Numerous scientific studies have shown that laughing is beneficial for health, helps to increase defenses and promotes psychological balance. Although the healing power of laughter is debatable, what is certain is that it makes us feel better, and since there is no danger of overdose or side effects, it can be an important ally of conventional medical treatments.
Good humor is beneficial for health, because it helps to increase defenses and improve the immune system, and facilitates the biological and psychological balance of people. Laughter is contagious and it is shown that we laugh more often when we relate to others. That means that people who laugh more often also tend to have a more intense social life and maintain close contact with their family and friends. In this way, the feeling of well-being has its origin both in the frequency with which they laugh, and in their relationship with the people around them.
We have been able to see how we have improved from a physical or emotional discomfort, when having fun with a group of friends, or when we have been distracted by watching a movie or a humor program, which has made us forget the pain we felt.
There are also people who say they fell in love with their partner “because it made them laugh”. And is that making people laugh is an art; in fact, the actors usually say that it is much easier to make the audience cry than to make a laugh.
Laughter therapy or laughter therapy consists of creating situations that help to release physical and emotional tensions, to achieve a natural laugh. It is practiced in a group, with the direction of specialized monitors that use techniques of corporal expression, dances and games, massages … with the objective that the participants get disinhibited and finish laughing with laughter.
The laughter therapy sessions are carried out with a group of people willing to participate in the activities proposed by the monitor, and they begin explaining what this therapy consists of and the benefits that they will achieve with it. Afterwards, each member of the group has to introduce themselves to the others and, in order to achieve a fluid and spontaneous communication, and begin to disinhibit themselves, they usually wear a clown nose.
The next step is to perform various exercises that help relax the muscles. In this way, tensions are eliminated and a natural laugh is encouraged, which springs from the interior.
In the session of laugh therapy we will recover the pleasure of playing, while we verify that the positive effects of laughter multiply when shared with other people.
Among the beneficial effects of laughter are:
- We breathe in more air, and the respiratory volume increases.
- The heart beats faster and improves circulation.
- It is a muscular exercise, because when we laugh we mobilize more than 400 muscles.
- Endorphins are released in the brain, a natural analgesic, and increases the secretion of serotonin. This reduces the perception of pain and balances the state of mind, combating stress and anxiety, and facilitating sleep.
- It favors the digestive function and improves intestinal transit.
- Strengthens the defenses and activates the immune system.
- Power creativity and productivity.
- Eliminates negative energy, and teaches us to perceive any situation more positively.
- Helps to externalize feelings and emotions.
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