Do you need a good laugh today? Check out a joke here.
Your whole body gets a kick out of a good chuckle. Here’s what happens when you laugh, according to research.
- Your heart and lungs are stimulated.
- Your heart beats faster and your blood pressure rises temporarily.
- You breathe deeper and oxygenate more blood.
- Your body releases endorphins, your own natural pain killers, and you produce more immune cells.
- You burn seventy-eight times as many calories as you would in a resting state.
- Your diaphragm, facial muscles and internal organs all get bounced around in a message sometimes called "internal jogging."
After you’ve laughed, your muscles and arteries relax. That’s great for easing pain. Also, your blood pressure lowers and your pulse drops below normal. Some researchers think all this aids digestion.
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22
Taken from Healing Through Humor by Charles and Frances Hunter (Creation House Press, 2003).
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