January 4, 2016 | Posted in: Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully
As a Certified Laughter Leader for over a decade; I feel the need to share some resources and statistics with you on the benefits of laughter at home and in the workplace to help reduce stress. Just 20-30 minutes per session of the laugh exercises help reduce stress, diminish social isolation, and improve general well-being. It’s a hoot and it’s a hit!
The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor: www.aath.org is a big proponent of laughter, humor in your life and the benefits of Laughter Clubs and just plain laughter. Many members are in the healthcare field and who bring humor and healing together in different environments. Others of us were speakers and facilitators who help bring humor to life and to businesses to help people deal with stress or change, or tragedy.
The organization is a leader in the scientific side of the benefits of laughter and humor. AATH is the expert resource center for research on what we all know to be true – that laughter is the best medicine and that humor helps us cope with life. In these times of change, trauma, and trepidation about the economy, it is imperative that we keep our sense of humor about what’s important and also be aware of how others may deal with these uncertainties. The morale may be on shaky ground at your organization and you may be just the catalyst that is needed to help get things back on track and one way may be to start a Laughter Club.
* Nearly 2/3 of workers experiences some level of stress at work. 50% are somewhat stressed, while an additional 13% feel extremely stressed at work and only 9% feel that they are under no stress at all at work.
* Too much work (38%) and too little time (59%) are the two most common causes of stress in the workplace.
* Fatigue is the most frequently mentioned result of work-related stress that spills over into the lives of those surveyed 67%. Nearly 50% report that impatience and moodiness caused by work also has a negative impact on their lives at home.
These statistics were reported by a survey of American workers at Careerbuilder. What are you doing at work to prevent yourself and your colleagues from becoming statistics?
Gaia Hart
As the CEO (Chief Energizing Officer) at Hartful Living including GaiaHart.com and BizBuilderCards.com; I’m a Messenger and Mentor for women entrepreneurs, connecting them to their capacity to energize their work and their lives in the art of living Hartfully. At BizBuilderCards.com, you can make a living through giving with greeting cards and gifts to build your network net worth as an additive to your current business or an easy way to send gratitude and kindness to the world.