The world is full of change and uncertainty. We all need the skills to maneuver through these challenges with as little stress as possible. Humor is a fun and efficient way of accomplishing this.
Benefits of laughter
Laughter serves as an instant mood changer that can erase fear, anger, anxiety and depression. Since there are so many things in life we can't change, why not laugh? From a physical standpoint, laughter conditions the heart, exercises the lungs and diaphragm, works the abdominal and thoracic muscles, boosts the immune system and even increases adrenaline and blood flow to the brain.
In journalism, as with many professions, there's usually a funny side to things - perhaps because it deflects seriousness. Nonetheless, there's often a clever headline or a play on words that makes the job all the more enjoyable - as long as it's not at anyone's expense. If employees and managers can create an environment in which work feels less like work, they will want to be there and will most likely contribute more to the organization. It's all about balancing serious issues with a light touch.
Laughter, after all, can increase alertness, creativity and memory, says Lee Berk of the College of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. It also increases pain tolerance, lowers blood pressure and improves respiration and eases breathing. For many, laughter is a great stress reducer. When the walls close in, finding humor in the situation suddenly makes it less important and earth shattering. Laughter also prevents burnout, irritability, back pain and the desire to over eat.
Ways to promote laughter
To elevate your chuckle meter each day, observe people around you with laughter-prone personalities. Laughter really binds people. It can also become a habit. The sharing of a laugh is like giving a hug. It costs nothing and is worth everything. The beauty of humor is that if it is lost or misplaced, it can be created in the time it takes to smile.
Some choose to initiate laughter by taking a laughter yoga class. Though this may seem like forced laughter, practice does make perfect. According to Laughter Yoga, laughter yoga combines unconditional laughter with yogic breathing (pranayama). The site claims "anyone can laugh for no reason, without relying on humor, jokes or comedy." Laughter is first performed as an exercise in a group and then, with playfulness and eye contact, "turns into real and contagious laughter."
According to Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician from Mumbai, India, the concept of laughter yoga is "based on a scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter." He claims one gets the same physiological and psychological benefits.
Though laughter yoga is relatively new, laughing away one's troubles is not. Interest in the health benefits of laughter began several decades ago with author Norman Cousins. His book, Anatomy of an Illness, told how he overcame a fatal disease by watching humorous movies and shows. Cousins found that evidence shows "laughter is an antidote to apprehensions and panic."
All that's really needed to get laughter going is to think about the absurdity of certain situations in life. By choosing to dwell on the positive outcomes, rather than the negative, laughter can become an automatic reaction.
Sources:
- Achieve Life Success Chuck Gallorzzi "Benefits of Laughter" (accessed June 1, 2011)
- Benefits of Laughter Zorka Hereford "Sense of Humor" (accessed June 1, 2011)
- Laughter Yoga Dr. Madan Kataria "What is Laughter Yoga?" (accessed June 1, 2011)
