The Quickest and Strongest Stress Buster Known to Mankind
By Sam Mantell
Indeed a bold statement; you’re probably picturing a kind of hard mental sledgehammer which is strong enough to crack firm stress into little pieces. But actually, I’m referring to something very, very soft. So soft that it melts stress instantly like butter near a hot stove. Here it is: watching an infant laugh.
This is because the very structure of the infant face causes adults to bond with babies. Researchers did an experiment and showed pictures of both baby and adult faces to people using advanced technology to examine the effects on their brains. The monitors showed that the baby faces activated the part of the brain which is associated with rewarding (happy and positive) emotions, while the adult faces did not.
So, babies faces in general make us feel good, not to mention when they laugh their little heads off. You parents out there especially, know exactly what I mean. Remember coming home all tight and frustrated after a difficult day at work; but the minute you saw little Junior, your positive emotions took over while the negative ones just disappeared.
Here is a deep thought to ponder: when we look at a baby, we see ourselves. This is because we too were all once innocent children uncomprehending of the evils which are part of the reality of our world. Then, as we got older we’ve adapted to the real world and as a result a general feeling of stress takes over unless we are successful in preserving our positive selves.
Ultimately, this baby-like blissfulness is the state that we all aspire to, whether we know it or not. We know deep down inside that “we’ve lost it” and therefore we adults easily connect with babies who haven’t lost it.
This brings me back to the title: watching babies laugh with delight is the strongest stress buster because it puts us in touch with the foundation of our own minds – before we’ve learned to be so stressful. And thanks to technology, it is quick and readily available to you and me any time we need it. Just make a video of a few babies laughing and watch it at least once a day.
[via Trans4mind]
Hello Sam! Thank you so much for stopping by 🙂
“Then, as we got older we’ve adapted to the real world and as a result a general feeling of stress takes over unless we are successful in preserving our positive selves.”
I think so many of us have gotten “used” to living with stress and low-level depression that it seems entirely normal, and “just part of life” but I do feel that there’s a LOT we can do, even just small things on a day to day basis, to start eliminating the stuff that weighs us down. Simple, practical things like eating correctly and getting enough sleep and exercise, for starters …
Hi everyone, I am the author of the above article. If you would like to learn what I’ve learned over many painful years in less than a half hour about living stress-free, you can buy a copy of my report “The Concise Guide to Living Free from Stress Today!” found at byetostress.com. I hope you’ve enjoyed this article.
I think the author has a valid point in his article … for me, one of the happiest times of my life (despite having nothing to my name and living like a pauper) was when my kids were little tots and wore their hearts on their sleeves. I kinda miss those days … although Son#2 still has THE most infectious belly laugh that never fails to crack me up 🙂
HAHAHA… i love it.. its like an old man re incarnated and is laughing at the stupid mans enjoyment is making funny sounds.