Did you know that one of the quickest ways out of a stressful state of being is to laugh? Most of us know that stress changes the mind/body connection, and this is partly due to the impact stress has on the breath.
When stressed, we begin to breathe shallow and high in the chest, or we may even hold the breath in a stressful situation. The shallow or held breath, sends signals to the brain and body that something is wrong.
Here’s what’s funny: When we laugh, we naturally go into diaphragmatic breathing, which, according to physiologist William Fry, actually gives you a bit of a workout. When you laugh, the diaphragm contracts repeatedly, the heart rate and breathing rate climb, and your circulation gets an actual workout.
While laughter might hype you up initially, relaxation comes after. Once laughter stops, heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension drop below where they started. Fry goes so far as to say that laughter is “internal jogging.”
This is what makes laughter such a powerful form of breathwork. It’s the arousal and release cycle that lands you in a relaxation response, a term coined by Herbert Benson. The deep exhales stimulate the vagus nerve, signaling the body to let go.
The silly truth is that you don’t have to be laughing at a joke. You can simulate laughter and get the same benefits, and you might even feel a bit happier too. As long as your diaphragmatic pattern kicks in, the rest will follow.
Find ways to build laughter into your daily self-care. You may find a good laugh with friends, I think that’s the best kind, but it’s not necessary. Put on your favorite comedy or think of funny stories from your life.
You’ll be amazed at the power and simplicity of laughter as a practice.
