If you are new to growing community, this article is in a series on the 4 rituals, 5 habits and 6 hacks. All our content is free and curated with genuine love, care and respect. To catch up, please visit www.ahigherbranch.com/blog
Firstly, I need to clarify what a life-hack is. It is a lifestyle protocol that will boost your energy, help you sleep better, boost your immune system and ultimately make you live longer.
Why is laughter a life-hack that is in my top 6? Just like a body builder will focus on compounding exercises such as squats, the 6 life-hacks, including this one on laughter, all have a compounding effect on your health. In other words there impact is far reaching inside the body.
Let me explain why laughter is so important to your health by explaining its impact on your physical, mental, and emotional health.
Physically
· Decreases the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin
· Lowers blood pressure because it boosts nitric oxide and dilates the inner lining of blood vessels. It even increases HDL.
· Increases the circulation of antibodies that boosts resistance to infections
· 60 seconds of hearty laughter relieves tension in your muscles for up to 45 minutes. That makes it more potent than Valium without the side-effects
· It relieves depression
Thoughts (Mind)
· Laughter (or even ‘humour’ without having to laugh out loud) boosts dopamine to the brain and this increases the sense of pleasure and reward.
· It changes brain wave activity towards what’s called a “gamma frequency” and this amps up memory and recall. Jim Kwik will talk about this in more detail at Upgrade Your Life 2020. He demonstrates that laughter also boosts motivation to get things done.
Emotions (Mood or HearteartHeart)
Ultimately the combination of mind and body benefits lead your mood to greener pastures. You have peace of mind and sleep better at night. Suddenly everything seems manageable, even pain or loss or failure. You smile more. You have an air of self-confidence, and you start attracting good things and good people into your life, including customers. Most importantly it will improve your relationships with family, friends and your partner. I coached one client who said that until he learned how to laugh, his kids found him too serious and scary. When he learned to let go and laugh more he was getting more hugs at home. In fact, research shows that people who are fun, witty and smile often are voted as more attractive. Not bad for a life-hack aye? Which is why it comes in at #4 in our series.
How to Increase Laughter in Your Daily Life
· Surround yourself with people who feel like sunshine – in other words, who make you laugh and are easy going. Physically, we do feel warmer from laughter.
· Listen to or watch, comedy – preferably at a live comedy show. One of my nightly rituals is to listen to comedy every night before I go to sleep.
· Read our article called “Yes But Are You Having Fun?” There are many spiritual teachers who believe that our highest purpose in life is to play, have fun and spread happiness.
Great Joke for anyone ever Caught Speeding
A police officer pulls a guy over for speeding and has the following exchange:
Officer: May I see your driver’s license?
Driver: I don’t have one. I had it suspended when I got my 5th DUI.
Officer: May I see the owner’s card for this vehicle?
Driver: It’s not my car. I stole it.
Officer: The car is stolen?
Driver: That’s right. But come to think of it, I think I saw the owner’s card in the glove box when I was putting my gun in there.
Officer: There’s a gun in the glove box?
Driver: Yes sir. That’s where I put it after I shot and killed the woman who owns this car and stuffed her in the trunk.
Officer: There’s a BODY in the TRUNK?!?!?
Driver: Yes, sir.
Hearing this the officer immediately called his captain. The car was quickly surrounded by police, and the captain approached the driver to handle the situation:
Captain: Sir, can I see your license?
Driver: Sure, Here it is.
It was valid.
Captain: Who’s car is this?
Driver: It’s mine officer, here’s the owner’ card.
The driver owned the car.
Captain: Could you slowly open your glove box so I can see if there’s a gun in it?
Driver: Yes, sir, but there’s no gun in it.
Sure enough, there was nothing in the glove box.
Captain: Would you mind opening the trunk? I was told you said there’s a body in it.
Driver: No problem.
Trunk is opened; no body.
Captain: I don’t understand it. The officer who stopped you said you told him you didn’t have a license, stole the car, had a gun in the glove box, and that there was a dead body in the trunk.
Driver: Yeah, I’ll bet the lying b*****d told you I was speeding too.
That joke was ‘borrowed’ from www.markbunn.com.au