Anticipation of laughter reduces potentially detrimental stress hormones. Credit: iStockphoto/Nicole S. Young

Learning to include more humour in your life can have a significant effect on your overall health. Being able to see the funny side of things can produce general health benefits, and can also help to build and reinforce relationships. Some ways to boost your humour levels include not taking yourself as seriously, while knowing how to use humour in different situations, and without creating awkward situations or causing offense. By following some of the tips below, it is possible to understand and develop the value of humour for your wellbeing.

1. Humour Boosts Your Health

Laughing and smiling on a regular basis can strengthen your immune system, and leads to reduced stress levels. Endorphins are released into your bloodstream when you laugh, creating a pleasurable buzz. Moreover, laughter relaxes your blood flow, and reduces the risk of heart disease.

2. Humour Builds Relationships

Being able to laugh and relax in social situations will help you to build strong relationships and enjoy yourself in large groups. Looking for the opportunity for jokes, and being spontaneous are all positive traits that should be focused on when trying to make new friends, and when finding new partners.

3. Don’t Take Yourself so Seriously

One of the most important parts of bringing more humour into your life is to not take yourself too seriously. Be self deprecating, but not too self pitying, and make sure that you are able to see the funny side of things. Similarly, when making jokes, you can play on others’ comments, but not without becoming too aggressive.

 4. Appreciate the Humour Around You

Look for humorous sources around you for inspiration, and to keep your mood up. Humour can be found in many different forms, from favourite sitcoms to funny cards and films, or can be found in friends and family members.

5. Know How to Use Humour at Work

Being funny at work can be a bit like walking a tightrope. While it’s important to relax and enjoy other peoples’ company in the workplace, making too many jokes can lead to you appearing like you’re not taking your job seriously. Finding a balance between keeping the mood light and working hard is important. Moreover, remember that making boss jokes probably isn’t going to end well if they overhear you.

6. Be Creative with Humour

Try to find ways in which you can make humour an important part of your creative activities. These activities might be anything from writing a story, through to learning jokes, writing songs, keeping a blog, or drawing cartoons.

7. See the Funny Side

Being able to see the funny side of situations will help you get through problems, and particularly when in the middle of an argument. Humour can sometimes help to deflate tension in a situation, and can help you work through issues.

8. Know When Humour Works Best

Knowing when humour is going to work best is an important skill to learn. It’s worth working on what kind of jokes work best with friends, or with work colleagues and children. You may find that some friends are better at responding to your jokes, while others might enjoy anecdotes. In any case, be careful about when a joke might be inappropriate, or when it could cause offense to another person.

About the Author: This post was written by Lily Fox, who practices stand-up in the evenings, performing at local pubs and gigs. During the day time she designs rude greeting cards for Scribbler, top online outlet of funny personalised cards in UK

Related posts:
The Power of the Smile
Seeking Happiness: Focus on Relationships
The Eight Irresistible Principles of Having Fun

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