The Benefits of Laughter

By: Lindsey Kettner, Relevant Radio®
Is laughter good for your health? What about its benefits to your spiritual life? Pamela Patnode, a homeschooling mom and author, is a regular contributor to Morning Air® and joined Glen Lewerenz to talk about why we should take more time to laugh.
laughterPatnode says a priest once told her, “A lot of people think that to be holy means you need to walk around all dower and serious all the time, but I don’t think so. I think when there’s laughter in the home, the Holy Spirit is present.” She acknowledges that it can be hard to be joyful at times in today’s culture but must be people of joy and the bible tells us to be a witness to the joy of the Lord.” 
The Mayo Clinic published an article about the short-term and long-term benefits of laughter, which Patnode shared with Relevant Radio® listeners. Laughter releases endorphins and “is a great form of stress relief.” It can also stimulate organs and circulation. Long-term effects include improved immune system, pain relief and ability to cope more easily with difficult situations.
“It is healthy to be able to laugh at oneself, and be able to laugh sometimes at the irony of life,” said Patnode. “Kids do laugh quite a bit more than adults do throughout the day. And it is good for us to try to get out of the seriousness of life every now and again, to relieve the stress and have a little chuckle.”
Additional Source:http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456