Just saying: LAUGHTER

Another entry from the useful book Everyday Psychology, by Dr Steve Edwards.

‘The most wasted day of all is that in which we have not laughed. — Nicholas Chamfoot.

Dr Edwards comments: Researchers  such as Edward de Bono, Paul E. Torrance and many others have described humour as probably the most significant characteristic of the human mind, and the basis of insight and creativity. Humour concerns a bringing together of incongruities. Laughter is the outward expression of humour.

Laughter is the best medicine – Reader’s Digest.

Patterns of laughter change from the inscrutable smile to the explosive guffaw across situations and cultures.  Leo Buscaglia’s  exhoration is to ‘Keep laughing, it exercises your heart and protects you from cardiac problems.’ Acting as if happy is a research finding. Simply, laughter makes you happy and the day humane, otherwise wasted.

‘It has always seemed to me that hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.’ – Norman Cousins.

Lastly, according to AI, laughter reflects the proven physical, mental and social aspects of one’s life. Laughter lowers the level of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine, promoting a sense of relaxation.

FEATURED IMAGES: Left: Two laughing men, Hans von Aachen, 1574, Olomouc Museum of Art. (Wikipedia) Right: Laughing child in the golden hour, Don Det (Si Phan Don), Laos. (Basile Morin, Wikipedia)