered contagious, just like yawning.

As a person ages, he laughs less often. Researchers have found that 4-year-old children laugh an average of 300 times a day, while adults laugh about 5 to 10 times.

The benefits of laughter for the body. Laughter is the best medicine for many diseases. Scientists have found that it reduces pain and discomfort associated with the disease. In addition, laughter reduces stress hormones, increases hormones of longevity and happiness, and strengthens the immune system.

Advantages

A University of Oxford study found that laughter can help build resistance to physical pain by up to 10%. Our grandmothers also knew about the health benefits of laughter. From time immemorial it was believed that it prolongs life, improves health and is the best medicine from all diseases.

If a person laughs heartily, that's good. If you laugh, then the pressure in the body increases, breathing intensifies, the pulse quickens, more oxygen enters the cells, and calories are burned.

A scientist from Vanderbilt University conducted a small experiment in which the number of calories burned while laughing was measured. It has been proven that if a person laughs for 10 to 15 minutes, the body burns about 50 calories.

Other Maryland researchers have studied the blood vessel response (). They watched people watching dramas and comedies. After this, it was concluded that people who watched the comedy had normal blood vessels and improved blood circulation. However, the blood vessels of those watching the drama were tense.

Therefore, watching comedies is beneficial cardiovascular system and general health. Because you laugh while watching them, and laughter has been said to strengthen the immune system, lower stress hormones, lower blood sugar, and burn calories.

Laughter reduces the risk of heart disease: in happy, cheerful people the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases is reduced by 40%, unlike pessimists. This is due to the hormone cortisol (stress hormone), which suppresses the immune system. Laughter can reduce cortisol levels in the body by up to 50%.

When you laugh, your body produces endorphins, hormones that help fight stress and also serve as a natural pain reliever. This helps make a person a little happier.

Smile and laugh daily

Smiling every day will help you in everything. Daily laughter helps maintain good mood. It was also noted that this improves health and resistance to infections.

You can laugh, for example, at home while watching comedies, or better yet, when communicating with people.

It especially helps during depression, anger, because... Frees the body from negative emotions and gives peace of mind.

Research conducted at the Center for Alternative Medicine at the University of California showed that laughter reduces anger levels by up to 98% (watching comedies), and reduces depression by up to 51%.

Skin Health: Laughter has been shown to improve skin health (). This is due to the dilation of blood vessels, improved blood circulation and cellular nutrition. The skin becomes more radiant and smooth.

Plus, laughter helps keep your heart healthy. To lower blood pressure, you can laugh for 10 minutes. This will help improve blood circulation, prevent cardiovascular diseases, and also enough oxygen will flow to the heart muscle.

Also, laughter is good not only for the heart, but also for the lungs. If you have problems with the respiratory system, it is useful to laugh 30 minutes a day. This will help cleanse the lungs, blood, and reduce pain symptoms.

Benefits of laughter:

  • reduces blood pressure;
  • reduces stress hormones;
  • stimulates the immune system;
  • relieves pain;
  • relaxes muscles;
  • stimulates the production of endorphins;
  • improves the health of the respiratory system.

When you laugh, your body relaxes and pain decreases. Laughter also helps the body secrete neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine (helps to relax). It can be called an excellent antidepressant.

In addition to all of the above, it helps fight infections, especially of the respiratory tract. It is believed that laughing for 30 seconds to 5 minutes (10 times a day) reduces appetite, burns calories, which helps you lose weight.

Homo sapiens laughed and always laughs. This helps prolong life. Someone will laugh at this statement, but humor and laughter in any case were a component of the development of a person as a person. Whatever the nature of laughter, it works for our health, improves overall well-being, gives vigor and stamina, and relieves stress. Looking at funny photos on the Internet or listening to funny stories from life, we prolong our existence and make it more enjoyable.

Laughter can be called peculiar defensive reaction our body. A dull reality cannot but give rise to depression and stress. Sometimes it is so deplorable that it only gives us negative emotions. You can still wait for a pleasant event! That is why it is necessary to artificially diversify this routine with the help of humor, for example, by watching funny videos on the Internet.

Is it worth constantly crying and suffering from unpleasant events? Even if others think that you are laughing for no reason, do not pay attention to them. It's better to talk about what you saw or heard and laugh together. If among them there are one or two people without a sense of humor, that’s their problem.

