Laugh if this is a joke.

Take a few moments and try this.

Think about a time in the past when you laughed so much that you fell over. Or your jaw ached. Or your belly couldn't stop rumbling. Or the time you just couldn't shake off that contagious laugh. Or think of someone whose laughter you enjoy. It could be your child (if you have one), your siblings, your loved one, your friend, or a comedian (Drew Carey).

If you just fell off your chair while thinking of all the fun times you had laughing like nobody's business. I'm sure by now you must be grinning from ear to ear.

It all boils down to one interesting side effect of laughing or smiling - it makes the brain produce a hormone called endorphin, a natural painkiller, or in other words: "sugar-rush".

Keep on reading, because this is no laughing matter:
- Five minutes of genuine belly laughter gives you as good a cardiovascular workout as 15 minutes on a running or rowing machine. Forget about going to the gym, just laugh out loud! (Just kidding, you still need to exercise regularly.)

- Laughter lowers stress hormones and increases the immune system's activity. Now I know why some people don't seem to fall sick throughout the entire year. Hmm...

- Patients who were told one-liner jokes after surgery and before painful medication felt less pain compared to those who didn't. (I guess that doctors and nurses are part-time comedians after all.)

So if you want to keep your body healthy, just give yourself a good dose of humour every day.



Now I think that this post is a bit random, but if it helps you and brightens up your day, good for you! (: