In a world where stress levels are spiralling and taking time out from the daily grind is more luxury than routine, the health benefits of having a good old giggle are becoming increasingly apparent.
From naturally lifting your mood, thanks to the release of endorphins, to the treatment of day-to-day stresses, a simple laugh can hold the key to a happier and healthier life.
Laughter is an essential ingredient of a healthy, happy life and is one of the most effective and immediate antidotes to stress and tension.
However, we&apos;re now laughing three times less than we did 50 years ago despite a higher standard of living and better working conditions.
Adults need to learn how to laugh againand recapture their child hood playfulness.
"If you think back to the 1950s, research shows that people used to laugh 18 minutes a day on average, but times have changed and now we only laugh for six minutes daily," explains Lotte Mikkelsen, laughter therapist and founder of St Albans-based Laughter Club International, one of 10 dedicated laughter clubs across the UK.
"Obviously our lives have changed irrevocably since the 50s and our focus has changed completely - most women in Europe go back to work after having children these days, especially in the United Kingdom, and that of course increases stress levels and gives us far less time to relax with the family."
And she points out that there is no real time today devoted to consciously resting and recuperating from the strain of balancing both work and home life, which includes all the other modernday commitments.
"The work we do is more stressful because the sheer level of competition is much higher, we are constantly struggling to balance our increasingly hectic lifestyles, and society in general is far more frenetic and busy, which can easily make us miserable if we&apos;re not careful," she warns.
Smile - it&apos;s good for you!
The multiple physical and psychological health benefits of laughter are far-reaching, Mikkelsen says.
"The &apos;stress hormone&apos; cortisol is released in the body during stressed or agitated states. But endorphins, those &apos;happy hormones&apos; produced in the brain in response to a variety of stimuli including laughter and smiling, are widely regarded as nature&apos;s cure for high levels of stress.
"But that&apos;s not all - endorphins are also the body&apos;s natural painkillers so if we do have a physical pain somewhere in the body they can also work on relieving that."
Mikkelsen says that people who laugh a lot are less likely to contract colds and infections because when people laugh or smile their immune system is given a real boost.
"Another advantage is that you feel fitter and healthier in general when you laugh because the very act of laughter actually massages the internal organs," she says.
"In fact, one minute of laughter is equivalent to 10 minutes on a rowing machine - and I certainly know what I&apos;d rather be doing!
"When you crack a smile it helps you to gain more confidence and lose your inhibitions, as well as helping to create a more positive attitude to most things in modern life from work to relationships.
"Finally, when you smile you look and feel much younger too because you are essentially toning up and tightening your facial muscles."
Mikkelsen says: "The best thing is that if you don&apos;t feel like laughing you can actually fake it because if you put a smile on your face, no matter how you are feeling, your brain doesn&apos;t know the difference between a real and phoney smile and so the benefits are the same.
"It all comes down to the &apos;fake it until you make it&apos; theory by Dr Kataria, founder of the School Of Laughter Yoga - once you start smiling it will turn your mood around, no question.
"It&apos;s an easy discipline to train yourself to look out for the funny aspects in life - you need to tap into your childhood state of mind when we all laughed, on average, around 400 times every day.
"If you&apos;re feeling down, for example, don&apos;t switch on the news or watch a depressing film - listen to your favourite music instead, or when you wake up in the morning just fake a smile and it will really change your state of mind for the day ahead."