Laughter Helps Relieve Workplace Stress

I remember years ago when I was called by a company to pick up my employment letter after over two months of a very boring and twisted interview process. As I walked into the office complex and passed by the staff at their desks, no one even looked up from whatever they were doing...Then I heard "oh she's just coming to pick up her letter, no wonder she's still smiling" and I thought "what?!"
That was the last they heard of me...

You see some employers pride themselves in being "slave drivers" who believe in "no pain no gain" methods applied in the corporate setting. If you're caught laughing then it means you're either not taking your job seriously or you don't have enough to do.

Is this really true that laughter is more of a distraction and should be given no place in the workplace?

Laughter has been proven by experts to be a number one reliever of workplace stress. Interestingly, leading organisations are now looking out for ways to keep their staff happy, healthy and productive. It is now very clear to these top companies that "a merry heart does well like medicine but a broken spirit dries up the bones".

Let's look at some benefits of laughter in the workplace and how it improves our health and general wellbeing:

1. Laughter relaxes your muscles even 45minutes after you had that good laugh. Talk about releasing tension in the office!

2. Laughter aids the release of endorphins which give you that "feel good feeling" and even help relieve pain to a certain degree. Well you feel good, that's a positive feeling that helps change your perception of whatever task you might be facing....definitely very helpful for your creative juices!

3. Laughter reduces the stress hormone levels and boosts the body's immunity. Stressors in the workplace cannot necessarily always be identified or avoided but if there's always an opportunity to "laugh it off" rather than "bottle it up", a lot of unpleasant incidences can be avoided. Everyone remains healthy and always on top of their game.

4. Laughter in the workplace will also help to strengthen bonds and boost team work...a team that laughs together stays together. The energy level of those staff that laugh will always be higher than those that suffer from "chronic seriousness".

Laughter protects the heart:
"We don't know yet why laughing protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels. This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack."
"We could perhaps read something humorous or watch a funny video and try to find ways to take ourselves less seriously," Miller says. "The recommendation for a healthy heart may one day be exercise, eat right and laugh a few times a day."
- Michael Miller M.D (Director for Center of Preventive Cardiology, University of Maryland Medical Centre).

Many times work just becomes plain boring, routine or monotonous, but by spicing up our work processes or work environment with a bit of humor, we help to oil the wheels of our creative machine. The mind works better with enough doses of laughter.

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Stop Hurting Your Brain; 8 Good Habits to Adopt to Boost Brain Function

#WorkplaceBlues
Some "brains" may be "hurting" in the office, but these are eight good
habits you can imbibe to boost your brain's health:

1) Feed your brain with foods that have high levels of antioxidants
like nuts and blueberries (consider snacking on these at work).

2) Include fish, red wine, whole grain and fruits in your meals...this
boosts for brain's function.

3) SMILE! Make being happy a habit instead of being grumpy. Are you
the staff everyone wants to be around or the one who makes everyone
edgy? Psychologist, Shawn Achor has said smiling can retrain our
brains to look for possibilities. "Happiness leads to success and not
success to happiness"

4) Write down small tasks you need to get done. Some things don't need
to keep dangling in your brain, just get out your note pad and draft a
"to-do list". Then tick them as you accomplish them (yep it will feel
good). Experts say it boosts our dopamine levels ("Dopamine"is a
chemical substance that "turns on" the learning centres in our
brain...)

5) Praise yourself regularly for small accomplishments. Studies have
shown the "frequency" of success is more important than the "size" of
success.

• Laughter helps relieve workplace stress

B.J. Fogg of the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University says you
should celebrate yourself daily...your brain doesn't know the
difference between progress and perceived progress.

6) Sit up!
A good upright sitting posture also helps boosts brain function.
Researchers say adopting a crouched position makes your brain prone to
thoughts of hopelessness and depression.

7) Be active!
How can you just sit at your desk all day? Beyond conventional
exercise and going to the gym... Move at work! Use the stairs instead
of the elevator. Take a stroll during your breaks at work.
Deliberately get up and move whenever you have the opportunity or just
create one.


8) Get a good night's sleep.
Our brains' cleansing system requires between six to eight hours of sleep.

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