Jokes per Day Could Keep the Doctors Away

I have always been fascinated about jokes. Who aren’t, anyhow? As far back as everyone can remember, jokes have been part of our lives. It has been around us for better or for worse. Funny jokes brighten up our days and have become a sanctuary for many stressed and burnt out souls seeking refuge that they’d call their own.

True, laughter, an inevitable reaction caused by funny jokes, is contagious and is the best medicine. In fact, in recent studies, it has been found out that laughing appears to boost blood flow, thus reducing people’s risk of developing heart disease. Here are some of the fascinating benefits of laughter taken from BUPA (http://www.bupa.co.uk/) which are worth noting:

• Laughing is thought to help you to fight off illnesses by boosting your immune system. It increases the amount of immunoglobulins, natural killer cells and T cells in the body, which fight infection and tumours.
• Laughing reduces pain. Children watching comedy films relax more and tolerate pain more easily. In fact, humorous videos are being used in anaesthetic rooms at Manchester Children's Hospital. And an American nurse has found that telling jokes to her patients before she administers a painful treatment reduces their discomfort.
• Laughing reduces allergic responses, including hay fever symptoms.
• Laughing lifts your mood - even if you have to force yourself to laugh.
• Laughing reduces the effect of stress by lowering stress hormone levels.
• Laughing helps keeps diabetes under control. It may help to control spikes in blood sugar levels after a meal, reducing the chances of diabetic complications. In one study, people who watched a funny video during dinner had lower blood sugar levels after the meal compared to the people who watched a lecture video.

Many people today realize the medical benefits of laughter. That is why, some people see to it that apart from getting a good amount of exercise and proper nutrition, they also take a good dose of laughter each day. How do you get a good dose of laughter each day? Simple. You don’t have to spend too much time to laugh and you don’t even have to try hard to figure out how to laugh. Laughing comes naturally as a product of something amusing. What amuses you? They could be wholesome funny television shows such as the slapsticks of the 30’s or Adam Sandler films. A good joke book or a monthly subscription to syndicated comic strips would also do the trick. These days, with the advent of the internet, you can take advantage of the explosion of wholesome entertainment from free websites that offer huge amounts of jokes enough to make you laugh for the rest of your life.

So the next time you’re stressed and burned out, take a deep breath, relax and find yourself a good source of laughter each day. Try it and you’ll see the miracle that only laughter can bring.

Visit the author’s Jokes per Day blog at http://jokesperday.blogspot.com/ to find a daily dose of wholesome jokes.