You might have heard that laughing is good for you, but do you really know what happens to your body when you laugh? I was pretty amazed when I did a bit of research into it. Sure I knew it’s good to have a giggle, but I never realised how powerful, and healing having a laugh can be.

Here’s what I discovered. It takes less than half a second for your brain to register that something’s funny and start working its magic. Now this is cool – your left side of the brain analyses the words of the joke while the right side simultaneously ‘get’s’ it. The visual, sensory part of your brain creates images while the emotional (limbic system) makes you feel good and happy, while the motor sections go to work and put a smile on your dial. And all this happens in less than a half a second – wow! I’ve totally underestimated my ability to multitask!!

Ok so that’s the mechanics of it, now we get to the nitty gritty of how laughter effects our bodies. Here’s some of the benefits  it lowers your blood pressure, reduce stress, increases learning and memory, oxygenates your blood , it can help reduce colds and flu, help you sleep better, reduce pain – because laughter helps the pituitary gland release pain-suppressing opiates. It can also help relieve depression, prevent heart disease, and ease anxiety or fear.

Now if that wasn’t enough, get ready for this…. drum roll please… oh my god, it gives you a work out too!  Involving all these different muscle groups; face, abdominal, back, respiratory and legs. Right, that’s it - I’ve gotta start laughing more, I don’t want to miss out on all this good stuff, how about you? It seems that laughter really is the best medicine, and it’s free!

So apart from amusing myself ( which I confess I do on a regular basis), this is why I’m compelled to write funny, inspiring stuff.  My aim dear reader is to help you get a dose of the most powerful medicine there is – laughter. Why? Because life is way too short, and most of us take it far too seriously. So come on, let’s lighten up, let’s have some fun! Dr HaHa’s  prescription is for you to start smiling and laughing immediately!