Although we may not want to admit it, a whole lot of us spend a fair amount of time watching silly cat videos or sitcoms. We love the bloopers at the end of movies or we pretend we’re reading the newspaper for the news but we’re really looking at the cartoons. Well, that’s okay because it turns out that laughter is a wonderful stress relief! According to staff at the Mayo Clinic, laughter has lots of short-term benefits (soothes tension, stimulates heart, lungs, and muscles, etc.) as well as long-term benefits (improves immune system, relieves pain, helps lessen depression, etc.). And now is the perfect time to smile, giggle, and laugh out loud because April is National Humor Month! With the end of the semester looming, all of us could probably benefit from a good laugh so check out the humor-related books on our WU Reads Reading Guide.
For more information on National Humor Month and laughter see:
National Humor Month
http://www.humormonth.com/index.html
Sophie Scott’s Ted Talk on Why We Laugh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxLRv0FEndM&t=10s
Stress Relief from Laughter? It’s No Joke
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456