Boost your immune system with laughter

Humour can help you cope with pain, enhance your immune system, reduce stress, even help you to live longer. Here are some fun ways to develop — and enjoy — your sense of humour.

Smile at simple pleasures: children playing, a loved one approaching, something humorous. Smiles indicate that the weight of the world hasn't overwhelmed you.

Find someone you can phone about something funny and someone who calls you with funny stories.

Rent classic comedy films. Reward yourself frequently with the gift of laughter.

Don't take them seriously. Find the lighter side and describe them in a funny way. It will open you up to the humorous aspects of life.

• You can be angry at getting splashed with mud or stepping in dog poo. That's the normal response.
• Find a way to laugh at it instead. Imagine it happened to someone you don't like. Laugh at them, then laugh at yourself.

Cut out the ones that remind you of your life. Post them on a bulletin board, the fridge or anywhere else you can see them.

Write funny captions or one-liners to go with your favourites. When you need a pick-me-up, pull out the album.

Every night at dinner, make family members tell one funny or even embarrassing moment from their day.

• If someone is always late, say, "Well, I'm glad you're not running an airline."
• Life is too short to turn every personal affront into a battle.
• If you are constantly offended by someone in particular, yes, take it seriously and take appropriate action.
• But for occasional troubles, or if there's nothing you can do to change the situation, take the humorous route.

Here's how you do it:

• You and one or more people (partner, child, friend) lie on the floor with your head on someone's stomach, and his or her head on another person's stomach and so on — the more people the better.
• The first person says, "Ha."
• The next person says, "Ha-ha." The third person says, "Ha-ha-ha." And so on.
• You'll be laughing in no time.

Choose laugh-inducing events to attend. It could be the circus, a film, a stand-up comedian or a funny play. Sometimes it takes a professional to get you to regain your sense of humour.

Become known as a person who wants to hear humorous true stories as opposed to an individual who prefers to hear gossip.

It could be something as silly as speaking with a comedic voice or doing a funny dance. Use it to make yourself laugh when you're in a dark mood.

Learn one simple joke each week and share it.

For example, if you're a bit thin on top, tell people you're a former expert on how to cure baldness.