Welcome back to the podcast. When is the last time that you laughed so hard you cried? Today we're going to be talking about why laughter really is the best medicine. If you've ever been to any of my classes, then you will know I like to make it a nice jolly event. Sometimes we have a little bit of a joke.

Particularly in my chair Pilates, we often end up having a right giggle. Now this could be due to an innuendo somebody didn't mean to say or somebody having a funny wobble or not quite getting an exercise right or telling a funny story.

And sometimes it just sets us all off and we have a really good giggle. In my mat work classes, we do a move called rolling like a ball. As you can imagine, we literally roll like a ball and that often gets people having a giggle. It's just quite a childish move, but it is great fun. And then we do a similar one that is called a seal.

You grab hold of your ankles and then you're like flapping your feet like as if the flapping the seal fins and people even make seal noises but it always gets a good little giggle during the class and I even have one member when we do relaxation that we do sometimes at the end of the class who cannot relax she has tried so hard to join in with the relaxation.

And she normally ends up in fits of hysterics because she's trying so hard to relax. And there was one session when someone's phone went off when everyone was trying to relax that made her giggle or somebody else made a noise or there's something that happens that she generally ends up in some kind of hysterics. And honestly, that is just as good as if she was actually doing the relaxation.

Then it got me to thinking about the phrase that we started with which is laughter is the best medicine and it really is. So we're going to look into that in a bit more detail and why it's so important in perimenopause because it can feel really heavy during that time and that can last for eight to ten years out for women's life and like physically they might be in pain or sleep.

No energy, you may be struggling with anxiety, maybe you're just feeling disconnected from anybody or your partner or just with the world, you're like low in mood and if you listen to previous episodes we talked about how our resilience to stress decreases and everything feels harder. Laughter helps us feel a little bit lighter.

It can help us feel connected with others, particularly if we are laughing altogether at the same thing in a group situation, even if it is just for a few moments. Sometimes we say that we're going to laugh or cry. So in a stressful situation or in a sad situation, we release our emotions one way or the other. And sometimes we need a good cry.

And that's what we need at that moment. But sometimes we really need a proper laugh.

But what actually physically happens to our body when we laugh? Now, it reduces cortisol. Cortisol is our stress hormone and that causes lots of problems within the body. It's really useful because back in the cavemen days, we have our fight or flight mechanism that we either see a saber-toothed tiger and we run away or we fight it and it gets the body ready to do either of those things. But in modern day, we are stressed so much of the time.

Not from a saber-toothed tiger, but from many other stresses in our lives, that our cortisol is often really high and it causes inflammation in the body, it can cause brain fog, poor sleep, it can cause us to eat unhealthy foods, put on weight. So if we can do anything to reduce that, great. Also, our endorphins are released when we are laughing.

These are natural painkillers and they are feel good chemicals. Also helps to improve our circulation. We relax our muscles some more than others. I some people if they have giggle fits also maybe have a little accident as well, but it shows that our muscles are relaxed and it eases our tension.

It can also trigger oxytocin when we are sharing that laughter and this can help to build connection, you can feel safe in an environment and really can help people bond together. So it's not just fun to have a laugh, it is a chemical reaction and produces different hormones and it really matters.

Now there has been studies on laughter and one showed that actually by having spontaneous laughter really reduced your cortisol levels by about 32% compared to no humor control. So even a third, it can reduce your cortisol by a third by having a laugh. And also there's other studies that have shown that by having laughter based intervention,

not quite sure what the interventions were, but in middle-aged adults having some kind of laughter improved mood. It also improved cognitive focus and reduced stress responses. But why don't we laugh? Why don't we laugh enough, particularly in midlife? Now, it may be as we mentioned, all of those stresses, particularly in midlife, we've got so much going on.

Looking after the kids, supporting older parents, running a home, working, caring for people, not sleeping, we're overstretched, we're tired, we're fatigued and just too busy trying to cope. But this is when we need to have that lightness in the laughter. I often get told by my children that I act like a child, but honestly...

Being like a child is far more fun than being like an adult a lot of the time. When me and my sister get together, particularly if we go out with my parents and I don't have my kids with us, we start acting like children. We revert to how we were when we were little. And it's so much fun. We always have a giggle.

Sometimes being an adult is too much like hard work. But there are other ways other than acting like a child to bring that joy and laughter. Maybe it's going to a class that is fun and you're sharing some laughter like with my Pilates classes. You're in a safe environment. Everybody is together doing the same thing to have a bit of a giggle.

Sharing what's been going on in the day, sharing funny stories is really helpful for that bonding but also a bit of a laughter. And if I go and do any talks anywhere I always try and bring a bit of humour into it because people remember it, information sticks and also when you're talking about difficult topics it makes it lighter.

People aren't as dragged down and depressed about it if we just bring a little bit of humour into it. And it's not that we're making light of the situations,

It helps people feel more part of it, that they're not alone. And it's not about being silly. It is just about giving people a little bit of lighthearted relief.

