Our society is facing a major challenge. We live in a sedentary age where repeated exposure to stress, unhealthy lifestyle, food and damaging habits such as the excessive use of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs, all negatively affect life at home and at work and are exposing people to major lifestyle diseases, including hypertension, heart disease, [...]
As the joint family structure crumbles and youngsters steer away from parents, older adults, particularly in the West, find themselves alone either in aged care facilities or old-age homes. They are prone to frequent bouts of depression that often leads to a debilitating condition. About 80% of older adults have one chronic condition, and 50% [...]
As it turns out, the human brain is wired to respond positively to laughter and smiles, generating ‘feel-good’ chemicals. The wiring is so strong that...
Any disability can be experienced as a huge challenge and be hard to live and deal with. Impacted people have to (re)discover themselves and find different ways to fulfill their dreams without slipping into the realms of depression and frustration. It is easy when faced with intense adversity to let oneself experience more intense negative [...]
Many cancer survivors claim to have greatly benefited from laughter as a complementary option to the other established therapeutic strategy they chose to pursue. Here are possible reasons why: Why laughter scares depression, anxiety, boosts moodstates. Why laughter is good for the immune system, opens inner cellular pharmacy. Why laughter is good for the cardiovascular [...]
How laughter impacts the limbic system, and what this means for mental health The limbic system is involved in all emotions, including laughter, as well as basic functions required for survival. The amygdala and the hippocampus are the two limbic structures playing a role in laughter. The amygdala connects with the hippocampus and the medial [...]
Physical fitness stemming from laughter is a benefit known to few. When you laugh, all your body systems are affected in a positive manner.
Breathing is the only function of the autonomic nervous system that can be consciously regulated or changed. It encourages deep diaphragmatic breathing, which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the cooling branch of the autonomic nervous system and is the opposite of the sympathetic stress arousal system. This helps in relaxing the aroused state [...]
More laughter = more oxygen, the lifeline of our system Oxygen is one of the primary catalysts for biological energy in the human body. We breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. It is an element of intracellular energy that’s absolutely necessary to sustain human life. It plays an important role in the circulatory and [...]
Laughter is linked to the healthy function of blood vessels and greatly helps with heart health. A Maryland School of Medicine study found that laughter causes the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels (the endothelium) to expand in order to increase blood flow, while stress has the opposite effect, constricting blood vessels [...]
