Secret 44: Laugh It Off

'Ha ha ha' is the most health-inducing sound you can make in the English language. Close runner-ups of sounds that benefit your health are music and kind words. Of these, 'ha ha ha' is the easiest sound to generate. When I was a little girl, my grandfather could make me laugh SO hard that I was no longer able to stand or sit, but would roll around helplessly on the floor laughing with tears streaming down my cheeks. I did not know it back then, but my immune system was getting a wonderful boost. Note that tickling someone is not a healthy way to make another person laugh as it is an undesirable action forced on another person. Making others laugh, however, through non-tactile actions or words has been proven to be highly beneficial for health. Laughter speeds up detoxification and prolongs life. 

Numerous research studies have investigated the health-enhancing effects of deep and hearty, regular laughter. Your ideal home or work environment is one in which laughter occurs often and one in which you are surrounded by upbeat, optimistic people. Optimists have strong immune systems. They deal with the vicissitudes of life in a healthier manner than pessimists. Those who choose to see the world through black lenses do not see as clearly as those who look at the world without any lenses, nor do they laugh as easily. Laughter dissipates stress which is a major contributor to illnesses such a chronic pain, back problems, heart disease and cancer. In one study, the New England Centenarian Study, a subject, Jeanne Calment (names speak volumes - this lady's surname consisted of the word 'c-a-l-m') lived to the ripe old age of 122. Why? Apparently one of the factors was the lady's ability to be 'unflappable and immune to stress'. I venture to guess that she was living in an environment that was less stressful than most and that she had the wisdom to surround herself with calm, contented, kind, thoughtful and humorous folks - in other words - optimistic people.

One of the teachings in Buddhism emphasizes the importance of choosing one's friends wisely. Chronic stress can be caused by an unhinged boss, an inconsiderate, selfish spouse, endless traffic jams or a major, unwanted change in one's family situation. Excessive stress increases adrenalin and cortisol, blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels rise, free radicals are created, immune and digestive functions are temporarily slowed down, detoxification slows down, and aging speeds up. I once worked for a man who was constantly reading books on 'how to be a great manager' while yelling at his subordinates and abusing them verbally. When the boss was present the atmosphere in the office was tense, on edge, and devoid of laughter or smiles. After 18 stressful months in this toxic environment, I handed in my resignation letter. I could literally feel the burden of unhappiness dissipate from my shoulders the day I turned my back on that office. Ten years later I still carry a reminder of that unpleasant man on my forehead -- a furrow on my brow. Every time I had heard him approach I would start frowning.  I would have preferred the lasting memory to be wrinkles of laughter.

Unfortunately it only takes one toxic person in power to create an unhealthy environment. So take the extra time to do some legwork and check out the atmosphere of the place you or your children are planning to spend many waking hours - visit the preschool where you are considering enrolling your pre-kindergartners, walk around the schools you are considering for yourself or family members, visit that university, find out more about the office where you are about to sign an employment contract, move in with that person who you are thinking of marrying and keep your ears and eyes wide open. Difficult personalities can be experts at presenting themselves in a most flattering, charismatic manner. Look under the carpet and in the medicine cabinet before you make any kind of commitment. And remember, decisions can often be reversed. But back to laughter....

I love to make others laugh, whether friends or people I encounter during their average workday. When I lived with my mother, after coming back from a 18-month round the world backpacking trip in my 20ies, my goal was to make her laugh at least once a day. The last time I got a haircut, my hairdresser, who knows me well, started laughing during the first few minutes of me sitting on her chair. At Book Club meetings, I will make the odd comment and set off my fellow readers. Just the other day the dental hygienist was laughing at some of my comments. Likewise I love to surround myself with easy-going, light-hearted people who make me laugh.

To invite more laughter into your life:

• keep a book of jokes on your nightstand
• if you watch TV, watch funny comedies (I always thought comedies were funny - until I moved to the US).  American TV shows like 'Seinfeld' or 'The Nanny' are healthier features to watch from a hospital bed than 'Silence of the Lambs'. Since humor varies so much by culture and person, choose something that is considered funny in your culture and that you find funny.
• I love watching quick-witted political commentary. If I can get three hearty laughs out of a 30 minute program, it was worth my time to watch. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert always manage to get a few laughs out of me. Laughing before bedtime is a great way to relax.
• if you like to see movies, choose funny movies
• see some stand-up comedy (you might want to bring earplugs to protect your hearing. The last stand-up comedian I saw perform live - Carlos Mencia - was painfully loud and would have been funnier if the sound engineer had not been so deaf. You may be better off watching stand-up comedy on a dvd since you have control over the volume and can fast forward through the slower sketches)
• be careful about watching local news. Instead scan the headlines on-line, and only click on those stories that pertain to you (watching the news on TV is a bit like riding through a house of horrors - you never know what frightening story lurks around the next corner. When you scan the headlines on-line, YOU are the master of ceremonies since you are the one that chooses the sequence of news events). 
• When eating a family meal, turn off the TV and compete for the best joke (as judged by the loudest laughs).  Laughter is contagious.

Norman Cousins, a professor at the UCLA school of medicine in the last century battled painful arthritis by watching Marx Brothers movies. He stated that: "I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep."  If you know someone who is going through a hard time, or is very sick, you might want to give them Allen Klein's book about 'The Healing Power of Humor' or a book of jokes.

One of the five healthiest, long-living people described in the '50 Secrets' live in Japan. These people, the Okinawans, even have a single word for being 'happy and healthy'. It is: genki.
May you always be genki!

Let me finish with a joke...

Last night I went to a bar and noticed two larger ladies drinking away and having a good time. They spoke English, but used an accent I did not recognize. I sidled up to them and asked: "So, where are you ladies from?"
"Wales, you idiot!" one of them yelled.
I apologized profusely, then repeated my question: "So, where are you two whales from?"
That was the last thing I remember.

Caveat: in the 2006 Da Capo Press edition of '50 Secrets of the World's Longest Living People', this secret was mislabeled secret 43 instead of secret 44. Secret 43 is 'Have Faith'.