Laugh to Beat Stress

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The old wives tale about  laughter being the best medicine just got an update as researchers at California’s Loma Linda University have found that anticipating laughter lowers levels of three stress hormones. Stress hormones wreak havoc on our immune system and laughing brings them down.  The studies show that even if you anticipate a humorous event the stress hormones can be lowered.

The stress hormones – cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline) and dopac (a brain chemical that helps produce epinephrine) – were reduced by 39, 70 and 38 percent, respectively, among a small group of volunteers anticipating laughter.

So no matter how you look at laughter – or the anticipation of laughter – it appears to do us good, either by elevating hormones that make us happy and healthy or by lowering natural chemicals that contribute to unhealthy stress levels.

Get ready to laugh!

Watch this 3 minute video and celebrate International Moment of Laughter Day!