“At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.” ~ Jean Houston
When I present keynotes on laughter therapy, I always enjoy seeing the looks of surprise on my audience’s faces when I describe how laughter affects the functioning of our brains.
When you have a good laugh, three important neurological events occur:
1. You oxygenate your brain; the increased oxygen feeds the neural network and helps it spark more efficiently.
2. Laughter increases the communication between the left and right hemispheres, across the corpus callosum. This helps integrate your linear and non-linear thinking, as it were.
3. The overall effect of this brain stimulation is increased memory, retention and cognitive ability. Problem solving and creativity are significantly boosted as well.
Always working as an evidence-based consultant, I have the medical citations from peer-reviewed journals for these studies. The question remains: how come this information is not widely known? Why don’t we have a laughter coach or trainer in every school, institution and hospital?
Next time I’m going to share some of my case studies from presenting laughter therapy in advanced Alzheimer’s units… to share the remarkable way residents with Alzheimer’s Disease snap into lucidity when they laugh with me…yes, I have stunning evidence that needs to be published…first here, and later in a journal.
© 2010 by Lisa Wessan. All rights reserved.
The Lighter Side of Transformation 
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