Live a Little, Laugh a Little

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress and is incredibly good for your health

. Laughter relaxes the whole body and relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles feeling relaxed for up to 45 minutes afterwards, not to mention making your mind feel a little lighter.

The reason laughing can make your mind feel more at ease is because of the endorphins which are triggered when you laugh. Endorphins are the body's natural feel-good chemicals and as well as promoting an overall sense of well-being they can temporarily relieve pain.

The endorphins released when you laugh can also help to protect your heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Your immune system is another bodily function that can benefit from a good fit of the giggles. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

There are plenty of good reasons to raise a smile and several different ways to include more comedy in your life.

Going to a movie or comedy club with friends is a great way to infuse more laughter into day to day living. The contagious effects of laughter mean you might even laugh more than you otherwise would have during the show and sharing the experience with others means you can look back and laugh at the jokes and sketches everyone experienced.

Having friends over for a night of fun is also a great way to laugh, enjoy yourself and have fun. Watching a comical television programme or film is one of the easiest ways to raise a smile and can be done any day of the week with little effort.

When it comes to television, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is renowned for high quality programming and the comedy genre is no exception. Channels BB1 and BBC2 are available on terrestrial television so everyone has access and other BBC channels, such as BBC3, are available on digital freeview.

One of the best known BBC comedy series' is Gavin & Stacey, an award winning romantic comedy show written by James Corden and Ruth Jones, both of whom also star in the programme.

The show ran for 20 episodes in total, starting in 2007 and ending in January 2010. The episodes were split into three different series, the first two aired on BBC Three and after gaining a cult following the show moved to BBC One. A one-off Christmas special was also broadcast on Christmas Eve 2008.

Gavin and Stacey was the most nominated show in the 2007 British Comedy Awards and by the end of the second series the show had won several awards, including the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs) Audience Award, and the British Comedy Awards Best TV Comedy Award, both in 2008.

Live a Little, Laugh a Little

By: Paul Buchanan

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