How important it is to laugh, every day. Here's why.

There's little to laugh about. Never before have we struggled to give ourselves, and to exchange, a smile, and as he says Gianni Morandi, a singer who has always interpreted popular moods, telling his life as an artist, "Today we laugh less, much less".

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How good it is to laugh

There is certainly less desire for to laugh, in a world that has long been turned upside down. Just think of the sequence of events that have radically changed the course of our lives in just a few years: the financial and economic crisis, the impoverishment of the middle classes in the face of the enormous and growing wealth of small minorities, the coronavirus and the lockdown, Russia's attack in UkraineFaced with these facts, the desire to laugh may even pass. But instead we must preserve it, without removing it, with the breath of lightness ready to warm human relationships. And the lightness it is nourished by the caressing breath of a smile.

Don't be stingy with laughter. In fact, indulge. You won't waste time or energy, but on the contrary, you'll truly experience a sense of well-being. To laugh change your life, and the bestToo often we take ourselves so seriously, when it really isn't necessary, and perhaps we become inflated, in a single and depressing mechanism. Depressing also for those forced to be around us. And meanwhile we waste those constant opportunities that life gives us to lighten even the heaviest things, to soften them with the lightness of a healthy laugh. A laugh that, when shared with loved ones, also transforms into a gesture of...love.

Because laughing, laughing, laughing (obviously without becoming a clown or a caricature) is not only a watchword for a healthy lifestyle, but it's also a key to improving our health and our psycho-physical well-being. Laughter is life. And let's not forget, regarding the explosive power of laughter, a famous phrase from anarchist literature, later taken up by Bertold Brecht“A laugh will bury you.”

Laughter produces endorphins

An ironic smile, a laugh that isn't derogatory, can leave a mark on those who try to hurt us much more than a harmful outburst of anger. Furthermore, a long series of university studies, from Oxford to Maryland, only confirm the many benefits of prolonged laughter. For the brain, the heart, the lungs, the head. The scientific reason is clear: laughter stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals produced by the brain that improve our mood. Hence its first benefit, also as a form of antidepressant.

Encourages creativity

Furthermore to laugh increases blood pressure, and this is good for the arteries, protecting us from cardiovascular problems. It reduces anxiety, stress and tension. Practice a real massage on the muscles, and encourages creativity. Without neglecting the relational aspect: laughing, especially in company, is a factor that nourishes our ability to relate to others. It makes us feel good together, and not alone. Without considering that smiling and therefore good humor are a fundamental element in increasing theefficiency at workLike all things, in fact, approaching our duties the right way helps us finish them faster and with less effort. If you want tangible proof of these effects, when you feel stressed, try taking a deep breath and a big smile and you'll see how your entire body will thank you.

Tone your body

The professors of theAmerican College of Cardiology they even found the right dosage, a total of fifteen minutes a day of laughter or smiling, while their colleague William Fry of theStanford University He calculated that one hundred laughs a day have the following physical effects:toning effect ten minutes of intense rowing activity.

Types of laughter

Laughter can be of four types: spontaneous, forced, ironic, nervous.

Spontaneous laughter. It's the most effective and also the most contagious. We hear or see something that, quite naturally, makes us laugh. The duration of spontaneous laughter depends on the contagiousness and also the strength of what we saw or heard.
Forced laughter. We force ourselves to laugh, perhaps to please someone who's told a joke, and if the forced laugh works, it can then mechanically transform into spontaneous laughter.
Ironic laughter. Almost a smile. It's used to take things with lightness An uncomfortable situation or even to make a problem less complicated. Ironic laughter is part of the beneficial universe. of irony.
Nervous laughter. It's certainly not the most effective type of laughter. It often expresses anxiety, discomfort, and disappointment.

Laughter Yoga

But are there exercises that help you laugh? Of course. There is even the yoga of laughter, a technique born in the late 1990s from the studies of Dr. Madan Kataria. He was bedridden with a serious illness and discovered the benefits of laughter himself: by laughing for ten minutes, he could sleep pain-free for at least two hours.

Laughter yoga techniques are now spreading online, where there are 16 laughter clubs around the world, 250 of which are in Italy. In particular, a new club has been opened. Skype Laughter ItalyTwice a day, at 7:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., we meet on Skype and laugh together. They call it the "chemistry of happiness": try it and believe it.

Laughing famous quotes

"If you want to meet a man, then look at how he laughs." Fedor Dostoevsky

Laughter is a mirror. More or less loud, expansive, extroverted: it helps to photograph a person's temperament. Also because, unlike cry Laughter, which can have a liberating effect, indicates a moment in which life appears generous. And so we are led to be more ourselves, without armor or defenses.

"When you laugh, you let yourself go, you are naked, you reveal yourself." Roberto Benigni

Benigni was able to make his audience laugh a lot at some tragedies that have marked the human race: from extermination of the Jews to the murderous violence of organized crime. Therefore, he has a very special skill that deserves recognition. And he's right: laughter, especially in dark times, is also a way to let go and discover ourselves.

"Some people don't deserve our smile." Charles Bukowski

Everyone can deserve our understanding, mercy, forgivenessBut not everyone is entitled to our precious smile. Let's save it for those who deserve it.

"Is it worth a child learning by crying what he can learn by laughing?" Gianni Rodari

Rigour and discipline are one thing, but tormenting a child with shouts of command or scolding is one of the worst ways to educate him. On the contrary, the lightness of a laugh can lead him straight to the goal, without stress, effortlessly and without side effects.

The cover image is taken from the Facebook page of Gianni Morandi

Why laughing is so good for you