Fun and the Immune System
Author Unknown

A study conducted by Arthur Stone, PhD., Vice chair for research in the dept of Psychiatry at the State University of New York, found that levels of antibodies in men were elevated for two days after events where they had fun. These events included things like hanging out with friends and playing with kids. I have no idea why the study was only conducted on men, but I’m assuming the results would be similar for women. We may be from Mars and Venus, but according to science, 99.9% of our DNA is the same.

The bottom line is that having fun is good for us. But up to now, we sure haven’t taken advantage of this fact. When was the last time you heard a Doctor say “Instead of antibiotics, I’m prescribing you 5 doses of fun over the next 3 days. If you are still sick, I want you to double that dose”.

Why wait for a Doctor to prescribe fun? A lot of us make sure to exercise every second day, but when was the last time we made sure to have fun every second day? “I’m sorry, I can’t make it to that Board Meeting. Tuesday nights are my fun nights.”

I keep hearing that we’re supposed to eat properly as part of a healthy lifestyle, but I’m still waiting for lifestyle experts to say “Have lots of fun as part of a healthy lifestyle” or “the Surgeon General warns that no having fun may be bad for your health.”

We all intuitively know that having fun is a good thing, but we feel guilty or irresponsible if we have too much of it. Having science prove what we know intuitively makes it easier to overcome our guilt. “I’m having fun tonight because I feel a cold coming on and I want to boost my immune system”.

So, what specific indicators that tell us we need to incorporate humour into our workplace? According to Thomas Kuhlman, a Psychologist at the University of St. Thomas, in Minnesota, two major factors exist.

The first is being placed in a no-win situation. These include being expected to do a job, but not have the necessary resources in terms of time, money, policies or people power. It can also include having to serve a difficult or overly demanding client base or boss, or having to enforce unpopular rules or regulations.

The second is the presence of unpredictable or uncontrollable stressors. These can take the form of regularly arising but unpredictable situations that adversely affect stress, workloads or scheduling. They can also include decisions made at other levels of the organization or government that affect your job but into which you have little or no input.

Perhaps you need to look at a change of job, or at the very least, a change of attitude. Look at how much fun you are having in your life. If you aren’t – make sure to take steps to increase the fun factor. You will notice an almost immediate response in your body and mind.

Don’t forget – laugh and the world laughs with you.