We can fill our lives with laughter dozes every single day but it’s a different feeling to be in the spirit of a global movement on a special day. Apparently, every first Sunday of the month – May is observed as the ‘World Laughter Day‘ across the globe. Various laughter clubs / yoga centers / Therapy clubs organize laughter yoga sessions along with games, laughter competitions, food and lots of laughter…..
To find out where is the World Laughter Day celebrations are happening in your city, click here
There are numerous benefits of laughter but did you know?
- Laughter fights stress in another way. Stressed individuals have higher levels of a hormone called cortical. Studies show that laughter lowers cortical levels in the body, which makes laughter a natural stress buster. Much of the stress we experience is related to how we think. Laughing after an embarrassing mistake you made, for example, is far less stressful than losing sleep or remaining stressed over it
- Laughter is the best medicine
- An ability to laugh at your own mistakes also is a good way to lower blood pressure. In one study, researchers first measured what made people laugh. Then, each person was subjected to experiences that normally raise blood pressure levels. People who tended to laugh at their own mistakes had the smallest increases in blood pressure. However, people who tended to use humor that attacks other people or things had the highest increases.
- Laughter increases energy levels.
- Laughter helps us bond with others
- Laughter is good exercise – Laughing 100 times has the same effect on the body as being on a rowing machine for 10 minutes or a stationary bike for 15 minutes.
- Children laugh about 400 times a day. Adults laugh an average of 15 times a day.
- Laughter is infectious, which is why most TV sitcoms have a laugh track
- In 1962 in the African country now known as Tanzania, a few schoolgirls began laughing uncontrollably. Their laughter soon spread to people in neighboring communities. Schools were closed to keep others from catching the laugh bug. The epidemic subsided after six months
- Laughter sounds the same across cultures
- In groups, women laugh more than men. Women also laugh more at men more than men laugh at women