Practice Beating Workplace Stress with Laughter: The Hilarious Workweek of Hoops and Yoyo
Have you had a good laugh lately?
Laughter has a lot of benefits. It makes us feel good. The effects on our physical and mental health are well documented, and we're always learning more details from scientists and researchers. We know that laughter changes the way we breathe so that we get a more complete exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. We know that laughter decreases the creation of stress hormones such as cortisol, dopamine, and growth hormone in our bodies. We now know that even anticipating laughter decreases stress.
Here are a few links to articles pointing out the stress-relieving benefits of humor and laughter:
- Livestrong: Manage Stress with Laughter
- Mayo Clinic: Stress Relief from Laughter? Yes, no joke
- Science Daily: Anticipating A Laugh Reduces Stress Hormones
Finding time to laugh is a really good way to manage work-related stress, even if it feels forced. You can do Laughter Yoga, which combines unconditional laughter - not relying on humor to trigger it - with yoga breathing principles. But you can always find something funny to read or watch on the net if you need something to get you going.
Just remember to find time to laugh when your job gets stressful. Laugh at work, laugh at home. Practice, practice, practice. Laughing out loud with friends and co-workers is really healthy for you.
Hoops and Yoyo
Now it's homework time. I want to give you some practice laughing.
Hoops is a pink cat and Yoyo is a green rabbit; both employed by Hallmark cards. Their job description is simple: Make people laugh. I've reposted some of their videos from Youtube below. You can find much more of them online at Hoops & Yoyo.
Since it's Monday, I thought it would be nice to start the week off with a satirical look at our work lives and how our work week evolves from Monday through Friday. So without further ado, be prepared to laugh at the hilarious workweek of Hoops and Yoyo. Even if you have seen these before, take note of how you feel before and after you watch these videos. Let us know how it went.
