Lighten Up!

You’d be hard pressed to go through one day, perhaps even one hour, without hearing or seeing ads on any of your devices touting the benefits of lightening up. These messages are usually aimed at what we eat, exercise we do, or maybe even the clothes we wear. Just this morning, I received an email from Prevention magazine singing the praises of 18 high-protein low carb meals that can make me feel full longer and thereby help me reduce my weight. An ad for Yoga-go popped up on my phone that said in just 28 days my body can be transformed into one in which people might ask, “What’s your secret?” And I received a notification on my FitBit watch courtesy of Pinterest with an article entitled “How to Look Slimmer Instantly!” While specifically targeted at physical appearance, there’s another type of lightening up I’m interested in, and I find myself incorporating it into my everyday life.

From my journal: July 10, 2020, Newbury Park, California

 “…Going to use the pic in my favorite chair with the wooden sign Connie gave me because she said it reminded her of me…ha!”

My journal entry is referring to the photo on my website homepage. Here I’m sitting in my retro swivel chair and above me is a sign that reads Laugh.  I love it! Just seeing it, makes me lighten up!

We’ve all heard that laughter is the best medicine and while it might not be able to cure an illness, it can lessen the effects and can be an antidote for many conditions that ail us from time to time. The blahs, the blues, the bores. When something amuses, elates, or even scares us, we usually react with bodily gestures and a sound. Laughing causes our facial muscles to contract, upper lip to lift, air intake to change, perhaps our eyes to water and face to redden while producing an audible giggle, chuckle, or guffaw. Or in my case, when I get laughing uncontrollably, I have been known to snort!

Laughter can reduce stress, increase health-enhancing hormones such as endorphins, as well as infection fighting antibodies. It improves blood flow to our hearts. The result? Greater relaxation, resistance to disease, and improved mood! Studies have reported that an average child laughs 300 times a day. What about an average adult?  One article I read stated 17 times and another reported a mere four!  Tsk! Tsk!

If you need to up your daily laughter quota, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are just a few internet sources for videos that can make you go ha-ha, hee-hee, or har har. Personally, I love to watch funny shows. One of my favorites as of late is “Son of a Critch” on Netflix. I still crack up at “Seinfeld” reruns and watching specials starring comedians like Nate Bargatze make me roar! Humorous books, movies, and live comedy shows are my Go-To’s as well. I also like to surround myself with funny people. Ever notice how humorous folks always have a crowd around them? Laughter is contagious, and puts everyone in a good mood, encourages interaction, and wins affection. Whoever makes you laugh, be with them more. Often, we have little control over life’s events, but if we seek out a little more laughter each day, we may feel more happy, relaxed, and healthy. So go ahead and lighten up!