Humor and Laughter: Health Benefits

文玉荣

What are the health benefits of humor and laughter？

The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough， sniffle， or sneeze. Humor and laughter can cause a domino effect of joy and amusement， as well as set off a number of positive physical effects. A good hearty laugh can help：

●reduce stress，

●lower blood pressure，

●elevate mood，

●boost immune system，

●improve brain functioning，

●protect the heart，

●connect you to others，

●foster instant relaxation， and

●make you feel good.

Why do we need humor to stay healthy emotionally？

A healthy sense of humor is related to being able to laugh at oneself and one's life. Laughing at oneself can be a way of accepting and respecting oneself. Lack of a sense of humor is directly related to lower self-esteem.

How do we bring more humor and laughter into our lives？

When we consider the inestimable benefits of humor， we want to bring as much laughter into our lives as possible. But for  those   who   grew   up   in  humor-deprived environments， where fun was discouraged or thought of as frivolous， finding opportunities to belly laugh at ourselves and with （not at） others may be rare and experienced as awkward.

Fortunately， as individuals we are programmed to laugh. Think of times when others were laughing around you—and maybe you didn't even know why—but you found yourself laughing uncontrollably with them. There are many kinds of humor and many opportunities for developing humor. We can learn to laugh more frequently by expanding our sense of humor and using it with others. Learning about the nature and variety of humorous experience helps us see that our lives abound with opportunities for finding humor and exercising laughter.

自測练习：根据下列释意，从文中找出相对应的单词。

1. ____ adj. spreading or tending to spread from one to another; infectious

2. ____ n. something that amuses， enter-tains， or pleases

3. ____ adj. impossible to estimate or compute; invaluable

4. ____ adj. unworthy of serious atten-tion; inappropriately silly

5. ____ n. a human being regarded as a unique personality