Keep Up the Laughter

Have you ever heard that laughter can cure what ails you? It's true. Laughter is a great mood lifter and can cause positive changes in the body in many different ways. Here are just a few:

• Relieve stress - A drop in the stress hormone cortisol occurs when your mood improves in response to laughter.
• Improve your outlook - Looking on the bright side and embracing positive thoughts helps relieve physical and emotional tension associated with negative ways of thinking. Laughing, smiling, and focusing on something positive pushes out the bad feelings created by mental stress and strain more quickly than you would imagine.
• Positive self-talk - people who practice positive talk tend to have better outcomes in their lives, regardless of whether things always work out exactly as you believe they should.
• Reduce aches, stiffness, and pains - Humor has been found to increase pain tolerance
• Give your immune system a boost - During laughter, T-cell antibodies (those that fight infection in the body) are found to increase and have a positive effect on the immune system.
  

Along with moderate, regular exercise and a healthy diet, the ability to laugh and engage in stress-releasing activities are two of the best friends your health can have.