Better health – a laughing matter

Lymph nodes and laughter. When you laugh, you breathe in more oxygen. Laughter helps expand alveoli, the tiny air sacs in your lungs. Because the area for oxygen exchange is bigger, more oxygen enters your body and brain. This relaxes the muscles, lowers the stress hormone – cortisol – and stimulates your lymph nodes, which improves your immune system.

Have you heard about the heart benefits? The increased intake of oxygen caused by laughter stimulates your organs and can even improve your cardiovascular health by increasing blood flow to the heart. Laughter also can immediately improve your mood by increasing the endorphins released by your brain. Long-term, it can decrease anxiety and depression and help regulate your body’s emotional response.

In with oxytocin. “Studies have shown that people who don’t laugh have lower levels of oxytocin, a feel-good hormone. This is linked to stress, depression and anxiety, even cardiac stress and schizophrenia,” said certified laughter yoga instructor Linda Gillen. She has been has been helping people intentionally chuckle for eight years.

Laugh and learn about laughter yoga in the full article.