We've all heard the saying, "laughter is the best medicine", but is it true? I'm not sure I'd say it's the BEST medicine, but I would definitely say it is powerful medicine. Our mood can give insight into how our nervous system is doing. Our nervous system plays a major role in how our body is able to function at any given moment. If our nervous system is stuck in sympathetic mode (fight/flight/freeze) then we are not functioning optimally. The parasympathetic nervous system controls the body's response during times of rest (rest/digest).
Why am I talking about the nervous system? Because if we're laughing and feeling happy, we're able to shift into the parasympathetic nervous system control. When the parasympathetic nervous system is driving, our body can focus on resting, digesting, and recovering. The heart rate slows, blood pressure lowers, and we come into a calm state. This is important for anyone, but especially if you're dealing with any autonomic nervous system conditions. (like I am with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Dysautonomia.)
If you are on a healing journey; whether that is physical or emotional, tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system will be a top priority. It's natural to shift into the sympathetic nervous system. The difficulty comes in when we aren't able to shift back into parasympathetic mode. We don't want to be stuck in sympathetic mode. I will discuss this further as we dive into different ways to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, but today we will focus on laughter.
Laughter brightens our mood. A good laugh can turn our day around. Even if it starts off as a fake laugh, it usually stimulates a real laugh. Laughter is contagious too. Have you ever heard a few people laughing and you start to feel a little chuckle rising even though you have no idea what they're laughing about? Yeah, me too.
So if your'e having a bad day, watch something silly. Have a good laugh. Shift into rest and digest mode.
Practical Steps:
- Create a playlist on YouTube with funny videos (animals, giggling babies, and general happy things that make you smile and laugh.
-Save funny memes to a file on your phone that you can turn to when you need a laugh.
-Add funny tv shows to your Watch Now list on Netflix etc
-Look up funny books and either order them online or request them to borrow at your library.