Rats! I forgot to Laugh

You want to hear something funny?

I’d bet all my future giggles that not one of you would respond to that question with, “No thanks – I’m good.” Because if there’s one universal truth, it’s that people love to laugh!

And with good reason. Laughter is the best medicine. Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. Laughter is good for the soul. All those age-old sayings about laughter are true. And there’s more!

Lately, I’ve been doing a deep dive into laughter as I build my professional speaking business around its transformative power. And it’s funny (not funny ha-ha, but funny interesting), despite the fact that continuous learning is one of my core values, I forgot how much I love research! Picture me knee-deep in journal articles, books, and opinion pieces on laughter – its evolution, health benefits, applications, humor triggers. If heaven has a research geek department, I’m in it.

Here's a few funny (see above) facts I’ve uncovered that you might not know:

• The study of laughter is called Gelotology

• In 1962, a laughter epidemic struck Tanzania – over 200 people experienced uncontrollable laughing and crying for months.

• Rats love to be tickled – and they giggle to prove it (okay, that one is ha-ha funny)

Now, I may have gone a bit off track, but amongst all these discoveries, one thing is clear: laughter is a game-changer. Which leads me to ask – why aren’t we using it more intentionally to reap all its physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual benefits?

Rest assured, you’ll be hearing lots more about laughter from me. But for today, I invite you just notice when you laugh, why you laugh, and how it makes you feel. And if you happen to tickle a rat – bonus (and I want to hear about it please)!

#wellness #harnessinglaughter #whatssofunny