I was at the flu shot event at Live Oak Park last Friday, seeing if my encouragement got anymore folks lined up for the jab. Since I last wrote about flu vaccine I saw a study in the New England Journal of Medicine citing a huge difference in death rates for older adults given flu shots. Up to 48% fewer hospitalizations! What I noticed in the long line in the morning, which quickly dropped to only about ten people waiting and a five minute visit over all, was this. Older people weren’t hurrying to get the shot and get out. They were hanging out with their friends, laughing and joking with the volunteers.
It reminded me of the value of laughter in health. It’s been long established that laughter will produce endorphins, circulate cerebro-spinal fluid and improve breathing. Most non-smokers never take a deep breath without a conscious decision to do so. Unless they’re laughing. The fluid around our brain and spinal cord has no pump, no heart to move it. Laughing does that.
“Words are worlds” and it’s no mistake that the opposite of gravity is levity. Laughter keeps you from the pull of the grave. So what if you have nothing to laugh about? What if you can’t remember the punch line of a joke? TV sure won’t do it. What causes a true belly laugh is the unexpected surprise in a conversation with someone else. Getting out with other people and taking an attitude of openness to the environment is the best thing you can do to find a laugh. You had to be there. Go to the movies or try a new restaurant. Find a group to join.
There is a new senior activity going on at Live Oak Park called Healthy Thursdays from 10 AM to Noon. It is free but they do ask for a reservation. The reason I bring it up is the November 29 topic- Laugh off That Turkey! That should levitate any of us. Call Mary @ 579-0461 to reserve.