We laugh 10 to 15 times a day.
Worries, hectic pace of life, stress… we devote less and less time to good laughs: from about twenty minutes a day in 1939, we went to six minutes in the early 80s and barely 60 seconds for more than a third of adults today. That’s 10 to 15 peals of laughter a day, while 4-year-olds can give themselves up to 400 times a day, without forcing themselves. However, laughter is to be taken very seriously, because it is at the origin of chain reactions, beneficial to your body.
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Laughter is a complete muscular exercise
This internal gymnastics is equivalent to a dance session, estimates Bernard Raquin, psychotherapist. Laughter involves a dozen facial muscles: those of the eyelids, lips, cheekbones (including the famous lesser and greater zygomatic), neck… A beneficial massage for the skin, since it accelerates circulation in the capillary level.
The heart begins to beat faster and the vessels dilate: the entire vascular system is stimulated. This “shock wave” then spreads to the abdomen, causing contractions fighting against constipation, accelerating the production of gastric juices and enzymes necessary for digestion.
Laughter is excellent against hypertension
In the process, the diaphragm, the muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen, moves up and down. Its contractions increase the amount of air entering the lungs and the oxygenation of the blood. With the same effectiveness as “intense sports, such as aerobics, jogging and tennis, or a passionate sexual act“says Bernard Raquin.
If the giggles continue, the legs become limp and you lose your senses. We sometimes curl up to the point of losing control of our bladder. The heartbeat slows down and the blood pressure drops. If you have high blood pressure problems, never stop laughing heartily!
Hilarity also allows physical tensions to escape. The proof ? In a stressful situation, have you ever had nervous laughter, sometimes to tears? After this inner tumult, the body yields to an irresistible relaxation, especially as the central nervous system and the endocrine glands launch into the production of relaxing substances. The brain produces endorphins, pleasure hormones, a kind of natural morphine whose action on pain is not negligible. It is no coincidence that clowns now take over hospital corridors and pediatric wards.
Laughter has anti-aging properties
The adrenal glands secrete catecholamines, hormones that drive out anxiety, also involved in the proper functioning of the immune system and in the fight against joint inflammation.
Finally, after a good laugh, no more insomnia problembecause the stimulation of a neurotransmitter, the serotonininfluences the quality of falling asleep.
A true antidote to malaise, anxieties and small daily troubles, laughter is undoubtedly the best elixir of youth. We know today that centenarians have an optimistic temperament. Stuffed with humor, they don’t hesitate to “have a slice of it”.
The right dosage? At least three times a day, for three minutes, according to Bernard Raquin. Treat yourself to a comedy movie, the show of your favorite comedian, a game of tickling with your children. In short, have fun! You will see, it is irresistibly contagious!
Find out more: Laugh to live, by Bernard Raquin, Dangles editions
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