An interactive presentation designed to make students laugh and learn laughter’s benefits will be held Nov. 5.
NE mental health assistant professor Cynthia Savage will speak 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in NBSS 1103 on NE Campus.
People often lose track of laughing as they get older, Savage said.
“We do it a bunch when we are younger, but we forget to do it when we’re older,” she said. “As we get older, we become so much more serious and really forget just how much fun laughing really is.”
Laughing has more health benefits than one thinks, Savage said.
“When we laugh, it shuffles around the chemicals in our brain and puts everything back in line, similar to getting an adjustment at the chiropractor,” she said. “Also dopamine is realized, which helps us feel good naturally.”
Laughing is something that’s easy to do, Savage said.
“You can practice laughing just by going home and making yourself laugh,” she said. “I’ll watch the sitcom Frasier, and that’s what does it for me — just that gut-wrenching laugh.”
Laughter is a medicine that’s hard to beat, Savage said.
“While laughter cannot replace some medical procedures and is not a cure-all, the more you laugh, the healthier you will be,” she said. “And the more you laugh, the longer you’ll live.”
— Matt Koper
