These days, life seems to always move in the fast lane, and one can't help but think, "What life is this so full of care / You have no time to stand and stare." The pressures of work and the effort of trying to keep up with the Joneses can really stress us out. Stress levels peak to such degrees that the incidences of heart attacks, diabetes, and high blood pressure are constantly rising at an alarming rate. Compounded with mounting medical costs and the pressure to hold down two or more jobs because of extravagant lifestyles, dealing with daily stress becomes a vicious circle, and once caught in those murky waters, there seems to be no way out.
There are three types of stress: physical stress, which is the result of unremitting and taxing work leading to fatigue and tiredness; mental stress, caused by peer pressure when your ego pushes you to always surpass others; and emotional stress caused by problems at home and at work plus those resulting from the bottling up of emotions.
Circle Crib
What, then, is the best and perhaps most affordable way to counter the effects of stress? Perhaps the best preventive medicine is laughter -- in fact, it is doubtful whether an apple a day will keep the doctor away -- but a daily dose of laughter surely will. The beneficial effects of laughter can even be found in the ages-old "Papyrus of Ani -- the Egyptian Book of the Dead," a papyrus manuscript written more than 3,250 years ago. In "The Return," under the "Adoration of Ra when he rises in the eastern horizon of heaven," it is stated that "the world is made new with laughter."
The mechanism of stress, whatever type it may be, has to be understood for us to learn how laughter counteracts its effects. In times of stress, cortisol -- a corticosteroid hormone -- is released by the adrenal glands into the bloodstream. It is a crucial hormone that is also known as the "stress hormone" and is linked to stress response. Levels of cortisol are generally higher in the early morning and lower at night. Cortisol secretion also increases in times of stress and in "fight or flight" situations. This helps in giving a person a quick burst of energy for reasons of survival and also lowers the threshold of pain. Normally, the level of secretion falls back to pre-stress levels because of the body's natural relaxation response. But in these fast-paced times when stressful conditions are a daily occurrence, normalcy is rarely restored, resulting in chronic stress as the cortisol level remains high. This excess hormone increases blood pressure and blood sugar levels and has an immunosuppressive action resulting in negative effects on the body.
Sustained research by Dr. Lee Berk and Dr. Stanley Tan at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California have shown that laughter effectively lowers cortisol levels. Laughter also lowers the levels of epinephrine, another stress hormone. Laughter has been proven to increase endorphins, the natural painkillers of the body, which help instill a sense of well-being in a person. The lowering of these stress hormones results in the relief of not only the symptoms of stress but also in the elimination of the root cause of stress.
The effect of laughter is not only confined to the relief of stress. It also lowers blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and likewise aids conventional treatment by reducing pain and speeding up the recovery process. Abundant research has shown that patients who are made to laugh recover faster than those who do not.
If laughter can relieve stress and other attendant illnesses, just imagine what a regular dose of laughter can do for a person. Having a good laugh by either reading humorous material or watching a comedy will keep the stress hormones at a low level and prevent the development of stress-related problems. Beware though, as there are two different types of laughter: genuine and artificial. The first type is natural, impulsive, and spontaneous, while the second is premeditated and, at times, out-and-out spiteful -- also nicknamed 'the dark side of laughter.' People who laugh spontaneously and boisterously seem to have better dispositions than those who rarely laugh, and when they do, do so quietly. The former are apparently healthier, more obliging, and often more attractive.
Now, I ask you: "What else in this world costs little or nothing at all yet can give you so many health benefits?" After coming home from a hard day's work, borrow a hearty book of jokes from a friend or see a full-length, belly-shaking comedy, have a satisfying dinner, share lighthearted stories with a loved one, and imagine all your stress driven away.