By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

Christmas in July has become quite popular in the United States. You can find all kinds of celebrations from shopping sales to promotions around the theme of Christmas in the summer. A North Carolina summer camp was credited for starting the concept of Christmas in July in the United States.  

Many Southern Hemisphere countries such as Australia and New Zealand celebrate Christmas in July because it is the winter season there. Some common dates for Christmas in July are July 24 and 25.  The Hallmark channel is no exception with the countdown to Christmas movies starting in July. Where would Christmas be without the ho-ho-ho of Santa?

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What does ho-ho-ho to health mean?  

Many of us are familiar with the concept of laughter is the best medicine. Well, ho-ho-ho health is a new take on a healthy version of laughter. A new concept called laughter yoga has proven health benefits. There are certified laughter yoga instructors who are trained to teach this form of exercise.

One might ask, what is laughter yoga?

Laughter yoga is a serious form of exercise using gentle movement with playful activity including breathing and laughing to reduce stress and anxiety. This form of yoga is meant to energize the body and improve mental and emotional health benefits. Do not think about it as jokes or a comedy session, but rather with laughter and giggles.  

Reports indicate an adult will laugh about 15 times per day, while a young child laughs almost 400 times per day. As adults, we become more serious with our day to day responsibilities, which can create worry, stress, and anxiety. So, maybe we do need to learn how to giggle more!

A clinical trial was published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice evaluating the effects of laughter yoga on reducing perceived stress and burnout, while increasing life satisfaction. The study included 101 nurses involved in direct patient care during the pandemic. There were 51 nurses in the laughter yoga group and 50 in the control group (no yoga). The laughter yoga sessions were provided twice per week for 4 weeks.  The nurses were asked to complete 4 different validated scales to assess their stress, anxiety, burnout, and life satisfaction. The control group received no intervention, but filled out the same scales. 

The study reported an improvement in life satisfaction as well as a reduction in stress and burnout in the nurses who did laughter yoga compared to the controls. The authors believe practicing laughter yoga with more frequency could result in additional benefits.  

Some easy steps involved in laughter yoga include extending your arms in front of your body, with palms facing towards you and then you smile as you inhale while bringing your palms into your chest.  Then you exhale pushing your palms away from you while extending your arms back to the starting position.  You repeat this exercise with a smile each time you inhale. 

Another exercise includes clapping your hands (palm to palm) in a 1-2, 1-2-3 rhythm while saying, “ho-ho, ha-ha-ha”. This is repeated 3 times.  

Some may think this is silly, but it does bring a smile to your face! Go ahead and ho-ho-ho in July!

ONU Healthwise is offering flu and COVID-19 vaccine clinics Monday through Friday from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. 

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