Lachen is Gezond

Een kind lacht gemiddeld 300 tot 400 keer per dag, volwassenen misschien nog slechts 10 keer. En natuurlijk is het leven niet altijd rozengeur en maneschijn. Maar waarom zou u zich niet elke dag een flinke dosis humor toedienen? Het zal u ontspannen, meer energie geven en beter gewapend maken tegen de dagelijkse beslommeringen. Lachen is in tal van opzichten heilzaam, zowel fysiologisch als psychologisch en zelfs relationeel.

Lachen verhoogt het zuurstofgehalte in het bloed, stimuleert de bloedsomloop en is een krachtige spierontspanner. Bovendien zorgt het ervoor dat het centrale zenuwstelsel endorfines afscheidt, hormonen met pijnstillende eigenschappen die de effecten tegengaan van een teveel aan adrenaline en cortisol als gevolg van stress.

Uit studies van psycho-neuro-immunologen is gebleken dat negatieve emoties zoals angst, depressie en woede het immuunsysteem verzwakken, waardoor we minder afweer hebben tegen infecties. Volgens dr. Lee S. Berk van de Universiteit van Loma Linda (Californië) helpt lachen het aantal antilichamen te verhogen. Onderzoekers hebben vastgesteld dat lachtherapie het aantal antilichamen in de neus- en luchtwegslijmvliezen verhoogt. Van die antilichamen is geweten dat ze beschermen tegen virussen, bacteriën en andere micro-organismen.

Experimenten hebben aangetoond dat een lachsessie de bloeddruk na 10 minuten flink doet dalen. Lachen stimuleert de bloedsomloop en verhoogt de zuurstoftoevoer naar de hartspier, wat het risico op klontervorming doet dalen.

Als we lachen, worden er endorfines afgescheiden in het lichaam. Die hormonen hebben pijnstillende eigenschappen, waardoor de pijn onmiddellijk verlicht wordt.

Lachsessies zijn voor mensen met weinig zelfvertrouwen een goede manier om hun schuchterheid te overwinnen en zich beter in hun vel te voelen.

VOORBEELD

Hier een Amerikaans artikel over de voordelen van lachen.

How do you actually reduce the levels of chronic stress in your body and enhance your lifespan, boost immune system function, protect your nervous system and your sanity, and give your endocrine system a much-needed rest? Fortunately there are several easy ways to do this. Let's start with the easiest one: laughter.

Laughter is a healing activity. You may have seen the movie called "Patch Adams," which is a movie about a real life doctor who still practices today and uses laughter as healing. He's quite correct in using laughter as a healing therapy, because it is one of the most healing activities in which you can engage.

Laughter operates on at least three different levels. They are the biophysical, the biochemical, and the bioenergetic levels.

Laughter moves lymph and oxygenates your organs
At the biophysical level, laughter moves lymph fluid around your body simply by the convulsions you experience during the process of laughing; so it boosts immune system function and helps clear out old, dead waste products from organs and tissues. Remember that your lymph system doesn't have a separate pump; your body needs to move around to properly circulate lymph fluid so that your immune system can carry out its natural functions. Laughter is a great way to support that.

Secondly, laughter increases oxygenation of your body at both the cellular and organ level. By laughing, you intake vast amounts of oxygen in huge gulps, and you repeat this process in a sort of temporary hyperventilation session. This is the natural result of laughter, and if you watch someone laugh, you will notice these biophysical effects.

Now, why is oxygen so good for your body? Oxygen is one of the primary catalysts for biological energy in the human body. Remember, we breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, so oxygen is an element of intracellular energy that's absolutely necessary to sustain human life.

It's also interesting to note that cancer cells are destroyed in the presence of oxygen. In fact, many parasites and bacteria don't survive well in the presence of oxygen, and to the extent that you can circulate extra oxygen throughout your body, you can help prevent, or in some cases treat, these diseases.

This is one reason why we see an increasing number of so-called "oxygen bars" in the United States and other countries. People enjoy going to these bars and breathing a much higher concentration of oxygen, because they say it gives them greater mental clarity. They like the feeling of this extra oxygen: it's almost like that "natural high," as they say. Now, personally, I've tried this myself and I didn't notice any effect whatsoever. But it could be because my body is able to carry oxygen so efficiently in the blood that I'm already experiencing peak oxygenation and didn't get any extra benefit from a higher concentration in the air I was inhaling. But, who knows? You might experience a benefit or I might have been at a lousy oxygen bar. But the point is, oxygen is good for you, and when you laugh, you get more oxygen into the cells of your body. If you can laugh at an oxygen bar, that's even better!

Laughing also boosts circulation, so at the same time that you're distributing oxygen around your body, you're boosting the circulation of your blood; you're exercising abdominal muscles; you're exercising the muscles of your face; and you're enhancing the flexibility of various joints throughout your body. So it's a bit of physical exercise and healthful body movement as well.

The harder you laugh, the greater this effect. If you can find a way to put yourself into a state of rolling, outrageous laughter, you're going to get a fantastic physical workout from it. In fact, the next day, you may even find your stomach muscles are sore. Have you ever laughed so hard that your stomach hurt and your facial muscles were exhausted? That's some serious exercise, and it's the kind of exercise in which we should all engage on a regular basis.

The chemistry of laughter
Now let's look at the biochemical impact of laughter. When you laugh, there's a lot more going on in your body than just the physical effect. You're also experiencing a biochemical benefit.

Your body manufactures chemicals based on certain needs and then distributes them throughout your body. When you laugh, you generate a wealth of healing biochemicals. I've often stated that for every minute of laughter, you produce somewhere around $10,000 worth of healthy body chemistry, and what I mean is that if you had to go out and actually purchase these refined chemical compounds from labs or pharmaceutical companies, you would have to pay at least $10,000 for the very same chemistry that your brain is producing free of charge when you engage in laughter.

Some of these are brain-altering chemicals such as serotonin; others are immune-boosting chemicals such as interleukins. If you were to make a long list of all the chemicals created by engaging in healthy laughter, you would have quite a list of healthy body chemicals that would carry a hefty price tag if you purchased them retail. And yet, once again, you can create these chemicals for yourself at no cost by simply engaging in laughter.

You will find that these chemicals have extraordinary positive healing effects on your body and mind. They will boost immune system function; they will improve your outlook on life; they will tend to diminish any symptoms of depression; and because they help reduce stress, they will also prevent all of the various diseases and disorders that are caused by chronic stress.

In other words, laughter can help counteract the destructive, negative health consequences of chronic stress. And what I've described here just scratches the surface of the benefits that are available to those who engage in regular laughter. Check out the science field called psychoneuroimmunology to learn more on this. It's a fascinating specialty that looks at the link between the mind and immune system function. What researchers have found in this field is that your state of mind has everything to do with the functioning of your immune system. By engaging in laughter, you can boost both your mind and your body.

But what if you can't find anything to laugh about? Rent some funny movies. Join a comedy improv class. Imagine all your older friends wearing no clothes. Buy some silly finger puppets and invent a funny skit. Learn from children: they still know how to play and laugh. Find a way to get laughter into your life, even if it means being a little weird.

This article is a content segment from the book, the Five Habits of Health Transformation by Mike Adams. 

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