Y'all, I am obsessed these days with the Ologies podcast. It makes me a little nervous to admit this because in my mind I always thought of podcasts as a little snooty-- which I now know is because I had not ever listened to the right ones (sorry I was judgy all you amazing podcasts out there <3).
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So let me share some of the greatness that alieward has imparted to me on a topic that I believe so many people really need to dig into gelotology.
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Sexy right? LOL.
There I did it, laughed, and laughter is the name of the game today!
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“Laughter is a form of internal jogging. It moves your internal organs around. It enhances respiration. It is an igniter of great expectations.” -- Norman Cousins
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I had no idea that people actually studied the importance of such a thing in our lives, but they do, and as it turns out, laughter plays a really important role in our overall health and wellness.
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So by definition (from Dr. Lee Berk) " A laugh is the physical expression of something that triggers the brain to say that this is really funny enough to provide some sort of overt expulsion of air.”
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That's a really sexy definition, right? (don't worry folks there is an episode about that also)
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You know I love fitness, well much like most, I also love laughing... it makes me feel soooo good. But why is that?
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Well first off, after spending years struggling with depression, and lying to myself that I did not have a chemical imbalance and I was ok, I want to experience as much joy and happiness in my life as possible.
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And second, the science, it's a bit complicated but I am going to do my best to break it down for you (I'll have more detail on the blog). Laughter essentially works by helping you to decrease the stress hormones that your body releases (ie. cortisol, adrenaline and dopamine) while increasing health producing hormones like endorphins, which everyone knows makes you happy. Laughter also enhances something called gamma waves in the brain, which is the inverse of depression. Gamma waves have been associated with the highest level of cognitive processing and functionality.
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Laughter can relieve pain, increase happiness and also increase immunity; that’s pretty fancy for an “expulsion of air.”
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Laughter can allow you to release pent up emotions in a healthy way, all while giving our abs, diaphragm and shoulders a good workout.
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Shut the front door, I almost forgot to mention that laughter burns calories… I mean seriously. It’s the best thing ever!
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For more information, be sure to check out the Ologies episode, and be warned, once you start listening there is no going back...
Until Next time,
Stay Healthy
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