J
A
cheerful heart is good medicine. (Proverbs 17:22)
Laughter
is one of the best medicines a person can take. It’s free, has no negative side
effects, and it improves your health physically, emotionally, mentally and
spiritually. Don Colbert, MD, offers this eye-opening insight on the power of
laughter:
“In one
researcher’s words, laughter is like ‘internal jogging’. As with aerobic
exercise, laughter temporarily accelerates the heart rate, increases blood
pressure and breathing, enlarges circulation and enhances the flow of oxygen in
and out of the body. A hearty belly laugh also exercises the upper torso,
lungs, heart, shoulders, arms, abdomen, diaphragm and legs. …Ten belly laughs
are roughly equivalent to thirty minutes of aerobic exercise.
…Laughter
actually boosts the immune system and reduces harmful stress hormones in the
body. In one study, there were sixteen men who watched a funny video that
brought about much laughter. After a good belly laugh, the stress hormone
levels of cortisol in these men decreased 39 percent and adrenaline levels fell
70 percent. At the same time, the ‘feel-good’ hormone endorphin rose 27 percent
and the growth hormone (also known as the ‘youth hormone’) levels shot up 87
percent.”
God
declares in Ecclesiastes 3:4 that there is a time to laugh. In Proverbs, He
says, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful” and “he who has a glad heart has
a continual feast [regardless of circumstances]” (15:13 NIV, 15:15 AMP).
Indeed, a merry heart is good medicine!
Excerpt
from Relentless – John Bevere
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