Have you had your laugh today:)))

 When a child is born, the 1st thing it does is “cry”. And after that 1st cry, as a parent we keep trying to make him/her smile or laugh till he/she doesn’t get tired of it or learn on it’s own!! 

It is amazing that crying and laughing both are reflexes but one can make you feel miserable and the other one can take your stress away!! When a parent tickles the child and seeing the child laugh, the parent will also smile or laugh back and that helps them to bond well. Studies have also shown that it helps mother to lower her stress hormones and can feed her baby well! So smiling is not just a reflex but it has lot of science behind it, so the mom can take care of the kid well.

As you get older, you will notice that laughing is not as easy as crying! As a kid, the way you can laugh out loud, it takes a while as an adult to have that carefree laugh. Why do we have so much inhibition as we grow old?
Those who can still laugh out loud as an adult are happy people in general or at least that is what the science says!

My grandma is in her 90's and I always wonder what is the secret of her good health and happiness!  Then I started noticing that she can laugh so easily. When I look at her, I have always seen her smiling! You know how smiling is contagious. If the other person has a smile on their face, automatically you will feel like smiling and forget any negative thoughts.

I tell my patients that when you wake up and look at yourself in the mirror, “smile” so you can start your day with a positive note and it will bring more smiles throughout the day!

 I feel everyone should have a friend or family member who you can laugh out loud with any time on any silly things. I am grateful to have several friends and family members who I can laugh with and let my sorrows go away.

Now a days there is “ laughter yoga” to get people laugh without a humor and that has shown lot of benefits on physical and mental health.

 So why is the “laughter is the best medicine”?

So I did some research to get more scientific facts to help understand why laughing is so important for our health.
Laughing involves several organs of body to act together and in return it is a good exercise for the whole body without you knowing and the best way to relax your mind and body.

• Studies have shown that by stimulating part of frontal lobe makes people laugh. But that requires 3 parts of humor: 
• emotion behind humor
•  cognitive understanding of humor 
• motor reaction of humor. 
• And that makes people laugh. I am sure you have met people who just don’t get your joke and can’t laugh! It is not their fault, everyone is built differently ;)

Benefits of laughter.

1. Improves your mood- lowers depression, anxiety and makes you feel happy.
2. Lowered muscle tension- which relaxes muscles and helps in lowering chronic pain.
3. Improves blood circulation- increase blood flow to brain, lungs, heart, muscles and that can improve functions of those organs.
4. Increase oxygen to your lungs can help you feel relax and can lower anxiety.
5. Improves immunity by increasing immune cells, antibodies and help fighting infections. 
6. Lowers stress hormones and that in general helps you feeling stress free!
7. Lowers pain as endorphins helps in pain also!
8. Sense of well being- releases endorphins that makes you feel good!

So how can yo bring more laughter in your life!!

• Talk to old friends who you share lot of fun memories with.
• Watch a funny move or TV show, YouTube videos.
• Read a funny book.
• Sing a funny song!
• Dance on funny song or make up your moves.
• Learn to laugh on your own funny or stressful situations and your stress will go away.
• Share your laughter with others by sharing what you found funny.
• Play act out games like Taboo, Dumb charade, 
• Learn to take it easy and laugh off on things you have no control on. 
• Join a laughter yoga!
• Celebrate world laughter day on the third of may!!

So what are you waiting for?!

Go ahead, have a good laugh with someone you love and care, ‘cause laughing is contagious!!!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I Have many problems in my life, but my lips don't know that. They always smile!" Charlie Chaplin