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Laugh your way to health and happiness.
Tense? Depressed? Stressed? Imagine what it would be like if you could make an appointment at your local health Centre and your GP was able to give you a prescription for laughter. Doctors already give exercise on prescription and the good news now is that many advocates of laughter therapy are working hard to ensure that the benefits of 'internal aerobics', as it has been described, receive equal recognition.
Research has shown that laughter has a direct physiological effect on the body – reducing stress hormones, increasing the immune system's activity, improving the circulation and exercising the muscles.
Medical researchers say that a dose of laughter can:
* lower levels of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol – reversing the classic hormone response during times of stress
* increase endorphin levels – the natural 'feel-good' chemicals in the body
* improve respiration, oxygenation and circulation
* exercise the muscles, nerves and organs of the torso. With a belly laugh sustained for an hour you could laugh away up to 500 calories.
* leave us with an 'afterglow' in which we relax muscle-tension
* restore a full and flowing breathing pattern and gently expand our circulation. relax muscles reduce pain and tension
* reduce depression
* stimulate digestion and metabolism
* promote sleep
* slow the brain rhythms to alpha level
* improve self confidence and self esteem
* strengthen the immune system
* provide a meditative state to relieve us from the burdens of our thinking
* increase the count of natural killer cells (that attack cancers and tumors)
* raise antibody levels
* make you more appealing, providing an instant facelift
* provide a positive, supportive space for people to feel good about themselves
* be the best aerobic exercise
* be the gateway to inner and outer peace.
At Vibes Fitness, Laughter Therapy is one of the tools we employ to help improve, the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of individuals and workplaces.
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