100 Times a Day

Several years ago, I saw a funfactz.com statistic:  Children laugh an average of 100 times a day.  At the time, that struck me as impossible. If a child is awake for 12 hours, that is eight laughs an hour.  

But now I have an eight-year-old in the house and I believe it! 

An online search reported (and also disputed) children laugh 300-400 times a day.  Adults laugh an average 18 times a day. I have also seen the adult number to be as low as four times a day.

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Regardless of the real numbers, I think we can all agree that children laugh more than adults.  And, adults are the worse for it.

Laughter IS the Best Medicine

• Laughter reduces blood pressure and improves blood flow.  This can reduce your odds of suffering a stroke or heart attack.
• Laughter boosts your immune system, as opposed to negative stress that releases immunity-killing chemicals into your body.
• Laughter helps burn calories - 10 to 40 calories for 15 minutes of laughter.  That is the same as one minute on an elliptical.
• Laughter stimulates your WHOLE body by boosting your oxygen intake and releasing endorphins that make you feel happy.  A good belly laugh stretches your muscular-skeletal system and flushes out your lungs, too.
• Laughter draws people to you and positions you in a place of success and happiness.  Research shows that smiling/laughing people are considered more attractive.

Just Do It
Adult responsibilities and pressures can literally suck the laughter out of us.  But YOU are in control, not your circumstance.  AND, if you add laughter to your day, you WILL feel better and do better.  

A few tips to increase laughter in your life:

• Just do it.  Every morning, look in the mirror and laugh.  It is going to feel silly at first.  But in the same way a forced smile STILL releases endorphins into your body, so does a pretend laugh.  Before you know it, laughter will come easier to you.
• Add humor into your day - a daily cartoon or joke calendar, watching a comedy on TV.  You can also find humor on the internet from children, animals, or other humor.
• Surround yourself with funny people, children, and pets.  One of them is sure to give you a reason to giggle.
• Laugh at yourself every day. Admit it.  We all do something silly every day.  Our inclination is to call ourselves on it.  Laugh instead.

Need more ideas?  Check out Marelisa Fabrega's  22 Ways To Bring More Laughter into Your Life.

​Until then...