Welcome to May! The month of madness…or at least a bit of fun. We have no idea how long it will take for your gold letters to get to you, so we will reveal some details here: the theme for May is Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and our oil is Tangerine, the oil of cheer and creativity. We won’t tell you what your pressie is, but it will be something to make you smile (and we will use it later in the month when they’ve all arrived). 

As we mentioned in the video last week, we have a fun idea for you: each week we will set you a challenge to earn points and fab prize. 

But first, let’s talk a bit about laughter, and when and why you laugh. Who makes you laugh, and when are you most likely to do it? What do you find funny? When have you experienced laughter you just can’t stop? The researchers say most laughter isn’t in response to jokes, but when we are connecting with others. 

Did you know that you are THIRTY TIMES more likely to laugh when you are with other people, so it seems laughter is a sound we emit to strengthen human connections. There are two main types of laughter: involuntary (higher pitched)laughter which is when something is hilarious, and posed or social laughter which is under our control.  

Both activate different areas of the brain in those who hear the laughter: when we hear involuntary laughter, our auditory areas fire up, and when we hear posed laughter we have increased mentalization as we try to figure out why the person is laughing. 

Some facts about laughter: it increases endorphins (helps us feel good), lowers cortisol (helps us put up with unpleasant sensations) and people who laugh more have less heart attacks. In addition, researcher Robert Levinson found that couples who laugh more are better with dealing with stress, report greater satisfaction and stay together longer.

So this week we want you to get laughing. 

Your challenge for Week 1: We want you to video yourself making someone else laugh. It’s up to you how you do it, then post the video in The Clique for us all to see. You have until next Monday to get it done, earning you two points. There are no other rules, so do whatever it takes. HINT: you can enter as many times as you like, so it’s a chance to rack up lots of points. 

Get giggling!