Laughter is the Best Medicine

Nothing brightens up a day like humor and, as they say, laughter is the best medicine. Humor is infectious, breaks barriers and spreads happiness. Shared laughter often generates a feeling of companionship. A dose of a healthy delightful laughter not only uplifts your mental state, it has also been known to have health benefits.

Benefits of a Good Laugh

Benefits of a good laugh and a positive sense of humor include:

Relaxation of muscles leading to the lowering of stress,
Lowering of pain and other physical discomforts
Prevention of heart diseases
Enhancement of mood and flexibility of attitude
Supporting relationships through bad phases
Increase of team morale and adjustments
Lowering of interpersonal conflicts
A good sense of humor generates from an intelligent mind, an individualistic outlook to life and an ability to laugh at one’s self.

Do you have a good sense of humor?

Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health. ~ Paul E. McGhee (Tweet this)

How to know if you have a sense of humor or not? A good-humored person will be able to:

Lighten up a situation with a burst of intelligent humor
Thinks people who can crack jokes at the right time are funny
Enjoy reading humorous articles and books
Laugh at own faults or mistakes
Accept people cracking jokes at him in a lighthearted way

But don’t worry if you do not have any of the above traits. Senses of humor do not always require a smart word, body language also can rattle your funny bone, as proven by the popular films of Charlie Chaplin, and Laurel & Hardy. Anyone can add a joke to lighten a social get-together or a stressful situation. Laughter is the best medicine. It relaxes the whole body and boosts the immune system.

Also read How to Develop a Sense of Humor

Useful tips to Developing a Good Sense of Humor

However, it’s important to remember some guidelines if you are not a natural at sharing amusing incidents and are still determined to lighten up yourself and others with humor.

It’s important to connect to your audience or group before trying out your humor. Bad timing for a humorous narration can spoil the entire evening.
Brevity is the soul of wit, they say. So keep it short and simple.
Some jokes are culturally sensitive, it’s best to avoid such jokes in a mixed group. (In a recent incident, a US diplomat wanted to appear witty and remarked ‘my skin became dirty and dark like the Tamilians,’ causing a huge diplomatic row over the racist-toned comment).
Do not overuse humor, or make your audience the target of your jokes.
Most importantly, do not laugh at your own jokes. At best, smile, and wait for a response from your audience.

Laughter is the best medicine. So go ahead, and use your sense of humor to brighten up your office presentations, your social gatherings, or even to drag yourself out of the regular monotony of work and leisure, and put fun back into your life again.