Lighten Up

Animal Joy: A Book Of Laughter and Resuscitation, by Nuar Alsadir.

Jeevika Verma, with NPR Morning Edition, interviews the author about her new book on laughter. Alsadir tells us that there are two kinds of laughter. Social Laughter,the most common type, is situational. We laugh to ease tensions, promote comraderie or create a safe space. Spontaneous Laughter, on the other hand, is when we burst out laughing and find it hard to stop. It’s when our sides hurt and tears roll down our face. When was the last time you had a good laugh like that? Teenage girls do a lot of that!!

We know that laughter is good for us because it releases endorphins and increases blook flow. Laughter also, according to Alsadir, “shakes us out of our deadness.” She’s an expert on laughter because she went to clown school! She loves to make people laugh, which she does in her new book.