Laughter is the Best Medicine

If you’ve been to the Brunswick Actors’ Theatre downtown at 1413 Newcastle lately, you’ll have heard our friend Lynda Dalton Gallagher address the audience before the curtain goes up and a show begins. To conclude her introductions, she always prompts the crowd to join her in the proclamation “Laughter is STILL the best medicine.” And when you see their twinkling eyes and delighted smiles and hear the animated conversations of those audience members as they greet the cast and mingle before departing the theatre, it’s easy to believe that they are leaving feeling lighter and happier than they did when they arrived. What a powerful tool in our self-care arsenal: the ability to laugh!

This too is more than just an old wives’ tale. Not only does laughing feel good, but studies have also proven that it is good for you in more ways than you might realize. In addition to offering benefits to your physical health, laughter benefits your mental and emotional well-being and can help you cope with the stresses of everyday life. Let’s take a closer look at the powerful benefits that can be delivered by a dose of this fast, free, and available anytime and anywhere “medicine.” When you laugh, your body releases the feel-good chemicals known as endorphins. This helps increase the body’s natural painkilling response. It is beneficial for reducing chronic pain and can improve your mood. Extra endorphins do more than just give you a little lift too; they can also reduce stress. This makes laughter a valuable coping mechanism. A hearty dose of laughter can go a long way in releasing stress and anxiety from your body. It can help start and end your day on a positive note.

Laughter and giggles help reduce your body’s production of stress hormones like cortisol, which boosts your immune system. Managing stress with laughter

can also activate infection-fighting cells and fend off stress reactions in the body. A few minutes of hearty laughter can reduce physical tension in the body, relax your muscles, and make you feel calmer.

A big belly laugh also increases blood flow to your internal organs. Each time you laugh, you breathe more deeply. This expands your lungs with more oxygen and allows your heart to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout your body. Increased oxygen promotes healthy cell growth and helps your organs to work more efficiently. When your body functions more efficiently, this makes you feel your best.

Seeing a comedy at Brunswick Actors’ Theatre is one good way to add some extra laughter to your day. Check out their schedule at soglogallery.com, grab a few friends, get your tickets, and go enjoy a show. Laugh out loud. Laugh often. The Island Players will be offering a comedy at the St. Simons Casino Theatre in January with Leading Ladies, by Ken Ludwig. Romantic entanglements and hilarity are the cornerstones of this fortunehunting farce by the author of A Fox on the Fairway. Shows January 6-8, 13-15, 20-22. For more information and tickets, visit theislandplayers.com.

Watching something funny, whether on stage, a comedy special, favorite TV sitcom, or some silly TikTok videos, is a sure way to inject extra chuckles into your daily routine. Share memes or groan-inducing Dad jokes with a friend. Delve into a book by an author who has a wickedly funny way with words. As the funny fellows from Monty Python (always a good go-to for a big belly laugh) sing so gloriously, “Always look on the bright side of life.” Finding humor in life, even in its most stressful situations, can help you gain a different perspective and help keep a more positive attitude.

On February 17-19, there will be some real pros at tickling funny bones at Epworth by the Sea for the 8th Annual St. Simons Storytelling Festival. Bill Lepp, an awardwinning storyteller, author, recording artist, TV and radio host, and five-time champion of the West Virginia Liar Contest, is this year’s emcee. A nationally touring storyteller, Bill travels the country entertaining children and adults alike with his funny, family-friendly tall tales. He’s joined again this year by renowned “Dean of Storytelling” Donald Davis and the always hilarious Andy Offutt Irwin, a man of many voices and sounds. If you’re a fan of Reservation Dogs, Native American storyteller Dovie Thomason’s tales from her Lakota and Plains Apache relatives should be right up your alley. Rounding out the group, Charlotte Blake Alston, a master storyteller, narrator, instrumentalist, and singer, will bring African and African American oral and cultural traditions to life. Laughter is sure to be abundant with these seasoned entertainers. Local passes are available, so make a plan to come out to giggle, guffaw, chuckle and chortle. Register at stsimonsstorytellingfestival.com.

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