Second Cup: Laugh out loud

Laughter is the best medicine -- and one you can take frequently

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to laugh out loud. Know what gives you
a good laugh, and build plenty of that into your life.

(00:26):
You might make yourself healthier, but you will definitely make
yourself happier. So it probably goes without saying that we
tend to laugh because we are feeling good. But this
goes the other direction too. If you laugh, you will
most likely feel better afterwards, even if you weren't feeling

(00:49):
all that great before. Laughter brings us closer to the
people we share a laugh with. There's even some research
finding that laughter makes us healthier, doing everything from lowering
blood pressure to boosting our immune systems. Chances are there

(01:09):
is something that makes you reliably laugh out loud. I
know one distinguished gentleman who is helpless in the face
of slapstick. Show him a video of someone banging their
head on a doorway, and he is in stitches. I
know someone else who couldn't speak for a long time

(01:29):
after watching a video about a prank where people were
told they'd be switched to ten digit house numbers. Who
knows why that did it? But boy did it? Ever?
In any case, if you know this about yourself, great,
If not, pay attention and figure it out. When are

(01:52):
you overcome with the giggles. Maybe it's when you watch
reruns of a certain sitcom, even if you have seen
that episode a dozen times before. Maybe it's a good
dad joke. But once you figure it out, try to
build regular doses of laughter the best medicine into your life.

(02:16):
If you like sitcom re runs, figure out which cable
channels reliably show your favorites, and when you've got twenty
two minutes to spare, go there first. If you've got
a thing for dad jokes, check out a book of
them with the Libby app from your library, so you've
got them ready to go on your phone or e

(02:38):
reader whenever you need them. If you've got a favorite comedian,
you can perk up a brown bag lunch by watching
a fifteen minute clip. Some comedians like Jim Gaffigan and
Jen Fulwiler are reasonably safe for work. Or there's always headphones.

(02:59):
You will start the second half of your work day
with a lot of cheerful energy. I will put a
plug in here for that genre of literature known as
greeting cards. The UPS Store seems to stop greeting cards
especially designed to make you laugh out loud, which can
be a little awkward when you are waiting in line

(03:20):
to ship a package. But it's great if you buy
a few cards to make you laugh out loud in
the privacy of your own home, and to send to
friends and family to make them laugh too. Do you
love the Farside or Family Circus or New Yorker comics great?
Buy a book of them to peruse when you need

(03:42):
a laugh, or get a comic a day calendar you
can make changing the date part of your morning ritual
and start your day in a much better mood. You
probably can't watch all of Legally Blonde or a Monty
Python movie between a stressful meeting and your next zoom call,

(04:04):
but funny movies can be great for making you laugh
when you have a little more time, so they are
a good option for a weekend when you might otherwise
be feeling a little blue. In any case, it behooves
us to make an official LL list brainstorm everything that

(04:25):
makes you laugh out loud, or even people who usually
make you laugh out loud. Then when you need a
laugh or a pick me up. You'll have plenty of ideas.
There are very few things that can reliably make you
feel better in short bits of time. Laughing out loud

(04:45):
is one of them. So it's worth putting this medicine
into life wherever you can. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening and here's and making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

(05:11):
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number four then Breakfast pod.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled

(05:32):
out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
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favorite shows.