Now for me, I have a little chuckle or I go into full blown hysterics. Now I mean uncontrollable laughter. I cry, I can't breathe, I often like snore, or I just go into like silence and like shaking on the floor. People think there's something seriously wrong with me. I've got like tears streaming down my face. My husband often puts me in hysterics.

He just gets my sense of humor and he often sends me that way.

There's many times when I've been teaching in class as I've gone in hysterics or when I've been on stage even there's a few times where I've had hysterics in a dress rehearsal almost in a performance but it's really a little bit of a panic because I can't stop. Like once I start so like almost in a performance I nearly went in hysterics and I had to like really

And control myself and then like whoever I was working with knew that I did this and they were like just like carry on carry on. But I always remember the time when I was directing a show it was Anne of Green Gables and my sister was there when we get together we often have hysterics she's very similar to me as well in that respect but she has hysterics too but if you've ever seen

Anne of Green Gables, we read the book, there's a bit where Gilbert Blythe says something about Anne's hair, telling us she's like a carrot, or looks like a carrot, and she smashes a slate over his head. So we had to come up with a way to do this, that obviously didn't involve using a normal slate. So we had a few different props to try. And my sister was just like banging on my head, it wouldn't break, she was just banging it and banging it. And I just got in hysterics.

And there was a load of kids there as well that were in the show and they were just like, what's going on? And there's me shaking on the floor. Afterwards you're just like, oh yeah, I needed a good giggle. It just releases any kind of stress or worries to just have a good laugh. And I often hear my son who is 17, he watches a lot of funny programs on telly and I just hear him from the other room just giggling away.

And it just makes me feel so happy to hear him giggle and feel happy. I always remember my grandma as well. She once told me when she used to do yoga. So she's died several years ago and so she did yoga. So we're probably talking like 30 years ago when she did yoga. But they sometimes did laughing yoga where they would lay down and put their head onto the next person's stomach.

And then they would go, ha. And then the next person would go, ha ha. And then it would go round in the circle and by the time it had gone round, everybody was laughing just because of situation. And then you'll, it just brought that on. And that was part of a yoga class to make people laugh. So it just shows how therapeutic it is. So how can you find something funny? How can you make yourself laugh?

If you're feeling really rubbish, you may be listening to this episode thinking, can't think of anything that would make me laugh. Why would I go out and try and laugh? I'm just feeling so rubbish. What's the point? But if you can find ways and means of just lifting your spirit, it doesn't have to be hysterics like me, even just something to make you smile. Maybe it's watching a funny film. Now,

My husband likes really stupid comedy. I like slightly clever comedy, but finding something that you enjoy watching or that you find amusing. Maybe talking to that person who is just naturally funny that you always find amusing. Go and chat to them. Or maybe you go to a class, maybe it's a fitness class, maybe it's an art class or some other kind of group setting where

It's just enjoyable and you really like it and bringing a little bit of humour into it is always helpful. Let yourself be silly. Don't worry what other people think. My children kind of despair the fact when I'm going along the street and dancing along or skipping and just being silly and enjoying myself. They just look at me and disgust particularly my daughter.

I care. I'm enjoying myself. I'm having a laugh. As long as I'm not doing anything irresponsible, I don't see that there's any harm in it. So just let yourself be silly. If you fall over, it should mean you don't hurt yourself and you're out and about. Just laugh about it. If people are looking at you, just get up very quickly and just like have a laugh about it. Wear odd socks. Wear mismatched shoes. Have a laugh about it. Don't worry about it.

I always remember my mum told me when she had two pairs of shoes that were the same but one was Black, she went to school, she used to be a teacher, and she went all day and she had one of each on. I personally would find that really funny and I would laugh about it. Some people might not but just try not to take life too seriously when you are in a position where you're feeling a bit...

Rubbish. Just try and be a bit more lighthearted. See the joy in things.

And of course, laughter is not going to fix everything, but it gives your nervous system a little bit of a break. It momentarily tips some of the water out of that stress bucket that we were talking about the other week.

Having a laugh tells your subconscious that we are safe. We are in a safe situation that we can laugh.

That it's okay to be a bit silly. It's okay to feel connection with other people and laugh over the same things. And if your day feels heavy, maybe you just need to watch a funny film or have a giggle or go to a class or do something that you enjoy doing just to make you feel a little bit better. So tell me, when is the last time that you really laughed? What made you laugh?

Is there something in the past that you did that used to make you giggle, that made you smile? Have you stopped doing it? Could you start doing it again? Is there something that you've been meaning to try? Maybe it is a new show to watch. Maybe it's listening to a new podcast or trying out a class. Something that might bring back some of that lightness. Can you find something today that would make you smile? Even if it doesn't make you laugh.

And if you are local and you want to come to one of my classes and have a laugh while you actually move the body and make some progress with your strength, then check out the website and you can come and join one of my Pilates classes, you'd be more than welcome. We have such a wonderful bunch of people that are in the classes and we all like to have a good time, laugh at each other, laugh at ourselves and it is one of the best things that you can do for your mental health.

Next time, take care, have a giggle, have a laugh, or just make somebody else smile today. Take care, bye bye.