Laugh For Your Health: An Important Lesson Learned From Losing My Laughter by Noreen Braman

I have an old book called Laugh With Health that we often used when my kids were in school and needed information on nutrition. It seemed an oddly titled book, nothing funny about it. Not until, years later, when I studied laughter and the important role it plays in our health.

I’ve felt the release of endorphins that comes with laughing, experienced the relaxing effects as laughter works both sides of my brain at the same time and pushes stress and anxiety to the side. Yes, laughter for the health of it.

Soon, the connection between laughter and health became even more personal and experiential. I spent a period of time on a health journey that robbed me of my laughter. At first I thought I was just moving along, the same person I had always been. It wasn’t until my symptoms started to get better did I realize that I had not exactly been “myself.” It was a relief when others began saying, “We love to hear you laugh again.”

Now, I pay attention to how I feel when laughing, whether it is in conversation with friends, watching a funny movie or comedian, or doing a laughter yoga exercise. I stop to notice how diminished my fibromyalgia pain is. I breathe deep and revel in the absence of anxiety. I feel more like “me.” Now I know, on a deep physical, emotional and spiritual level, what it is to “laugh with health.”

Moving forward, my goal is to consciously keep laughter present in my life, whether it is a full belly laughter or an amused smile. And, the first step is to not expect laughter or health to just fall on me from the universe, I must actively pursue it.

What can you do in your life to laugh with health?

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