Have you noticed that sometimes laughter really starts for no reason, and massively? It arises at the moment when tension in the team reaches its limit; it is enough, as they say, to “show the finger.” Laughter relieves tension and gives positive emotions, stimulates the restoration of those parts of the brain that have shut down due to chronic fatigue and nervous tension.

Children are always at the top of the list of the funniest people in the world. It won’t be difficult to make them smile, make them laugh, or cause them to have bouts of gushing and happy laughter. It is enough to see the sun, a bird, a butterfly, and they smile. They can laugh even where adults would not find it funny at all.

Women are second on the list after children. They are in constant readiness to smile and laugh. Men are usually reserved, believing that image comes first. As a result, this lack bright emotions has a bad effect on their nervous and cardiovascular systems.

Children's laughter is contagious. If a child laughs, an adult cannot help but smile. Our children bring us more joy than all the comedy programs and cool websites combined. Ultrasound studies have shown that a child is able to laugh while still in the womb.

Laughter reduces pressure in blood vessels and veins, relieves the threat of heart attacks, and even heals bruises. Increased breathing during laughter cleanses the lungs and provides an influx of oxygen to all organs. In Austria, for example, special laughter therapy centers have been created and are constantly functioning. We don’t have such centers, so laugh yourself and don’t spare your emotions.

Laughter prolongs life. And it's not easy stable expression, imposed on us by our ancestors, this is a fact proven by scientists. It’s not for nothing that little children constantly laugh, and carefree and cheerfully - they came into this world to live happily ever after!

In Germany, for example, experts have long come to the conclusion that laughter is an excellent preventive measure. various diseases. They even created a special Association of Clown Doctors who visit patients, for example, in oncology departments. After such a session, patients really feel better.

Moreover, laughter possesses magical properties only in a sincere form, that is, from the bottom of my heart. At such moments, a person contracts 80 muscle groups, short term breathing and pulse quicken, saturating the blood with oxygen. At this time, a whole stream of joy hormones enters the brain - endorphins, which are a kind of analgesics because they can dull the physical and heartache and evoke a feeling of satisfaction. In addition, it cleanses the upper respiratory tract and improves blood circulation in the body.

Moms will probably be happy with the fact that 15 minutes of laughter a day can burn up to 2 kg of fat per year, while simultaneously lowering blood pressure

Laughter has the most powerful effect on the immune system. During “ha-ha-ha”, the number of killer cells increases, destroying viruses and even cancer cells. The body also increases the content of immunoglobulin A, which fights diseases. By the way, scientists have found that immunoglobulin A can be transmitted to babies through breast milk. It follows that cheerful and contented children are less susceptible to colds.

The body's protective functions are increased by suppressing the production of “stress” hormones - adrenaline and cortosine during laughter. This is especially important for children who, from the first days of life, are trying to adapt to life “outside the tummy.”

Laughter also helps fight serious illnesses. For example, cancer patients who are regularly mixed have a higher cure rate and better medical outcomes, not to mention psychological mood. In addition, funny people have half the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than “beeches.”

By the way, did you know that you need to laugh at least 30 times a day? Psychologists are sure that a good, long laugh allows you to get rid of bad mood and cope with stress much faster. And this is very important for any family, especially young ones and with small children :)

“When you laugh with your partner, a bond develops between you. additional communication and you start better friend understand a friend. And when you remember something together, share your life experience“, there is a feeling that you have known each other for a very long time - this, just like laughter, strengthens your relationship,” he notes.

It is also important for working parents to know that laughter increases creativity at work by 57%, and increases productivity by 54%. So, if you want a promotion at work and enrichment of the family budget, laugh more!

Moms will probably be glad to know that 15 minutes of laughter a day can burn up to 2 kg of fat per year. Moreover, watching one comedy or TV show (but only a very funny one!) is comparable in calories to a kilometer walk. And another 61% of men consider cheerful and laughing women more attractive. Let your other half enjoy you to the fullest :)

By the way, grandparents will need another ability to laugh - just 10 minutes. And those people who laugh every day for at least 15 minutes improve blood circulation and heart function. But stress and depressive states increase the risk of death from heart disease by 44%!

As a result of the survey, every eighth person admitted that laughter makes him happier. So laugh more often and find out what ideal happiness is!



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