Treat Yourself To A Good Belly Laugh Today

Think about it. How many times a day do you laugh? Not necessarily big belly laughs - just chuckles, giggles, yuks?

For the average adults, it’s 15 times a day (down from about 50 for the typical child). And 15 pauses for a little mirth and merrymaking are not nearly enough to feed the human spirit, say the clowns and comics of the world who attended a conference on The Healing Power of Laughter & Play, which concluded here last week.

Sponsored by the Institute for the Advancement of Human Behavior, the conference on how to have fun has attracted a growing number of therapists, doctors, nurses, social workers and offbeat others since its humble origins aboard the Queen Mary in 1982. More than 500 people registered for this year’s conference.

The meetings are held every few years to remind health professionals that fun is an essential component of wellness, said conference organizer Erin Sommerville. But adults today, who find it harder than ever to escape from work - thanks to cell phones, lap-tops, home PCs and fax machines are having a tough time lightening up.

“Whenever you find someone up against the wall and who is evaluating their life, what is truly important, what they say is: ‘Somewhere along the line I stopped enjoying my life. I forgot what it’s like to play,”’ said Sommerville, a Palo Alto hypnotherapist. “In our culture, we’re starved for laughter and play. Play is thought of as too frivolous.”

Many studies have shown that a positive attitude can bolster the immune system. Studies show that laughter unleashes chemical neurotransmitters and hormones throughout our body, contributing to an overall sensation of well-being in much the same way that exercise does, said Barbara Dossey, director of Holistic Nursing Consultants in Santa Fe, N.M. This is why Cousins called laughter “internal jogging.”

“There is this massive chemical shift going on,” said Annette Goodheart, a Santa Barbara, Calif. psychotherapist and the author of a book on laughter therapy. “When you laugh, your cardiovascular system gets a workout. You take in massive quantities of air. Your heart rate and blood pressure go up at first then settle down at a rate lower than before you began laughing. Even the anticipation of laughter shifts your body’s chemistry.”

Many adults become expert at listening to an “internal critic” in their heads while failing to see that humor and laughter is an equally powerful voice that can counter that negative voice, said Dossey.

“There is nothing wrong with an internal critic, but we also need to think of the other counselors in our bodies,” she said. Laughter is one such “counselor.”

But while humor can augment individual health, it is perhaps most powerful in its effects on a group, said Goodheart.

“Through laughter, we are connecting with ourselves, our environment and each other,” she said. “That’s why it’s contagious; it gives the feeling of connection. Laughter breaks through feelings of isolation and alienation.”

Humor may become more treasured as society becomes increasingly isolated by technology and the chances for human interaction diminish.

Shared laughter is especially needed in two places, health experts agreed: the workplace and marriage.

“Laughter and play are a way to make the workplace more human,” said Matt Weinstein, founder of Playfair Inc. of Berkeley, a company that helps corporations realize the benefits of fun. “And we deserve to have joy in the workplace - it’s the place where we spend the most time. Work as drudgery is an idea whose time is long past.”

But, he noted, fun at work doesn’t just happen. “You have to work at it.”

Few people consider humor when they choose their mates, said Goodheart.

“When you laugh with someone or cry with someone, you experience a connection. But we don’t often choose a mate we can laugh with because marriage is so serious. In our culture, we say things like, ‘John and Sue are getting serious.”’

It’s one of the many myths surrounding laughter that you can’t laugh and be serious at the same time, Goodheart said.

For people battling chronic illness or pain, she advised: “You have to make laughter a priority in your life. You don’t play when you feel better, you feel better when you play.”

We don’t need a reason to laugh, Goodheart said.

“If you want to have a reason you aren’t going to laugh very much,” she said.

And you don’t have to see yourself as the next Jerry Seinfeld to laugh a lot, the giggling gurus noted.

“It’s by no means necessary to have a good sense of humor to bring joy, fun and play to work,” said Weinstein.

If it’s a healthy type of humor, it won’t be at the expense of anyone else, noted several conference speakers, some of whom blasted the vulgarity and mean-spiritedness of some of today’s most popular comedians.

“Laughter comes from a happy, healing place - not at the expense of someone,” Goodheart said.

And besides, she noted, a Michigan study showed people who consistently used put-downs in their humor end up sicker and died younger than other people.

He who laughs best, laughs last.