My grandmother always told me that getting outside for a little walk could clear our heads and lift our spirits; now we have plenty of neuroscience to show that she was, of course, correct!

When we’ve been feeling angry or had a “fight or flight” response, physical activity can help us feel better by clearing the adrenaline out of our system. Like happiness researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky says: Exercise — even just a little walk around the block with the dog or the baby — may just be the best short-term happiness booster we know of.

Laughter lowers stress hormones (even the expectation of laughter can do this) and elevates feel-good beta-endorphins. For this reason, find something that reliably makes you laugh, and keep it handy.

For me, it’s watching my kids laugh (especially my daughter Molly, who is tiny but has a belly laugh as big as the Buddha’s). All I do when I need a laugh is let them watch a few funny animal videos on YouTube or Animal Planet. They immediately dissolve in laughter, which then lifts my spirits when I laugh at them laughing!

What will you do to laugh today?

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Cross posted from Greater Good.

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