Laughter Yoga Sounds Funny But Has Serious Benefits
05/20/2014
Laughter Yoga: Seniors Laugh Their Way To Better Short Term Memory
Laughter Yoga may sound funny, but a new study has found that laughter can improve short-term memory and it can make the brain work better in older adults. Funny, but it’s true. Research conducted by Loma Linda University in Southern California asked 20 normal, healthy, older adults to watch a funny video for 20 minutes and found that those who laughed the 20 minutes away scored better on short-term memory tests, ABC News reported. The research also found that people who laughed had decreased level of the stress hormone cortisol, which is an enemy of memory. “Learning ability and delayed recall become more challenging as we age,” said study author Dr. Gurinder S. Bains, a Ph.D. candidate in Rehabilitation Sciences. “Laughing with friends or even watching 20 minutes of humor on TV, as I do daily, helps me cope with my daily stressors.” The less stress you have, researchers said, the better your memory. It works like this: humor reduces stress hormones, lowers your blood pressure, and increases your mood state, according to Dr. Lee Berk, a co-author of the study and associate professor of Allied Heath. And that’s where Laugher Yoga comes into play. It’s a way to laugh out the stress and laugh in better memory.What is Laughter Yoga?
According to thehealthsite.com, Laughter Yoga is a unique exercise routine that combines unconditional laughter with yogic breathing (Pranayama). Anyone can laugh without relying on humor, jokes, or comedy. Laughter is initially simulated as a physical exercise while maintaining eye contact with others in the group and promoting childlike playfulness. In most cases, this soon leads to real and contagious laughter. Science has proved that the body cannot differentiate between simulated and real laughter.Laughter Yoga sessions start with gentle warm-up techniques which include stretching, chanting, clapping, and body movement. Breathing exercises are used to prepare the lungs for laughter, followed by a series of ‘laughter exercises’ that combine the method of acting and visualization techniques with playfulness.
A Laughter Yoga session may finish with ‘laughter meditation’. This is a session of unstructured laughter whereby participants sit or lie down and allow natural laughter to flow from within us like a fountain. This is a powerful experience that often leads to a healthy emotional catharsis and also a feeling of release and joyfulness that can last for days. This can be followed by guided relaxation exercises.
Why should anyone practice Laughter Yoga?
- To get the scientifically proven benefits of laughter one needs to laugh longer — at least 15-20 minutes with resting breaks in-between. Only then can the body get its physiological and biological health benefits. But, in everyday life we barely laugh for a few seconds here and there. Laughter Yoga helps extend laughter because laughter is done in the form of an exercise and you can choose to laugh for as long as you want.
- Laughter Yoga enables you to laugh loudly. This is particularly essential to get health benefits. In fact, you need to do full belly laughing, but very often in social situations, this kind of all-out laughing is not appropriate. That’s why Laughter Clubs are important as they provide a safe place to laugh out loud.
- People always need some reason to laugh. However, there are not many reasons that make us laugh in real life. Laughter Yoga enables you to laugh even when there is no reason to laugh. Sometimes, life just isn’t that funny. That’s why Laughter Yoga teaches you to laugh no matter what. We are not leaving laughter to a chance but are making a commitment to laugh because it is a great wellness tool.
What are the major benefits of Laughter Yoga?
- Elevates Mood: Laughter Yoga can change your mood within minutes by releasing endorphins. This makes you feel good and keeps you cheerful throughout the day.
- Improves Health: Laughter Yoga reduces stress and strengthens the immune system. If your immune system is strong you will not fall sick easily and even if you have chronic health conditions, it will help heal them faster.
- More Energy: Our brain needs 25% more oxygen for optimal functioning. Laughter exercises can increase the net supply of oxygen to our body and brain which helps improve efficiency and performance. You will feel energetic and will be able to work more than you normally do without getting tired.
- Builds Positive Attitude: Anyone can laugh when times are good, but Laughter Yoga teaches people to laugh unconditionally so that they can laugh even when times are hard. It provides strength in adversity, a coping mechanism to help people keep a positive mental attitude regardless of circumstances they are in.