Laughter Improves Health

It is well known that laughter triggers healthy bodily changes and healthy changes in the mind. It can be a strong antidote to conflict, pain, and stress. Laughter really is contagious. When you hear someone else laugh, it primes your brain and sets you up to join that person in laughing, too.  There is nothing else that works more dependably or quicker to bring your body and mind into balance than laughter.

Physical health

Laughter can do many things for your health, such as:

• Increasing your immune system. It can decrease the level of stress hormones within the body and increase the number of immune cells and antibodies you have, which will help you become more resistant to disease.
• Relaxing tension. A wonderful laugh can relieve you of stress and physical tension so that your muscles can be relaxed for up to 45 minutes following laughing.
• Releasing endorphins. Endorphins are the body’s feel-good hormones. When your endogenous endorphins are released, you feel a sense of well-being and a reduction in the sensation of pain.
• Helping the heart. Laughter can increase the ability of the blood vessels to nourish all parts of the body. It can increase your blood flow, which in turn can help prevent heart attacks and other types of heart diseases.

Emotional/mental health

Laughter simply makes you feel good. This good feeling persists even when you are done laughing. Laughter helps you maintain an optimistic, positive outlook so you can better get through situations of loss, disappointments, and other difficult situations.

Some things laughter can do to improve your mental health include:

• Allowing you to relax. A good laugh can lessen stress and increase your energy levels so that you can remain focused and get more things accomplished.
• Reducing stress. It is hard to feel sad, anxious, or angry when you are instead laughing.
• Shifting your perspective. It allows you to see things in a less threatening and more realistic light. Being humorous helps create a psychological distance between you and stressful events so that you don’t feel so overwhelmed.

Social benefits

When you use humor and engage in playful communication with others, your relationships become stronger and you trigger positive emotions and an emotional connection with those you are laughing with. A positive bond develops—one that can act as a powerful buffer against disappointment, disagreements, and stress. When you laugh with others, it is even more powerful than when you laugh alone.

Find more opportunities to laugh

• Have a game night with your friends
• Do something you think is silly
• Watch something funny, such as videos on YouTube (or simply search “funny”)
• Be with people who are funny
• Share a funny story or joke with another
• Read a funny book
• Play with your pet
• Do fun activities

At The Arise Society, we have FUN!

We are located along the Wasatch Mountains in the center of Utah, a beautiful state that offers an abundance of outdoor activities throughout every season, such as hiking, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, mountain biking, fishing, and climbing.

On community activity evenings (usually three or four nights a week), we coordinate community events of the students’ choosing or students may arrange smaller activities among themselves.

Some of our fun and exciting activities include:

• Concerts
• Sporting events
• Hiking and boating
• Skiing, snowboarding and ice skating
• Indoor rock climbing and trampoline parks
• Golfing
• Movies and board games
• Food or culture festivals
• Go karting and arcades
• Laser tag, paintball, and axe toss
• Virtual reality spaces and escape rooms
• Crafts such as painting ceramics, spray painting, knitting, tie dye
• Museums
• and more!

Find out more about us at www.thearisesociety.com or call (801) 300-9995.