The universal language of laughter

One of the simplest ways to live a happier and healthier life is to laugh more. It’s universal and unconscious to humans. We are born with the capacity to laugh.

Laughter helps us to get along with each other, you can catch laughter from another and it is an excellent way to reduce stress in our lives. By the time we reach adulthood, we laugh less at a time when we need laughter more than ever.

Laughter boosts our health, communication, positive thinking and creativity. It’s playful and fun and triggers the release of endorphins that help us to relax and feel good. It can also reduce pain and aid the healing process.

Laughing raises your mood and creates a positive state of mind. It also strengthens the immune system and, if that isn’t enough to convince you, it just feels good! So how can we get more laughter into our lives? We’ve put together our top 7 ways to let more laughter in.

Ways to bring more laughter into your life.

1. Explore and find your humour - go to a comedy club, read a funny book, or watch a funny film, series, or comedian. Plan time to do this into your week and stick to it.

2. Spend time with people who make you laugh. Their positive and silly vibe will boost your energy rather than hoover up your resources.

3. Be aware of what makes you laugh – it might be an observation, a silly groan-worthy joke or something that has actually happened. Use it to build a stock of ‘funnies’ to fall back on when you need them!

4. If you are a visual person, why not create a laughter board. You could use pictures, quotes or objects that make you smile and raise your mood.

5. Play more. Be carefree, goof around and allow yourself to be free to feel this, rather than stay permanently in the ‘serious’ adult zone.

6. Have a ‘giggle session’ with a loved one or friend. We were recently introduced to this idea and love it. Put aside 15 minutes and sit facing your giggle session partner. The first one to go says ‘HA!’, the second person then says ‘HA HA!’, the first person picks it up with ‘HA HA HA!’. Go backwards and forwards increasing it by one ‘HA’ each time. It works wonders!

7. Go through some old photos that evoke positive memories and write funny one liners or captions to them. This one is great if you do it with someone else.

More laughter in your life? Absolutely approved :-)